Recently in Hosted Services Category

IPCI%20new%20logo.gif
Jon Arnold and I finally got it all together and are proud to announce the launch of our new portal, IP Communications Insights.

I'll let the announcement we sent over the wire this morning fill you in on the details:


Robins Consulting Group and J Arnold & Associates Announce the Launch of IP Communications Insights


New Web Site is Home to IP Communications Industry Newsletter, Blogs, Podcasts, Newsfeeds, and Market Research and Intelligence

NEW YORK & TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Robins Consulting Group (RCG) and J Arnold & Associates (JAA) - both prominent IP communications industry research, marketing and consulting firms - have proudly announced the launch of their new independent Web platform "IP Communications Insights", located at http://www.ipcom-insights.com.

IP Communications Insights is the culmination of a partnership between the two firms that includes an array of marketing, communications, advisory, consulting and research services for IP communications technology vendors and service providers.

Designed to be an independent platform for industry thought leaders and market intelligence, the goal for IP Communications Insights is to offer valuable coverage, analysis and information not readily available elsewhere.

In addition, IP Communications Insights will publish an ongoing series of industry reports designed to be very topical, highly strategic, concise and affordably priced. One study in the works, "VoIP Mashups - Where's the Money?" is a critical evaluation and insider view of this rapidly evolving space. The possibilities for VoIP mashups are limitless, but the business case scenarios are not. This ground-breaking report will survey today's landscape and provide a strategic roadmap for making VoIP mashups a viable business.

Marc Robins, IP Communications Insights Co-Founder and Chief Technology Evangelism Officer of RCG, has been involved in the IP communications industry since its inception, and has served the industry as a reporter and analyst, conference producer and magazine publisher, and marketing executive and consultant.
Continue Reading...

IP%20Convergence%20TV%20Logo.GIF

 

 

 

 

Jon Arnold just let me in on the official "hard" launch of a new Web portal called "IP Convergence TV", of which Jon is Portal Editor. Here's Jon's blog post about it.

IP Convergence TV is a non-profit initiative that Comverse is heading, along with a group of charter sponsors including Intel, AudiCodes, Tilgin, BEA, and Blueslice. All these companies support the initiative by contributing content about all the various aspects of IP convergence - IPTV, Triple Play, FMC, etc.

Already, there's a good chunk of content on the site, and it has a nice, clean layout and very easy navigation. Definitely worth checking out!

 

 

Off to VON Tomorrow

March 19, 2007 9:02 PM

I'm off to the VON show in San Jose, CA tomorrow morning, and I'm interested to see if there's any truth behind Thomas Howe's brave post today about why he's not attending the event. I'll be meeting with other technologists while I'm there, so I'm curious whether this position is shared by them.

For my part, I'm looking forward to shooting the breeze with my industry friends, making new friends, and (hopefully) discovering new innovative solutions and sussing out relevant industry trends.

Also, let me extend an invitation to those also attending the event to contact me if you're interested in meeting up.


Loyal Blog Readers: Please enjoy this sneak peek at my upcoming Mind Share 2.0 column (more like a mini-whitepaper) -- co-authored by Cbeyond CTO Chris Gatch -- that will be running in the April issue of Internet Telephony magazine:



Managed Services Providers: Delivering on the Promise of High-Value Services

As the IP communications industry continues to evolve and mature, an array of new companies offering highly reliable and robust new products and services have made their way to market, providing users with an uncommon wealth of new productivity enhancing communications capabilities at extremely competitive prices.

Foremost among these new entrants to the marketplace are a breed of companies commonly referred to as Managed Services Providers, or MSPs. These MSPs represent a special type of service provider that leverages new Internet technologies to combine the best of Web service and network service models to deliver a whole new class of hosted services to users, and also represent a new genre of investment opportunity to Wall Street.

MSPs typically provide a unique bundling of various hosted voice and data communications services and applications, often coupled with quality of service guarantees, robust security measures and Web-based administrative features. But what exactly is a managed services provider, and what differentiates an MSP from a Web services and network services company?
 
The Two Types of Integration

Service providers establish their unique identity through integration – using process and technology to make distinct systems work together for the benefit of their customers.
 
When one examines the concept of integration with respect to an IP-based services provider, there are really two distinct types of integration to consider: network integration and application integration. In fact, the types of integration that are practiced in large-part determines whether a provider is a network services operator, Web services provider, or an MSP.

MSP%20Figure%201.JPG The matrix represented in Figure I to the left illustrates the differentiation between these two types of integration as well as the progression of derived value as the degree of integration increases across the two planes.

For example, a basic html-based website represented in the lower left-hand quadrant functions rather autonomously and displays little or no integration with other network resources or other applications running on a network. Continue Reading...

