The news of the day is Telrad Connegy has purchased the Zultys assets via Pivot VoIP, Inc. Telrad will be using this acquisition to get into the IP PBX space. They are interested in the Zultys technology.
October 2006 Archives
If you need to get up to the minute updates on your RSS feeds such as this one from Dan York (which alerted me to this story), you want to check out the RSS Robot which takes an RSS feed and connects it with Skype so you get an IM in Skype when new RSS info comes through. I already get alerted to new RSS feeds from my reader so this isn’t too useful for me. Still it could be useful to someone who is hooked on Skype and whose RSS reader doesn’t alert them to new content.
As we begin to see more and more products integrate with Skype the question becomes when we see a full-fledged office-like environment evolve around Skype. First we would need an e-mail client – perhaps this AJAX-based one from BlueTie will do. Then we need a word processor and a few other apps and we are all set.
With all the talk of Google killing Microsoft let’s not forget Skype could cut the legs out from Google. Perhaps a long shot but perhaps not. Although I am a huge fan of Google and an investor, Google doesn’t seem to be gaining so much traction in areas that aren’t its core competency. It is an ad display company and that is what it does well. Its VoIP entry hasn’t been successful and its video entry was lackluster prompting the company to spend a fortune to purchase YouTube.
I am not counting Google out but I am saying as a partner, Skype could be much more attractive to app developers who are looking for a way to rapidly tap an installed base as a distribution channel.
PhoneBoy chimes in with some good ideas for Vonage. Anyone in Jersey listening? We had a gentlemanly disagreement on a related topic this weekend btw.
When Oracle decides to compete with you, watch out. That is the theme of this article and it states Red Hat is in real trouble now that Oracle has declared it will offer Linux support for half the going rate. I have trouble disagreeing with anything in this article which means IMHO Red hat is likely in real trouble.
I have a PayPal account but I don't use it that often. I suppose I use it a few times a year as opposed to my credit cards which I use daily. Now it seems PayPal is everywhere and I can even buy HP computers with the service. Still the credit card companies with cash back and airline miles have a pretty good lock on me and keep me from switching over to the PayPal side. I suppose for people without credit cards, PayPal makes a great deal of sense. It is also a great way to transfer money from one person to another fairly seamlessly.
Apparently Fried Coke tastes great and is more filling which is great news for those of you who were afraid of excess carbohydrates without being accompanied by loads of fat."It tastes great," said Sue Gooding, a spokeswoman for the State Fair of Texas where Gonzales' fried Coke made its debut this fall. "It was a huge success."
Gonzales ran two stands at the State Fair of Texas and sold up to 35,000 fried Cokes over 24 days for $4.50 each -- and won a prize for coming up with "most creative" new fair food.
Now other fairs in North Carolina and Arizona are following the trend, and other people are trying to emulate Gonzales' recipe.
Here is more on this calorically developing story. Who says you can't have your Coke and eat it to?
There is so much happening in the Zultys saga right now. Here is an update from this past Friday. Some of this article is based on the very vibrant conversations taking place on this blog entry. The worldwide Zultys community has been communicating via this blog entry which has become the source of much news on the subject.
Here are some highlights from the above-linked article:
The accusations led Avi Weinrib, acting President and CEO of Pivot VoIP, to respond publicly on Rich Tehrani’s VoIP Blog, announcing their intentions to “continue the product development and support of the Zultys line and to enable us to maintain the strong relationship with its reseller base, should we be successful at the auction.”
In his posting, Weinrib stated:
• We will continue the product development cycle in the Silicon Valley, in our new offices in Mountain View.
• We believe strongly in the product and we already have on board the very right team to continue to support it.
• We look at the distribution channels as a most valuable asset to us.
The statement is consistent with job postings found on leading Internet employment sites, indicating the company’s plans to remain in the Silicon Valley . Pivot’s intentions were also confirmed by Vladimir Movshovich, the former vice president of technology at Zultys who was recruited to Pivot along with a core set of former engineers.
“Pivot is planning to continue to product. Pivot is also planning to continue to utilize the reseller channel to make the company profitable as soon as possible,” Movshovich told TMCnet during a telephone interview.
Meanwhile, Zultys Founder Iain Milnes has confirmed that he has left the country; however, the company is still involved in the auction process. Although he has been outbid, he is currently trying to raise additional funding by rallying the reseller community to participate in the bid.
