Recently I detailed how a single device - the iPhone changed the fortunes of AT&T Wireless. Every wireless carrier is looking for a way to have that one amazing gadget that drives traffic and reduces churn. But what if another way to achieve a similar goal is to enable free Skype calling on your network? It may sound stupid that I would suggest such a thing but Skype execs argue that you generate more revenue by Skype-enabling your wireless network than you do by blocking it. So far 3 UK seems to be one of the leading wireless carriers actively touting unlimited free Skype to Skype calling on their network for less than the price of a cup of coffee as they put it.

But what if this move by the carrier is the equivalent of getting a killer gadget that everyone wants?

I find that there is tremendous irony in this concept because recently AT&T went on record saying Skype is a competitor which of course they are. But what if Skype is right and allowing its usage on your network - even if you are AT&T will reduce churn and increase ARPU? And what if AT&T loses the lock on the iPhone it has now? Can you see a world where AT&T is forced to allow Skype use to get customers back? I can.

But while they have iPhone exclusivity this won't happen. It will be very interesting to watch if other wireless carriers decide to become more Skype friendly in the mean time and whether or not AT&T throws an olive branch to Skype or even buys a few shares of their potential IPO.

I don't need to tell you this is a challenging time for any person or company to get a loan, financing or credit. Some very good companies will likely not make it through this economic environment - not because their products aren't great or customers don't want them but because their timing wasn't good and they didn't have the cash reserves to tide them over when business slowed.

It is for this reason the world takes notice when a company gets funded. There have been a few in telecom and tech that have raised money recently but compared to last year it is obviously much more quiet on the funding horizon.

I for one remain bullish on IP communications as a whole while realizing there are sectors which are doing better than others.

At the last ITEXPO in Miami, service provider attendance was 33%, higher than the previous event and this tells me that more carriers are looking to go to IP communications as fast as they can to save money and to be able to add new services.

The growth in carrier VoIP is not lost on investors as they recently put $5.1 million to work at SinglePipe Communications, a company providing wholesale digital voice services.

Being the inquisitive person I am I decided to ask some questions on behalf of my readers to learn how exactly the company got funded, why they go the funds and what they will do with the money. Here is the result of the interview with CEO Matt Phillips and I hope you find it useful.

1.      What was the Most important reason that we were able to secure funding? 

SinglePipe Communications has an exceptionally strong customer base that is consistently performing - and growing - at or above our original expectations. We work with several operators that are interested in our company's unique ability to support all (or at least significant) portions of their respective voice service. Combined, these factors have solidified our ability to execute/implement a very scalable, financial model.

2.      How is your company helping customers? 

SinglePipe provides its customers with a Digital Voice solution that is both cost-effective and easy to bundle with a broadband or cable operator's existing product suite. Our back office system makes delivering Digital Voice simple, and eliminates the "swivel chair" provisioning through its ability to seamlessly integrate with current provisioning and billing systems. In addition, we also provide managed solutions to support our customers who may want to own or manage a part of process. SinglePipe is willing and able to separate the components required to deliver quality Digital Voice and to provide those components that larger operators do not want to bring in house because of the inherent complexity and cost. We can leverage our network and systems, and scale to deliver the components that do not make sense for our cable customers to self-manage.

3.      Is the multiplay service one the main drivers of your growth? 

Absolutely. Our unique ability to bundle products that leverage our customers' existing infrastructure is great for both them and for the consumer. SinglePipe will continue to bring additional services to its customers that they can subsequently bundle to both their residential and business customers. Simply put, SinglePipe provides a platform to deliver applications and services that can be seamlessly integrated and packaged to residential and business customers.

4.      Length of contract signings? 

Reflective of the economy, we are seeing some slow down in contract signings, but we are also seeing an increase in opportunities opening up. More often than not, companies are interested in adding Digital Voice ahead of their original schedule, and others are looking at solutions that may be more cost-effective than what they currently have in place.   In today's market, customers need to be 100% certain that they have chosen the right partner to help them grow.

