Beyond the Buzzwords: Making AI Work for UC

In this episode, host Scott Kinka sits down with Shane Cleckler, Director of Sales Engineering, and Jeff Martis, Senior Director of Product Management at Sangoma, to explore why hybrid deployments are the real differentiator in unified communications, how to meet customers where they actually are (not where vendors want them to be), and the key strategies for solving survivability and resilience without forcing migration to cloud. Whether you're rationalizing your post-pandemic collaboration spend or building a UC roadmap that actually works for your business, this conversation cuts through the noise with practical frameworks for evaluating cloud, on-premise, and hybrid options—plus why the most successful vendors are thinking like integrators again.

Shane Cleckler is the Director of Sales Engineering at Sangoma, bringing over 25 years of VoIP and unified communications expertise from the Dallas area. Since the late 1990s and early 2000s, Shane has been deeply embedded in the evolution of voice technology—from the days when people couldn't spell VoIP to today's integrated, cloud-native UC platforms. His philosophy centers on consultative selling: understanding business problems first, then architecting solutions that often combine multiple platforms rather than forcing customers into rigid product boxes. Outside of work, Shane is pursuing an unexpected passion: becoming a hot air balloon pilot.

Jeff Martis is the Senior Director of Product Management at Sangoma, representing the Philadelphia area with nearly 25 years in telecommunications. His career spans the entire arc of the industry's transformation, and he's worked across diverse customer segments—from large dealer partners to mom-and-pop bakeries, hospitals, schools, retail chains, and manufacturing plants. Jeff's product philosophy is refreshingly contrarian: he believes the industry needs fewer features, not more, and that simplicity leads to less regret and doubt. His reading list includes The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle, and his preferred productivity tool is decidedly analog: a physical notepad where he can experience the satisfaction of checking items off by hand.

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Episode Highlights:

When the pandemic hit, Sangoma customers frantically called asking, "We have remote workers now, what do we do?" Shane's response was simple: "You already have the tools, you just need to start using them." For many organizations, the capabilities for remote collaboration—voice, video, SMS, file sharing—were already embedded in their systems. They just hadn't activated them. The pandemic didn't create a technology gap; it exposed a utilization gap. Once customers started using these features, the floodgates opened. Suddenly, requests came pouring in: "I want this, I want that, and I want it all to look exactly how I want it." The lesson? Sometimes the barrier to digital transformation isn't technology—it's awareness and adoption.

Sangoma's core differentiator in a crowded UC market is flexibility. While most providers are "a dime a dozen" in the cloud or have abandoned on-premise entirely, Sangoma offers cloud, hybrid, and on-premise solutions. This isn't just a marketing position—it's a strategic philosophy. Jeff explains: "We can meet the customer where they are. They might start in the cloud, realize they need something completely theirs, and then we can move them into a hybrid or on-prem environment." Many competitors viewed hybrid as a temporary stopgap or "straddling point," but Sangoma discovered that hybrid is actually a permanent "flavor" that customers swear by. It provides site survivability, control, and flexibility without requiring full-time IT staff to manage premise equipment. The takeaway? In a world obsessed with cloud migration, the smartest vendors recognize that one size doesn't fit all.

When Scott challenged Shane on why customers need local survivability—"Can't I just build a redundant internet network?"—Shane's answer was brutally practical: "Redundant internet is fantastic, but it's not a total failsafe." He's seen cases where a trackhoe breaks both connections because they terminate at the same point in the building. For hospitals, manufacturing plants, schools, and law firms—organizations that simply cannot afford downtime—the hybrid model provides peace of mind. Even with dual internet circuits, you need local survivability to keep station-to-station communication up during outages. These customers aren't theoretical; they come to Sangoma after already experiencing these problems. The lesson for IT leaders: Don't optimize for cost. Optimize for resilience.

When asked about AI, Jeff's response was refreshingly grounded: "What do you actually need to do? Let's not talk about what's possible; let's talk about your pain points." Too many companies are selling AI as a product rather than a solution to specific problems. Shane echoed this consultative approach, noting that customers often come in stuck on needing "X, Y, and Z" because that's what they've always had—sometimes based on RFPs written for strategic needs decades ago. The better approach? "Tell me what your business issues are and what you're trying to achieve, and let us create a solution." Sometimes that solution isn't a single platform; it's a culmination of multiple integrated tools. The AI conversation is the perfect example: Stop chasing buzzwords. Start solving problems.

Scott made a sharp observation: "I feel like voice providers have almost gone back to being integrators. We went from integrators to SaaS platforms, and now the successful SaaS people are acting like integrators again." Jeff confirmed this pattern, comparing it to HGTV renovation shows where one house needs bold colors and the next needs neutrals. The UC world has cycled through bundled offerings, then a la carte pricing, and now back to bundled solutions. It's cyclical, and "the only constant is uncertainty." Sangoma's approach? Stay consistent by providing solutions, not widgets. Jeff recounted stories of customers on other systems who just needed firewall whitelisting fixes or better IT staff—and once that was resolved, they were fine. "I'm not trying to force people out of their comfort zone; I just want them to think about what they are trying to achieve rather than just following the latest market trend.".

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