Here are some highlights from the above-linked article:
The accusations led Avi Weinrib, acting President and CEO of Pivot VoIP, to respond publicly on Rich Tehrani’s VoIP Blog, announcing their intentions to “continue the product development and support of the Zultys line and to enable us to maintain the strong relationship with its reseller base, should we be successful at the auction.”
In his posting, Weinrib stated:
• We will continue the product development cycle in the Silicon Valley, in our new offices in Mountain View.
• We believe strongly in the product and we already have on board the very right team to continue to support it.
• We look at the distribution channels as a most valuable asset to us.
The statement is consistent with job postings found on leading Internet employment sites, indicating the company’s plans to remain in the Silicon Valley . Pivot’s intentions were also confirmed by Vladimir Movshovich, the former vice president of technology at Zultys who was recruited to Pivot along with a core set of former engineers.
“Pivot is planning to continue to product. Pivot is also planning to continue to utilize the reseller channel to make the company profitable as soon as possible,” Movshovich told TMCnet during a telephone interview.
Meanwhile, Zultys Founder Iain Milnes has confirmed that he has left the country; however, the company is still involved in the auction process. Although he has been outbid, he is currently trying to raise additional funding by rallying the reseller community to participate in the bid.
If you are interested in going to Hell.com or better yet owning the domain name it will cost you. Saints and sinners alike started the bidding on this domain name recently but failed to reach the $2.3 million reserve required for the URL to change hands.
Many in the blogosphere say Lucifer has been routinely threatening all bidders in an attempt to keep the price from reaching the stratosphere. Rumors abound that Google may be interested in the domain name as an extension to their Google Earth program. According to sources, Google execs think they have gone as far as they can with Google Earth and need new ways to keep the stock humming along.
In typical Google fashion the excellent Google Earth technology is to be replicated in heaven, hell and the afterlife.
After consulting with many analysts in the space -- most of whom as you might imagine have horns and tails -- I have learned that the authorities at Vegas.com are keenly aware of the auction and are sitting on the sidelines to see who picks it up. Apparently, once the auction is complete, a deal will be worked out between the two sites and for every 3-4 visits to Vegas.com you get a free pass to Hell.com. Stay tuned for details and for more serious analysis see this Wall Street Journal article.
Many in the blogosphere say Lucifer has been routinely threatening all bidders in an attempt to keep the price from reaching the stratosphere. Rumors abound that Google may be interested in the domain name as an extension to their Google Earth program. According to sources, Google execs think they have gone as far as they can with Google Earth and need new ways to keep the stock humming along.
In typical Google fashion the excellent Google Earth technology is to be replicated in heaven, hell and the afterlife.
After consulting with many analysts in the space -- most of whom as you might imagine have horns and tails -- I have learned that the authorities at Vegas.com are keenly aware of the auction and are sitting on the sidelines to see who picks it up. Apparently, once the auction is complete, a deal will be worked out between the two sites and for every 3-4 visits to Vegas.com you get a free pass to Hell.com. Stay tuned for details and for more serious analysis see this Wall Street Journal article.
This is the last year daylight savings will take place in October. Hence forth it starts earlier and ends later. In an effort to save electricity the US government has passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which means a longer period of daylight savings.
Other names considered were the Saudi Prince Ferrari Reduction act, Putting a Hex on Exxon Act and my favorite, Having Fun With Iran Act.
Oh and in case you aren't aware, the oil companies in fear of having to pay a windfall profits tax have come to a compromise with Republicans and Democrats alike. In an effort to help consumers and the auto industry alike the oil companies will be giving 2 billion dollars in aggregate to households purchasing at least one Hummer in 2007.
Read about the Energy Policy Act of 2005 details here.
Other names considered were the Saudi Prince Ferrari Reduction act, Putting a Hex on Exxon Act and my favorite, Having Fun With Iran Act.
Oh and in case you aren't aware, the oil companies in fear of having to pay a windfall profits tax have come to a compromise with Republicans and Democrats alike. In an effort to help consumers and the auto industry alike the oil companies will be giving 2 billion dollars in aggregate to households purchasing at least one Hummer in 2007.
Read about the Energy Policy Act of 2005 details here.