5.      How do you play in the wireless space? 

In time, we hope to be a leader in the wireless marketplace. One of our larger customers is a wireless operator that is preparing to deploy their network. Whether the broadband connection is wired or wireless, SinglePipe will be able to support this aforementioned customer with a cost-effective, feature-rich Digital Voice solution.

6.      What is the most challenging technology issue you face?

The most challenging technical issue has been developing a flexible back-office system that can handle the inherent complexities in delivering a Digital Voice service, while at the same time, making it simple and easy to add additional applications and services that can be delivered across an IP network.

7.      What is the most challenging marketing issue you face?

The most challenging marketing issue we face is being able to separate the "wheat from the chaff". Obviously, there are several players in the Digital Voice market. Technology has made it very easy for small companies to enter the market, but providing a carrier-grade, scalable and flexible platform is much easier said than done. Making sure that our customers can see that difference is the biggest challenge we face today.

8.      Do you have an exit strategy?

Our exit strategy is to build a financially sound managed voice services company that is a true industry leader and that provides quality, cost-effective products and services to its customers. If we can achieve these goals, then our exit will take care of itself.

9.      What is the main competition to your company's solutions? 

In such an emerging market, it is not surprising that we face "competition" from other companies that try and replicate our business. However, without question, our biggest competition will continue to be the large phone companies. These organizations are our customers' biggest competition, which by extension, makes them our competitors as well. We must ensure that SinglePipe continues to stay ahead of the phone companies with the quality and functionality our services empower our customers to not only compete, but to win.

10.   Where do you want the company to be in three and five years? 

We have specific financial milestones that we measure internally, but in general, we want SinglePipe to consistently increase revenue, profit margins, and to be thought of as legitimate leader in delivering applications and services to broadband and cable operators.

You may have noticed TMC has been producing quite a variety of videos with news and/or interviews of prominent executives in the communications and tech space. You can check out some of the interviews from ITEXPO, CTIA and the general TMC News Room.

As of this moment you can embed videos into your pages with embed code which lives in the top right-hand corner of the video page.

This initiative is timely as I wanted to share this video of an interview with Scott Wharton, founder and CEO of Vidtel with you. Wharton is a veteran of IP communications having been an integral part of VocalTec and Broadsoft. Enjoy

Oh, and by the way -- consider this a Beta offering -- we expect to stop the video from autoplaying tomorrow at some point (now fixed -- player just upgraded). In the future we will be adding many new social features as well which should let you easily share TMCnet videos on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

But what analysts may have missed is the fact that the iPhone is the stickiest phone in the history of the wireless business because of the App Store which enables these devices to be powerful pocket computing devices which run a plethora of applications. Sure, many applications are able to run across other platforms but they generally run less effectively as they other devices don't have the UI Apple does. Regardless, no other device has the plethora of apps that run on the iPhone meaning every day that goes by where new apps are developed, more consumers are effectively locked in.

On the wireline front, voice revenue is down 5.4% but the company added 359,000 broadband customers and 284,000 U-Verse TV customers. Revenue per household is actually up. Business revenue was down 4.4% which is not surprising when you consider the volume of layoffs in the last year.

Although AT&T is in control of its broadband and TV business, it is extremely reliant on Apple for wireless revenue. The company is also a master of marketing. They run ads which tout the quality of their 3G network and how it faster than the competition but it is clear to everyone I know that Verizon has a superior wireless network in virtually all parts of the country.

I have always believed that in marketing, perception is reality but it seems that consumer education is so great that people do not believe the multimillion dollar ad campaign AT&T runs touting its network as the best and fastest in the world.

After all, if people believed the ads, why are they mostly buying iPhones and not other devices? But AT&T has to keep building its wireless brand because if it loses iPhone exclusivity, its wireless unit could be doomed with a capital D.

Years back I stated Verizon made one of the biggest blunders in business history (corporate malpractice really) by not carrying the iPhone. I still believe this to be true. But Verizon has done a marvelous job of making its wireless network better and this is where the profit is to be made.

