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The drive for more bandwidth does not slow - even in a global recession some reports show bandwidth needs increasing at rates higher than 100% per year on carrier and enterprise networks. The trend towards more collaborative applications, video, VoIP and cloud-based services are no doubt just a few factors in what seems to be just the beginning of a global bandwidth binge showing no sign of slowing.

Enter Expand a company focusing on application acceleration over WANs who is looking to help solve the branch office bandwidth drought. The company makes its living selling a variety of appliances which they say will increase ROI and stretch IT budgets further. These devices are optimized for datacenters, branch offices and regional offices.

The company counts Fidelity National Insurance, Piconol, Antarctica NZ, Targus, DISA and Evans Fruit Company as some of its customers and has partnered with Vision Solutions to provide more efficient disaster recovery services.

At Interop 2009 in Las Vegas, the company unveiled a new solution they hope will become widely deployed on global networks. Simply put they have unveiled a free Mobile Accelerator Client which gives some of the benefits of an appliance but at a much lower cost. Well actually it is free so you don't get much cheaper. The catch? There is always a catch right? Well not really - you just pay for maximal concurrent users.

How is the performance you wonder? The graph below was provided to me to give an indication. Freestyle means you are alone, Collective means you are sharing a virtual cache and Slipstream means you are utilizing an appliance.

In order to get an idea how the mobile client works you need to better understand Expand Networks and their approach to WAN optimization. They have developed a technology called HIVE which is a clever acronym which stands for Heterogeneous Intelligent Virtual Environment.

The H in Hive tells us that the solution works on various platforms. If you are hoping one of the platforms supported is Apple, keep waiting as XP, Vista and Windows 7 are the only ones on the list so far.

The I standsfor intelligent and of course the software is smart - butone could argue in fact that all software is smart. Except perhaps for applications that let you turn your mobile phone into a virtual beer.

The V standsfor virtual and in this case is actually a solid descriptive word - not just marketing as the mobile client uses p2p technology to enable a branch office with multiple clients to take advantage of a pooled virtual cache. So if Donny in HR downloads a 10 gigabyte video file which five other users need later in the week, you can all tap into the file from Donny's computer rather that all wasting network bandwidth by downloading the file again and again. And you thought Donny had nothing to offer.

I almost forgot - the E stands for environment meaning the software knows if it is in a branch office without a nearby appliance or in the home office where there is an appliance or alone by its lonesome. In each case it adapts and utilizes a byte and object level cache to maximize performance.

As you might imagine, the system knows how to allocate bandwidth according to your QoS policies - it is Intelligent after all.

I spent some time with company representatives David White, Efi Gatmor and Adam Davison as they told me about their product and shared the benefits of their HIVE technology for information technology decision-makers worldwide and mentioned that the software can be rolled our via silent install using an MSI package if desired.

One point the trio made which is important to repeat is that in a typical branch office which does not have technology to take advantage of a shared cache, you can have clients competing with each other for bandwidth as they are utterly blind to the needs and presence of the other clients. When you think about it, a shared cache is infinitely logical and as the need for more bandwidth increases we can expect this sort of technology to be deployed in more and more corporate branches.

As companies roll out more cloud computing applications and install IP communications solutions, focus on compliance and centralized backups, we can only expect the opportunity for Expand Networks dare I say - to Expand?

ADTRAN is a networking company which has transformed a great deal over the past decades. In the nineties, the company held a virtual monopoly in the CSU/DSU market and most every network had the company's standalone boxes in their network (including TMC). In fact the company was once synonymous with the term CSU/DSU in my mind. As this functionality was added into other boxes, the company saw its identity erode and in the process took the opportunity to grow into a major networking force selling over 1,700 products to enterprise and carrier customers. Total sales last year exceeded $500 million and the company employs 1,700 worldwide and is located in scenic Huntsville, Al.

One of the company's primary competitors is Cisco and to fight off this networking "monopoly" the company has focused on building quality products at lower prices. ADTRAN doesn't have the Cisco name but it has been around since 1985 and while so many competitors have left the space, the company keeps chugging along, identifying new market segments and rolling out multiple products to fill them.

Case in point is the NetVanta 1544 series of layer 3, Gigabit aggregation switches allowing customers to aggregate up to four 2.5 Gbps SFP ports in order to allow low-cost 10 Gbps switching in a product priced in the range of typical switches offering less aggregate throughput. All three varieties of the products have 24 fixed 10/100/1000Base-T ports and depending on your needs, there is a traditional Ethernet switch... The 1544P has PoE support and the 1544F provides support for fiber - perfect for campus and similar environments.