It isn’t too surprising that Skype is being outlawed in various countries such as the United Arab Emirates. The unfortunate consequence of such actions is people used to getting 2 cent a minute calls find they are now 75 cents per minute. This is the same old story. The local phone company finds a way to block Skype and then their revenue skyrockets.
My take is the incumbent phone companies are generally in trouble around the world and they need to find new ways to generate revenue in a VoIP-dominated world. Even if Skype is banned, consumers will always find another way to communicate over IP. This is just the reality of smart people looking for alternative ways to communicate. The only thing incumbent providers buy by blocking Skype is time. Hopefully Etisalat, the Emirates' chief telecom and Internet provider is coming up with some alternate ways to provide value in the near future.
Read more about Skype banning from the AP and this and this Skype Blog. .
My take is the incumbent phone companies are generally in trouble around the world and they need to find new ways to generate revenue in a VoIP-dominated world. Even if Skype is banned, consumers will always find another way to communicate over IP. This is just the reality of smart people looking for alternative ways to communicate. The only thing incumbent providers buy by blocking Skype is time. Hopefully Etisalat, the Emirates' chief telecom and Internet provider is coming up with some alternate ways to provide value in the near future.
Read more about Skype banning from the AP and this and this Skype Blog. .
Even though not everyone agrees, I believe Vonage is still innovating. OK weather and traffic aren’t the most interesting applications out there but they are sticky. In addition, Vonage is doing the smart thing by coming up with new services as a defense against lowering prices. It doesn’t make sense to be the lowest-priced service. The cheapest VoIP service is the one that will go bankrupt fastest. It makes sense to add features, functions and whatever else you can to give customers the sense you are adding free services for their benefit.
If we look at the software world, many have purchased software that is not the cheapest but is most full of features. We all know most people use a tiny fraction of the features of software but we still weigh features carefully when purchasing.
Now weather and traffic may be available from Qwest as PhoneBoy says but if AT&T offers these services I was unaware of them. They certainly aren’t marketing them.
So in the end weather and traffic are not going to go down in history as the best apps out there but they show a VoIP provider is still adding new services which are far more innovative than just free minutes that most VoIP providers are doling out.
Here are Andy’s comments and I do agree with him when he says Vonage customers would appreciate having this service available from any phone.
If we look at the software world, many have purchased software that is not the cheapest but is most full of features. We all know most people use a tiny fraction of the features of software but we still weigh features carefully when purchasing.
Now weather and traffic may be available from Qwest as PhoneBoy says but if AT&T offers these services I was unaware of them. They certainly aren’t marketing them.
So in the end weather and traffic are not going to go down in history as the best apps out there but they show a VoIP provider is still adding new services which are far more innovative than just free minutes that most VoIP providers are doling out.
Here are Andy’s comments and I do agree with him when he says Vonage customers would appreciate having this service available from any phone.
Google is already winning the war for the hearts and minds of advertising decision makers with its YouTube acquisition. In fact Volvo is looking to work more closely with Google as its next car is going to launch with only internet commercials. While Volvo has relationships with other Internet advertising companies they seem to be especially excited about Google's YouTube acquisition.
One might imagine Google will sell ads you must watch before getting to the content you are looking for but Google said it opposes these "pre-roll" Web ads, which resemble TV commercials.
From my perspective the typical Google ads generate clicks but have little or no branding impact. They are very measurable however. Video ads on the internet cal yield measurability as well as branding which is something Madison Avenue would love.
As Google gets more and more involved in the world of video advertising I expect to see the entire relationship-based advertising buy morph into less of a relationship buy and more of a buy based on results. As a result advertisers will get a better ROI and ad agencies will lose much of their influence.
Read more about Google, YouTube, Volvo and web-based video ads.
A company called Airvana is making wireless VoIP over mobile carrier networks a reality. The challenge here is that Verizon Wireless prohibits VoIP calls on it’s EV-DO network. I haven’t read the terms of Sprint’s wireless service but I would imagine the whole notion of voice over IP using EV-DO makes service providers unhappy. Perhaps there are some applications where this is untrue and I am very interested to learn more.
If I have to say what the most interesting thing happening in the call center today it is call center 2.0 which like every other concept with a 2.0 moniker means many different things depending on who you are. For this article the definition of call center 2.0 is an application or service that takes advantage of web 2.0
In this case the seamless passing of information between applications and websites (one definition of web 2.0) creates the ultimate new tool for call centers.