This morning I was reading an article from Seeking Alpha which compared AT&T and Verizon and in the post which Greg Galitzine summarized, it says the AT&T 3G network is better than Verizon. Here is the amazing part to me... No one ever in my life has told me their experience with AT&T is better than Verizon. And I ask constantly. In fact, people reluctantly switch from Verizon to AT&T in every case I am aware of. And this is in virtually every case because of the Blackberry Bold or iPhone. How is it this isn't common knowledge in the financial community?

Also, I should point out I carry a Verizon device and an iPhone because AT&T service has issues in so many places. I should also mention that on Metro North trains in Grand Central Station and between Connecticut and New York, AT&T is far superior to Verizon Wireless - but that's about it as far as I have seen.

So in the end, AT&T marketing seems to be influencing the influencers but it has to work on its network quickly to be considered a wireless carrier people don't reluctantly use.

And the company really needs to take wireless coverage more seriously because in 3-5 years, Internet TV will become a serious competitor to U-Verse meaning broadband and wireless will be the two areas of growth.

We at TMC are doing our part in celebrating Earth Day by stepping up our coverage of all things green. We want to make sure you have the most up to date information we can provide having to do with making the world a better place. In an effort to save energy, I will refrain from explaining anymore and instead give you a look at a press release my carbon-conscious marketing department produced today.

 

"Celebrating Earth Day" Resource Center on Green.TMCnet.com

A compilation of Earth Day and Green Related News

Norwalk, CT, (April 21, 2009) -- Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC^®), a global media company, today announced its Green Technology Web site is celebrating Earth Day 2009 by publishing the most comprehensive resource of Earth Day and green technology initiatives making headlines this week. Earth Day is Wednesday, April 22, 2009.

TMCnet's Green Technology Web site, http://green.tmcnet.com/, is dedicated to green technologies providing news, analysis, product information and strategies for communications and technology professionals. Popularity of the Green Technology site continues to grow at a record pace with a 1,600 percent growth in traffic and over 400 percent increase in page views since its launch in July 2008.

Our team of editors has hand-picked companies that are in the news making contributions to Earth Day and green initiatives across the globe. TMCnet's Green Technology site is a resource for readers to learn about how companies can contribute to the green revolution and incorporate green technologies into their business.

Some headlines on the "Celebrating Earth Day" resource center include:

• Work From Home on Earth Day 2009
• New Green Living Mobile App Just in Time for Earth Day 2009
• Save Energy and the Earth with APC Power Packs
• Verizon Wireless Helping Employees and Customers Go Green
• Ethos Picks Earth Day 2009 to Launch ecoMates

Stay connected to the site for continuous updates all week from Monday, April 20^th through April 26^th.

"With each passing year, as the need for green technologies becomes more evident, forward-thinking businesses across the globe contribute to the cause by creating and implementing technologies that offer eco-friendly benefits," said Rich Tehrani, TMC president, group publisher and editor-in-chief. "This Earth Day, our Green Technology site offers a collection of newsworthy initiatives as a way to salute companies for their eco-friendly Earth Day initiatives and provide a place for our readers to learn about what corporations are doing to change the way they do business."

The Green Technology site includes a range in topics from increasing energy efficiency, conservation, minimizing waste and reduction of carbon footprints through the use of new technologies.  Additionally, the site offers a variety of free resources including blogs, videos, white papers and podcasts.

In connection with the Green Technology site, TMCnet's Green Blogprovides communications and technology professionals with discussions and opinions on new technologies that can provide cost efficient solutions and strategies that are environment friendly.  The Green Blog has been ranked number 24 on the Best Universities list of "100 Best Blogs for Those Who Want to Change the World". 

The Green Technology site has seen explosive growth in Web traffic.  March 2009 attracted 120,286 visitors as compared to just 7,390 in July 2008.  Page views also continue to climb reaching 381,304 in March 2009. July 2008 page views were 90,827.

 

For information about advertising on Green.TMCnet.com, contact Traffic Manager Tim Goins at 203-852-6800 ext. 229 or email tgoins@tmcnet.com.

Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) is a global integrated media company helping our clients build communities in print, in person and online.  TMC publishes Customer Interaction Solutions, INTERNET TELEPHONY, Unified Communications, and NGN Magazine.  TMCnet, TMC's Web site, is the leading source of news and articles for the communications and technology industries. TMCnet is read by two to three million unique visitors each month worldwide, according to Webtrends.  Ranked 3,034 by Quantcast, TMCnet is in the top .03% most visited Web sites in the US. In addition, TMC produces ITEXPO, 4GWE Conference, Digium|Asterisk World and Communications Developer Conference.

TMC also recently launched new industry-specific Web sites: IT.TMCnet.com, Cable.TMCnet.com, Robotics.TMCnet.com, Satellite.TMCnet.com, Green.TMCnet.com. 

Marketing Manager

203.852.6800 ext. 228

I would like to start this self-promotional blog entry with a thank you. You see the last time I told you about a TMCnet webinar, you came out in force. You may recall it was a Zenprise/Blackberry webinar on Blackberry troubleshooting and it had record-attendance thanks to you.

In fact, you can view the archive of the webinar if you are interested in learning more.

I have an equally interesting webinar to tell you about today and on this one, I will be a moderator. It will focus on deadly Google AdWords mistakes to avoid. The web seminar will take place soon -- Thursday, April 23, 2009, 2:00 PM ET/ 11:00am PT. I have posted the details below for your perusal and I hope to see you soon online.

Free Webinar: Google AdWords - 5 Deadly Mistakes Thursday, April 23, 2009, 2:00 PM ET/ 11:00am PT

While it lowers overall spending, a recessionary economy also increases the pressure on business owners to not only protect their existing customer base, but increase revenues as well. Fortunately, today's technology can help but, if you still haven't figured out how to leverage the Web to actually grow your business, you're missing out on potential business. What's more, you can bet you competition has, and is using this global resource at your fingertips to hijack your customers and profits. Maybe you haven't tried Web-based marketing. Maybe you have, but experienced what 98% of your industry colleagues have, that anyone can have a Web site, but the opportunity lies in driving people to that site. Most businesses are not using the Web to its fullest capacity, and aren't using paid search strategies to ensure business growth. It doesn't matter what your geographic focus is - local, regional, national, global - or what your particular industry is, or whether you have an existing Web site or not. To ensure your business thrives, not just survives, this economic crisis, join us to learn how to put proven Google AdWords strategies to work for you. Crexendo Business Training will be delivering this introduction to Google AdWords, including the five deadly mistakes to avoid. Register Now Bring your questions for a live Q&A following the presentation.   PRESENTERS:   Parker Garlitz President of Garlitz Consulting, LLC, VP of Living Whole Foods, Inc. C. Parker Garlitz founded one of the First ISP's in Utah in 1993, and has been actively marketing on the Web ever since. Parker started selling printer and copier supplies on line and currently owns and runs Living Whole Foods, Inc., with over $3 Million in annual ecommerce sales and growing at over 30% per year. In addition to his own ecommerce business, he has also consulted for dozens of midsized to large companies in helping them improve online conversion rates, search engine optimization, paid search management, Amazon selling strategies, comparison shopping engines, social network strategies, link building and more. Parker is an eBay Gold Powerseller, and currently manages almost $2 Million a year in paid search budget for himself and his clients. He has generated tens of millions of dollars in online revenue for himself and his clients through direct ecommerce sales and B2B lead generation. Parker is an internationally recognized Internet marketing expert and has trained business owners in all 50 US States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa on how to use the Internet to reach a larger and more qualified target audience.     Joseph Hupp President, Hupp eMarketing Consulting, LLC. Joseph Hupp is a serial entrepreneur and brings a wide range of Internet Marketing experience. He started selling online close to 7 years ago and has sold several of his companies, created and marketed his own brands, acquired struggling e-commerce sites and turned them profitable, and much more. Over the past 7 years he has created several highly successful web companies as well as consulted for many companies across the county, helping them achieve the same success he has seen on his own sites. He has generated millions of dollars in revenue for himself and his clients and continues to grow this base. Joseph has also trained thousands of entrepreneurs and small business owners from across the globe the keys to succeeding in the online world. He specializes in ppc management and optimization, search engine optimization, conversion rate optimization and much more.   Rich Tehrani TMC President, Group Editor-in-Chief Rich Tehrani is a VoIP industry expert, visionary, author and columnist. He founded the first magazine focused on VoIP in 1998 and, in his role as president of Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC), is the owner of the registered trademark for the term Internet Telephony. Rich, currently president and group editor-in-chief, has led TMC in many capacities since 1982. Rich plays a pivotal role in positioning TMC as the only publishing and trade show company focusing exclusively on the rapidly growing voice/data convergence and computer telephony integration. He continues to be a driving force in the creation and implementation of pioneering publications and events. Rich Tehrani is a computer engineer who graduated from the University Of Connecticut with a hardware/software Bachelor of Science degree.   SPONSORS:

