Why Devices Still Matter: Mitel's Move to"Made in Germany" Production & Future of Hybrid Comms

Описание: Why Devices Still Matter: Inside Mitel's Strategic Gambit | K&Co. Tech Podcast

Is the desk phone really dead? Not according to the numbers, and certainly not for the 80% of workers who are frontline employees. In this episode, host Shelly Kramer, principal analysts at Kramer&Co, sits down with Zeus Kerravala of ZK Research to discuss Mitel's surprising move to relocate IP phone production to Germany and what it reveals about the future of enterprise communications.

01:10 Why Devices Still Matter: The Frontline Worker Reality
03:56 Data Sovereignty & European Market Dynamics
06:07 Strategic Thinking Behind the Made in Germany Move
09:32 Supply Chain Resilience & Sustainability Benefits
13:04 Mitel's Broader UC Positioning: True Choice in a SaaS-Only World
16:08 Post-Restructuring Strategy: New Leadership, New Direction
19:56 Industry Perception Gap: Is Mitel Getting the Recognition It Deserves?
24:04 AI, Devices, and the Edge: The Future of Intelligent Endpoints
27:08 Why Mitel's "Contrarian" Bet Is Actually Pragmatic
29:42 Closing Thoughts & Key Takeaways

What We Cover:

🔹 Why Mitel's "Made in Germany" production move is more strategic than it appears
🔹 The $2B annual market that cloud-only vendors are ignoring
🔹 How data sovereignty is reshaping European enterprise communications
🔹 What Mitel's post-restructuring strategy reveals about hybrid communications
🔹 Why frontline workers still need physical devices (and always will)
🔹 The competitive landscape shift with Avaya's move upmarket
🔹 How AI and edge computing could transform what we think of as "phones"
🔹 Supply chain resilience in a post-pandemic world

Key Insights:

Phones are legacy tech for knowledge workers, but we only make about 20% of the workforce. The other 80% are frontline workers, and most of them do use phones.

Fresh from eliminating $1.15 billion in debt, installing new leadership, and strengthening their board with industry veterans, Mitel is executing a strategy that many dismiss as contrarian—but might just be the smartest play in enterprise communications.

Topics: EnterpriseCommunications | Unified Communications | UCaaS | Hybrid Work | Mitel
Telecommunications Strategy | Frontline Workers | Data Sovereignty | Supply Chain | Manufacturing Strategy

Related Resources:

Read Shelly's full analysis: [Link]
Find and follow Shelly Kramer:
LinkedIn:   / shellydemottekramer  
X: https://x.com/shellykramer
Find and Follow Zeus Kerravala
LinkedIn:   / zkerravala  
X: https://x.com/zkerravala

Learn more about Kramer & Co: https://kramerand.co
Learn more about ZK Research: https://zkresearch.com

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💬 What's your take? Are physical devices here to stay, or is the cloud-only future inevitable? Share your thoughts in the comments!

#Mitel #EnterpriseCommunications #UCaaS #HybridWork #Telecommunications #FrontlineWorkers #TechStrategy #EnterpriseIT