SKY-click is a free call center solution which leverages the Skype client and turns this software into a call center solution that scales. It includes important features demanded in a professional solution such as time management, call dispatching, managing the availability of collaborators, missed call solution, feedback management as well as music on hold.
The integration into the corporation’s Web site allows for live human assistance by voice using VoIP, chat/IM and video. SKY-click PRO is available on salesforce.com’s AppExchange and can be run on existing hardware and software environment.
In addition to SKY-click Pro, SKY-click is launching SKIPI. This entirely free service will enable the customer to add functions to the SKYPE ME buttons used on the Web site, blog or e-mail signature that enables users to contact a company or individual quickly and easily.
SKIPI makes the personalization of the button and adding a number of SKYPE users easy. It also allows for the establishment of a rapidly deployed VoIP call center which directs calls to one or more contacts from a Web site.
The free service is targeted to communities, social networks, dating services or companies that seek to offer their customers the ability to speak with their commercial or accounting departments directly from their web site, or for free online advertising campaigns.
This sort of service is amazing to me. The main reason I am blown away is the integration of the products and services from Skype to salesforce.com. As more integrated solutions proliferate companies are now free to mix and match solutions web 2.0 style and will eventually end up with call center 2.0 applications. This is where the excitement in the market is for me.
Remember that about 20 years ago to have integration between applications you needed CTI links from Rockwell that worked with IBM mainframes. Only corporations with multimillion dollar budgets could afford to do this sort of thing and the products back then were rudimentary at best. Now you can build a best of breed video call center for free!
The challenge of course is how to make money as the market evolves. SKY-click is delivering Pro versions of solutions that generate the revenue while giving away the entry level products.
This is a common theme these days and allows rapid distribution of products and services. The success of products like Asterisk and Skype are certainly influencing an entire generation of developers and one wonders how many of these virally spread products can gain the mass appeal of Skype or Asterisk. We will see how this one does. So far I like the idea and it remains to be seen how call centers take to this sort of solution.
For more information please read SKY-click Releases SKIPI – The Free Call Center and check out the Call Center 2.0 Conference January 24-26, 2007 in Ft Lauderdale, FL.
In this case the seamless passing of information between applications and websites (one definition of web 2.0) creates the ultimate new tool for call centers.
SKY-click is a free call center solution which leverages the Skype client and turns this software into a call center solution that scales. It includes important features demanded in a professional solution such as time management, call dispatching, managing the availability of collaborators, missed call solution, feedback management as well as music on hold.
The integration into the corporation’s Web site allows for live human assistance by voice using VoIP, chat/IM and video. SKY-click PRO is available on salesforce.com’s AppExchange and can be run on existing hardware and software environment.
In addition to SKY-click Pro, SKY-click is launching SKIPI. This entirely free service will enable the customer to add functions to the SKYPE ME buttons used on the Web site, blog or e-mail signature that enables users to contact a company or individual quickly and easily.
SKIPI makes the personalization of the button and adding a number of SKYPE users easy. It also allows for the establishment of a rapidly deployed VoIP call center which directs calls to one or more contacts from a Web site.
The free service is targeted to communities, social networks, dating services or companies that seek to offer their customers the ability to speak with their commercial or accounting departments directly from their web site, or for free online advertising campaigns.
This sort of service is amazing to me. The main reason I am blown away is the integration of the products and services from Skype to salesforce.com. As more integrated solutions proliferate companies are now free to mix and match solutions web 2.0 style and will eventually end up with call center 2.0 applications. This is where the excitement in the market is for me.
Remember that about 20 years ago to have integration between applications you needed CTI links from Rockwell that worked with IBM mainframes. Only corporations with multimillion dollar budgets could afford to do this sort of thing and the products back then were rudimentary at best. Now you can build a best of breed video call center for free!
The challenge of course is how to make money as the market evolves. SKY-click is delivering Pro versions of solutions that generate the revenue while giving away the entry level products.
This is a common theme these days and allows rapid distribution of products and services. The success of products like Asterisk and Skype are certainly influencing an entire generation of developers and one wonders how many of these virally spread products can gain the mass appeal of Skype or Asterisk. We will see how this one does. So far I like the idea and it remains to be seen how call centers take to this sort of solution.