Updated 7:56 PM EST, April 20, 2009

We are in what we may want to call an open-source friendly economy and in such a market companies are more likely than ever to be persuaded that free software is worth serious consideration. But what about support? Sure you can get it from your local reseller or consultant but what happens when he is on vacation in Alaska on that fishing trip where he doesn't take his phone? Even this economy may not be enough to convince that VAR with a solid customer base that he needs to communicate with you while wrangling that 25 pound Chinook salmon into the net.

If you are a self-respecting fisherman, would you give up this

To answer this?

By now we all know the Chinese symbol for crisis and opportunity is the same and as you worry about your next Asterisk crisis, I would like to present you with the opportunity to learn more about Digium's Support Services. Digium's Bill Miller and Leslie Conway took some time from their busy schedules to brief me on the new offering and were very excited to say it allows companies to get support on a subscription basis with discounts for multiple year sign-ups. Until now, support was on an incident basis and now you can have support for 12 hours a day, 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM in your local time for five days each week.

Found bugs will get entered in a bug tracker and yes, this is the first time Digium has chosen to provide support for open source Asterisk. And furthermore, even if you don't use the company's hardware, they will support you. This includes solutions such as Trixbox CE, Elastix, PBX in a Flash, etc. Of course this applies to the core Asterisk portion of such solutions. Also, if you happen to have Digium cards you get advanced replacement.

I was interviewed recently for an informative article in BusinessWeek regarding Cablevision's Optimum WiFi Service. By now I am sure you know I am a Cablevision Optimum WiFi fan and further feel WiFi is a powerful component of a service provider offering and can reduce churn.

Olga Kharif wrote the piece and did a great job integrating my comments with numerous salient points, facts and figures about the wireless and cable markets. Do all cable companies need to build out WiFi services across their areas of coverage? Probably. This makes great sense to me and if they can make the numbers work, it is a great way to keep customers loyal and in addition, makes users think hard before leaving a cable provider.

The downside is the technology is not perfect and my experience with Optimum WiFi has been mostly good and at times cuts in and out. Still, as a free add-on to my triple-play service I can't really complain and I am thankful that I have a third broadband connection when my AT&T and Verizon Wireless phones aren't in range of towers.

In the past I have equated WiFi to wireless Ethernet and Ethernet has been a technology the world has tried to kill for years. I suspect WiFi too will continue to evolve to the point where it continues to surprise us with its resilience. The need for wireless broadband is not slowing down and one imagines the more wireless pipes we have available to us, the more we will use them. I would further expect bonding technology to be applied more often to simultaneously take advantage of the mesh of disparate wireless networks permeating our world.

One last point... 802.11 is really evolving rapidly. Standards bodies are on double letters -- 802.11aa, ac, ad, etc. With the tremendous momentum WiFi has and its ubiquitous installation in devices from smartphones to picture frames, it will be tough to find a wireless standard with a larger potential market of devices.

Here is an excerpt of the story:

Rich Tehrani buys wireless calling from AT&T, but lately he's been surfing the mobile Web thanks to another provider--his cable company. In parts of Connecticut, where he lives, Tehrani logs onto the Internet by way of Wi-Fi hotspots managed by Cablevision Systems (CVC). "I was at a diner one weekend and it popped up," says Tehrani, who runs Technology Marketing, a publishing and trade show company. "I am pretty much hooked on it."