Whaleback Systems Names New VP Marketing

February 5, 2007 7:25 PM

Managed VoIP service provider (MSP) Whaleback Systems has added Dave Zwicker as its VP of Marketing, responsible for market planning, branding, product marketing, marketing programs and press and analyst relations.

For those of you who don't meticulously track the comings and goings of industry folk (honestly, who can keep up?), Zwicker joins Whaleback from VoIP network management solutions vendor Viola Networks, where he also served as VP of Marketing.

Other stints have included serving as VP of Marketing for Adlex, an IT service delivery management software supplier, and VP of Product and Segment Marketing at 3Com Corporation, VP of Solutions Marketing at Enterasys Networks and VP of Marketing for Indus River Networks, a Virtual Private Networking start-up company.



Back from Sunshine and IT Expo

January 29, 2007 6:32 PM

Fort%20Lauderdale.jpg I just returned from travels south, to Fort Lauderdale and Internet Telephony EXPO -- and arrived in Winter in New York. It was bound to arrive at some point (although I thankfully missed the deep freeze, eight-degree temperatures of a couple of days ago).


The show was great -- well-attended and full of good content in the conferences.  Jon Arnold and I spent some time together basking in the glow of our recent announcement.  See Jon's post about show highlights.

sunburn.jpgAnd yes, I did spend a little time in the sun -- and barely escaped serious harm. Continue Reading...

Jon Arnold and I figured that since most everyone else was making some sort of announcement, issuing press releases and generally making noise  -- especially to pull in the crowds at Internet Telephony Conference & EXPO East going on right now -- that it was OK to make some noise of our own.

Hopefully it will be music to your ears



Robins%20Consulting%20Group%20Text%20with%20Logo.JPG          JArnold_logo.jpg






Robins Consulting Group and J Arnold & Associates Announce New Partnership

Two Prominent IP Communications Industry Research and Consulting Practices Join Forces to Offer an Array of Services and Co-Develop New Sources of Industry Intelligence

NEW YORK, TORONTO, and FORT LAUDERDALE, January 23, 2007-- Robins Consulting Group (RCG) and J Arnold & Associates (JAA) – both leading IP Communications industry research, marketing and consulting firms – have proudly announced a new partnership that includes the two firms joining forces to provide an array of marketing, communications, strategy consulting and market research services to their growing roster of IP communications technology vendors and service providers.

In addition, RCG and JAA will be jointly developing new information resources, including an electronic newsletter and related Web site, which will offer unique industry analysis, a healthy dose of opinion, provide a new platform for other industry thought leaders, and offer valuable coverage and information not readily available elsewhere about the rapidly evolving IP communications industry.

Veteran industry thought leader Marc Robins, RCG's founder and Chief Evangelism Officer, has been involved in the IP communications industry since its inception, and has served the industry as a leading reporter and analyst, conference producer and magazine publisher, and marketing executive and consultant. Continue Reading...

The Flat Planet Phone Company

January 17, 2007 9:17 PM

Flat%20Planet%20logo.gif Today, I received an email from Moshe Maeir, Chief Flattening Officer at The Flat Planet Phone Company. I hadn't heard of this company before, or such an unusual title, so suffice it to say I was a bit curious to check them out.

From what I could gather, Flat Planet offers hosted IP-PBX services, mobile to VoIP connectivity (the company is a member of the iotum Relevance Enabled Channel Partner Program), disposable numbers , virtual IVR and other hot communications services, geared for individuals and small businesses that aspire to become instant phone companies. Flat Planet offers to help you "Start Your Own Phone Company in an Hour", and is charging an extremely low annual fee of $199 to become a Flat Planet partner (i.e., reseller.)

According to the company's Web site, the Flat Planet Phone system includes a complete hosted softswitch, as well as a billing and customer management system -- and the pitch is that no additional investment, equipment or manpower is needed to get set up and running.

The benefits of becoming a Flat Planet partner includes a custom-branded Web site, and tools to market the Flat Planet services under their own brand name. Continue Reading...

Recent Comments

  • JuddyB: I agree with you 110% ! I was at Crown read more
  • Meridian Electric: it will be very much useful for all. read more
  • adapter: If you need a new battery or adaper, I suggest read more
  • VoIPMan: hey, I like your profile. Please check out my blog read more
  • Jason: I found your post when googling for Skype Spam (looks read more
  • AG: Very complete. I kind of like that. Its nice to read more
  • Elij: Hi its interesting to go through your site which really read more
  • B: Currently running Vista on 2 PC's, my development laptop at read more
  • Michael Caspar: Couldn't agree with you more about the CFL pricing for read more
  • Helpful Guy: You will find reasonably priced ones at IKEA read more

Subscribe to Blog

Blogroll

Recent Entry Images

Around TMCnet Blogs

Latest Whitepapers

TMCnet Videos