For more information please read SKY-click Releases SKIPI – The Free Call Center and check out the Call Center 2.0 Conference January 24-26, 2007 in Ft Lauderdale, FL.
As Zippy says quite well in this article, "Normally, when a new company makes its debut, Yours Truly will cross his fingers and wish good luck upon the company's uncertain future. That won't be necessary with Aricent, which comes out of the gate as a market leader in communications software, with 125 software products and already enjoying over $300 million in annual revenue."
I think Aricent who you may know as Hughes Software Systems or as part of Flextronics International is poised to do well. Although I haven't heard from them in a short while I know they have been active in PR and marketing during the telecom meltdown years and the reaction to the company at TMC's Internet Telephony events was favorable. I am looking forward to catching up with company execs and now seems like a great time. Thankfully Zippy had a chance to have a briefing while I was in Lisbon.
My reasoning for thinking Aricent is in the right space at the right time is laser focus on pure-play communications software product and services.
Furthermore the company is a good size at about 6,700 employees worldwide in 25 offices.
To get a sense for the business drivers here check out this quote from Aricent's Chief Strategy Officer and executive vice president, Sanjay Dhawan.
"Communications used to be very simple," Dhawan said. "There used to be two different parallel networks, the PSTN and a data network. On the PSTN side, you pick up the phone and make a phone call; SS7 signaling the takes place to connect your call to the appropriate party. On the data side, a similar, parallel network used to exist, with some basic routing and switching technologies to move emails, do file transfers, or otherwise move data from a source to a destination. Today, however, things are very complex in the sense that there are mega-convergence drivers appearing among various different technologies involving voice, video and data. It's taking place on handsets, desktops, and home PCs. As a result, a new backend infrastructure is being built, which in turn creates more and more complexity on the communications software side."
He is right on and communications is more complicated than ever. It is getting more and more challenging for companies to deal with all the technology coming down the pike. This all has to be done of course while dealing with the technologies and of course acronyms of the past.
Everything in the new converged world has to work together as one. IPTV, IMS, FMC, WiFi telephony, cell phones, laptops. All of it.
Now that the communications market is red hot I think the timing for Aricent spinning off is perfect and I see an IPO in the next few years as a real possibility as the communications space is once again seeing unprecedented spending. Most of this spending of course is in the service provider market which plays right into Aricent's sweet spot.
I think Aricent who you may know as Hughes Software Systems or as part of Flextronics International is poised to do well. Although I haven't heard from them in a short while I know they have been active in PR and marketing during the telecom meltdown years and the reaction to the company at TMC's Internet Telephony events was favorable. I am looking forward to catching up with company execs and now seems like a great time. Thankfully Zippy had a chance to have a briefing while I was in Lisbon.
My reasoning for thinking Aricent is in the right space at the right time is laser focus on pure-play communications software product and services.
Furthermore the company is a good size at about 6,700 employees worldwide in 25 offices.
To get a sense for the business drivers here check out this quote from Aricent's Chief Strategy Officer and executive vice president, Sanjay Dhawan.
"Communications used to be very simple," Dhawan said. "There used to be two different parallel networks, the PSTN and a data network. On the PSTN side, you pick up the phone and make a phone call; SS7 signaling the takes place to connect your call to the appropriate party. On the data side, a similar, parallel network used to exist, with some basic routing and switching technologies to move emails, do file transfers, or otherwise move data from a source to a destination. Today, however, things are very complex in the sense that there are mega-convergence drivers appearing among various different technologies involving voice, video and data. It's taking place on handsets, desktops, and home PCs. As a result, a new backend infrastructure is being built, which in turn creates more and more complexity on the communications software side."
He is right on and communications is more complicated than ever. It is getting more and more challenging for companies to deal with all the technology coming down the pike. This all has to be done of course while dealing with the technologies and of course acronyms of the past.
Everything in the new converged world has to work together as one. IPTV, IMS, FMC, WiFi telephony, cell phones, laptops. All of it.
Now that the communications market is red hot I think the timing for Aricent spinning off is perfect and I see an IPO in the next few years as a real possibility as the communications space is once again seeing unprecedented spending. Most of this spending of course is in the service provider market which plays right into Aricent's sweet spot.
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