The same may be said for a growing number of customers of Cablevision, the largest cable provider in the New York metropolitan area. Usage of Optimum Wi-Fi--offered free to Cablevision's 2.4 million in-home Internet-access subscribers--has risen 50% a month since autumn 2008. In early April, Cablevision reported that consumers have used its Wi-Fi hotspots 1 million times in the past year.

Wi-Fi provides high-speed Internet access over a finite area, such as a home or hotel lobby. A group of strategically located hotspots can provide ubiquitous access over a larger region. Cablevision is using the technology in such commercial areas as malls and train stations so it can include mobile-Web surfing in a lineup that already includes TV, calling, and high-speed Internet access. It's a way to combat the encroachment of telecom carriers that in recent years have begun offering TV alongside their other services. Wi-Fi is by no means a substitute for the costly, coast-to-coast wireless networks maintained by AT&T (T) and such other wireless carriers as Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel (S). And the viability of Wi-Fi over large areas has been called into question of late, as cities across the country have shelved or abandoned plans to use the technology to blanket neighborhoods with free or cheap Internet access.

I came across a new presentation solution which has the potential to change the way presentations are created. PowerPoint has served us well for years and while many have complained about how this Microsoft software is responsible for putting more people to sleep than tryptophan and melatonin combined, I think presenters themselves could be part of the problem.

But maybe the detractors have a point and better tools will make better presenters.

That is the hope of Flash-based software/service Prezi and thanks to Robin Wauters at TechCrunch I learned about it this morning and have had a chance to look at some of the sample presentations and play with the editor as well. A few examples worth checking out are this one which shows just how graphics can really become a larger part of telling an overall story and this one where you can see how a great deal of text can be organized fairly cleanly.

Here is a demo of the software/service in action

The company calls Prezi a zooming presentation editor and the description is accurate as a presentation seems to flow more cohesively via the presentation of numerous free-flowing ideas instead of being linear in nature.

If for example I was giving a presentation on HD Voice I might have a central theme which discussed how this technology is a natural evolution of telephony and I could have a few surrounding slides which focus on companies in the space such as Polycom, AudioCodes, Microsoft, TI, GIPs, etc. I could choose to have the presentation come back to the central theme occasionally as I explore each company and what they are doing in the space. So you could say Prezi works more like the human brain which is multidimensional and more interconnected.

You can try a free version which contains the company logo or 39 euros per year gives you more storage space and the ability to share your presentations online. For 119 euros you get a Mac and Windows desktop application which allows you to design and edit presentations offline - on an airplane perhaps?

The desktop Prezi Editor

With any new software there is a learning curve and as I played with the editor I realized although there is an intuitive interface, I was a bit tentative about trying the service myself because I am so familiar with PowerPoint. But over time I may just get up the nerve to spend some time learning it and perhaps the next time you see me onstage I will be demoing Prezi in all its glory.

In tech, one of the best punch lines around was "the year of videoconferencing." Since 1990 we heard the year of videoconferencing was coming soon and dozens if not hundreds of video companies have disappeared while waiting to take advantage of this new age of visual communications. I have been meeting with videoconferencing companies for many years and over the last few it has become evident that video is here to stay and it will become a bigger and bigger part of our lives.

The most recent conversation which drove this home was with Tandberg where I spoke with Tony Cook VP Marketing Americas and Rick Snyder President Tandberg Americas. The pair went on to explain how their business is doing well and that market research shows they are taking share of market from others. While spending has slowed in many segments of the market including tech, the communications market has proven more resilient. But it is evident that when you lose more than 1.5 million US jobs per quarter (not to mention elsewhere) for a prolonged period, the need for endpoints decreases.

In the face of this endpoint pressure it is worth pointing out that Polycom recently saw its telepresence services grow 45% in the most recent quarter. The reason of course has to do with travel budgets being slashed and the need to communicate more effectively over distance.

Tandberg credits the quality level of their solutions as the reason for their growth in video market share as well as a focus on interoperability with a variety of solutions. They also happened to mention their acquisition of Codian which brought them a variety of high quality solutions such as an HD multipoint bridge. I discussed the company back in June of 2007.