List prices are $2,795 for the base model while PoE support brings the price up to $3,795. Fiber support via the 1544F costs $3,995 and this is the only model which is not currently shipping - expect it mid/late-summer.

ADTRAN's Todd Lattanzi brought me up to speed on the new product line and explained these new solutions are great for a company that may need 10 Gbps support in the future but doesn't want to forklift upgrade later. He also mentioned these products are ideal for VoIP.

Latanzi went on to explain the benefits of this product line to customers are the ability to rely on a single vendor for their networking needs [as his company has such a broad product line], a 40% savings over other providers, a single OS on all switches and a built-in WiFi access controller in this product line.

My thoughts are that this economic environment seems to be one where companies like ADTRAN can differentiate themselves by pushing value. Yes Cisco costs more but Cisco spends a great deal of money on marketing which helps cement the networking giant as a very safe choice. But as many vendors and buyers have told me this year, customers are more open to new vendors who can provide them better value. On an upcoming trip to Huntsville I will be following up with ADTRAN to see how the market is reacting to their new offerings and the company's positioning as the quality and value focused networking equipment provider.

• ADTRAN NetVanta Certified for Deployment with Covad
• ADTRAN Helping SMBs with New IP Communications Alliance Program
• ADTRAN Intros Layer 3 GbE Switch Series
• Deploying VoIP on the LAN: Cross-Training In-house Teams Saves Time, Support Costs
• VoIP Provider Voxitas Expands to Colorado, Mountain Region

Last week at Interop my team conducted over 100 interviews with thought leaders at the show. Topics discussed include green switching, testing, Ethernet, cloud computing and more. So far, half a dozen of the videos have been posted and more are being added continually. I hope you find them helpful.

I have embedded some of these for your immediate viewing pleasure. Here is the page which will store all of these videos.

Chris Loeffler, Global Applications Manager and Lennart Jonsson, Vice President Technology, Eaton

Kevin Goulet, Senior Marketing Director, Enterprise WLAN, Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions, Motorola

Kevin Ryan, Director, Data Center Solutions, Extreme Networks

I had a good time at Interop this last week catching up with the industry and seeing where the strengths in technology are. Some bright spots were virtualization, cloud computing, Ethernet and wireless. Some of the old guard companies I have tracked for years were impressive in the products they rolled out and others who were once networking giants had large, empty booths devoid of anything interesting.

Green/energy efficient computing was another hot button but there seemed to be less excitement about these areas than at last year's event. Ironically more companies were pushing these ideas - but they just weren't proposed as primary reasons to buy as they have been in years past.

I stopped by a networking reception at Avocent threw after one of the days at the show. The event was meant to celebrate the roll out of MergePoint Infrastructure Explorer. Here is a shot of Ben Grimes onstage discussing the new product and is thanking customers.
 

A bit later the company used a Star Trek skit with their engineers as cast members to showcase the products' capabilities. Bottom line, using Infrastructure Explorer gives you deeper insight into data center details and happenings allowing more efficient management.

I will be writing more about the show soon but I thought it worth sharing that for a major tech event the mood was upbeat but cautious. The traffic in the hall was strong the first day based on what I saw and the next two days slowed according to the many vendors who came to the TMC booth for meetings and video interviews.

What was more interesting was that companies who had products in the above categories seemed to have shows which exceeded expectations.

What this tells you is that if you are cutting your R&D budgets because of this downturn, your company may be in big trouble as others are innovating and customers are rewarding the innovators - especially in the current growth areas.

Even before it was trendy, I was a fan of 3D HD voice - In fact back in 2004 I featured DiamondWare onstage at ITEXPO in Miami as a killer app. Over the years DiamondWare began integrating its technology into a virtual world and eventually the company was sold to Nortel and became part of web.alive which I covered here.

My last visit to the Ottawa campus of Nortel consisted of meetings with the tech team who told me they eventually see avatars everywhere - on cell phones, computers, etc.

Since that conversation I have been looking for signs of avatar/communications integration and I did compile a list of vendors who had an avatar strategy.

But here is the reality - if we are going to start seeing more avatar integration in telecom it has to come from our kids - just like text messaging, Twitter, Facebook and lots of other interesting technologies we once considered oddities.