Another point the execs made was that in the last few recessions video just wasn't where it is today. They went on to point out their 1700 MXP personal telepresence solution (pictured) costs around $10 thousand and can be paid for with the savings of two international trips. I was told a typical ROI for the company's customers is 6-9 months with one seeing a savings of 11 million euros over three years.

But for Tandberg, typical enterprise videoconferencing is only one of the solutions they provide as they offer cameras which integrate with a company's supply chain to allow more efficient and in many cases real-time problem solving. Other clients use the Tandberg solutions to monitor oil rigs. Yet other companies utilize their solutions to save money while becoming more carbon neutral.

The key Tandberg catchphrase from the meeting was definitely, "We call this the new way of working. This will replace a lot of other means of communications."

The company as you might expect uses its own solutions and they tell me once you get used to using video it is difficult to go back to audio - video allows you to sense people's passion they explain. It is tough to get the true story without it they say. In addition, more tangible benefits include acceleration of the decision-making process; the ability to bring together globally distributed work teams, the scaling of knowledge, work life balance improvements and an increase in productivity while lowering costs.

Another concept the pair discussed was the ability to perform training sessions over video which can be recorded and used in the future to train others. In this case your video solution basically becomes a training DVR.

Another topic of discussion was their HD video desk phone the E20 (pictured) which is a sleek device with an impressive 10.6" screen, resolution of up to 1280x780 and a $1,500 list price tag. They see this phone as a conduit allowing them into more applications and vertical markets such as healthcare, government, education, etc. While I have to say the E20 is one of the nicest videophones I have seen if not the nicest, one has to wonder if we aren't at a point where netbooks can be turned into desk phones. Why not? Isn't a high-powered videophone more or less a laptop with a few functions added and a bunch of functions removed?

Although our conversation didn't mention it explicitly, it seems that the year of video has come and gone without the mention from the press I thought it would receive. Then again in retrospect which year was it? 2008? It might have happened so slowly that we didn't notice but the trend is in place and more and more calls are going to utilize video and while doing so, increase productivity and provide a better user experience while reducing carbon emissions. Am I am the first to notice? Probably not. But I am still happy to be sharing the good news.

Other than solving a breath quality issue, I am not sure what the benefits of the videoconference in this Tandberg supplied photo are.

For over a decade TMC has covered AVST and their wonderful unified messaging solutions - which in the nineties were the talk of the industry. But as is sometimes the case, when the industry talks about the next big thing, it doesn't always take off overnight. While UM was slow to catch on in the nineties, the last few years have seen an explosion of interest in both UM and UC. While you may think this is a long time to wait, remember some are still waiting for the glorious age of OS/2 to finally arrive.

To catch up on what the company is up to since the release of CallXpress 7.1 I met with Tom Minifie - Chief Technology Officer and Denny Michael - Vice President of Marketing.

They have spent a great deal of time, effort and energy on the latest release of their CallXpress Version 8.0 which will be available this Summer and include Neverfail technology making it more resilient to outages. The entire architecture of the product has been improved allowing multisite organizations to centralize servers or distribute them with higher levels of availability. And this is crucial for a company which provides the backbone for the communications of companies worldwide, including law firms in the UK.

One benefit of using this new architecture is users will be able to transfer calls and perform other call management tasks - even if a WAN link fails. 40,000 users will be supported and there are multiple PBX integrations as you likely know or expect.

The new architecture of AVST CallXpress Version 8.0 makes it more resilient

There are new applications available as well which support mobility - with "Wildfire-like" speech recognition/personal assistant features. Presence is also supported allowing intelligent call routing - and there is FMC - allowing calls to be transferred back and forth between cell and landline.

Users can benefit from a single mailbox and phone number and corporations can more easily integrate UC into their business processes allowing for CEBP - yes the term that has more lives than the entire global feline population. An example of the CEBP prowess of CallXpress is sending SMS alerts to people within an organization if an item is on backorder.

Personally I would like my server to be notified if something on the menu is out before I order that fancy tilapia special which I later learn is not available. I think this new version of CallXpress could be a tasty addition to the restaurants I visit.