Recently I learned that Second Life - the popular consumer based avatar laden community generates 15 billion minutes of web voice - or VoIP calls. And this reminded me of the popularity in the early days of Twitter and Facebook.

It remains to be seen if avatars will become mainstream but I get the feeling that this technology may just follow Twitter as a hot new thing everyone jumps on in years to come.

If you are looking to take advantage of avatar/communications integration the question you need to ask is whether you want to get involved now, before it becomes hip and trendy or wait for Oprah and Ashton to jump in first.

For nearly 13 years, Greg Galitzine has been a tremendously valuable part of the TMC team. His career started as an editor for CTI Magazine in 1996. Where he reported on the collision of the computer and communications spaces including what we called IP telephony back in the day. In 1997 we convened a meeting with Greg to explore whether it made sense to launch a publication in the IP telephony space. The outcome of the meeting was to launch what we hoped would become a cornerstone of what we hoped would be a new industry - Internet Telephony Magazine.

Greg became the editor of this publication and had the vision to see this is where the industry was going. Many companies in the communications space told us we were nuts for launching this publication as at the time there was no industry, just a few nerds calling each other on softphones.

Lo and behold, over the past decade this nerdy, niche technology revolutionized telecom to the point where business models have changed, new entrants have come into the telecom market and entire industries were transformed through international outsourcing made possible by inexpensive VoIP-based telephony.

In the last few years, Greg did a great job helping transform TMCnet into a major web force in communications and technology news. We are grateful to him for the years he has put in.

I am very happy for Greg as recently he has been given a great opportunity which involves a move to a new industry altogether. Galitzine has accepted a position with ISA, Inc., a prime contractor to the National Nuclear Security Administration and working in about 18 countries through Central and Eastern Europe to identify and interdict the illegal movement of materials for weapons of mass destruction. Greg will be taking his analytical and editorial skills to a higher level, contributing to national-level policy and operational support analysis for these major international nonproliferation undertakings.

While we all selfishly wish Greg wouldn't move on, we are happy for him and are sure he will make a tremendous impact in his new position.

If you look at TMC from the outside and find yourself asking how you can get a job as an intern at this global integrated media company which builds communities online, in print and in person while gaining marketshare regardless of economic climate, I have some great news to share. We are looking for a small army of interns who want to learn what it's like to take on major multibillion dollar media companies with infinite resources and consistently win.

We will teach you how to sell collaboratively - how to listen and to be loved by your customers (well most of them anyway).

We will teach you integrated marketing and online marketing - not theory but ever-evolving practice.

If you love media and want to work at the company that is light years ahead online, contact us ASAP. We are very picky so if you aren't a super-hard worker and collaboration and hat-wearing are not your middle names, let's end our relationship now as friends (it's not you it's me).

One last thought about TMC - our culture is unusual - we have the financial stability of a 37 year-old company with the energy and enthusiasm of a start-up.

Let's just say if you're thinking of contacting us, please don't delay


Here's more:

The Sales & Marketing internship position at TMC is designed to provide hands-on experience that will be mutually beneficial for both the intern and the organization. The internship position is designed to challenge students and provide them with practical experience in the advertising and media industry.

TMC is looking for a dynamic, creative, enthusiastic, high energy professional to support the Sales organization, to help build advertising and marketing presentations for prospects and clients.

• Work with sales & marketing team to assist in the implementation of various campaigns
• Contribute to the creative input in building campaigns and support the campaigns
• Copyediting and proofreading
• Communicate with customers and peers
• Minimum Qualifications:
• Working towards completion of a college degree program in business, marketing or communication
• Excellent communication skills verbal and written
• Proficient in Microsoft Office suite, specifically PowerPoint and Excel
• Excellent communication skills
• Detail Oriented
• Initiative and proactive thinking
• Team player
• Ability to multi-task and work in a fast paced environment meeting deadlines

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.

As TMCnet has expanded I have to admit it is tough to keep track of all the sites we have which can help you in your job. To that end I decided to take a moment and list some of them which you may not be aware of. I thought this entry made sense as I have received some comments about how TMC should launch some of the sites listed below. This shows me there are just so many things we do that our 2-3 million unique visitors each month may not be aware of. I hope you find these sites of use:

• Europe
• Asia
• Africa
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Australia

• Mobile site
• iPhone site
• iphone news site

• Information technology
• Cable technology
• Robotics
• Satellite
• Green Solutions

• Jobs Site