Communications and Technology Blog with the latest news in the IP communications, telecom, VoIP, call center and CRM space, with plenty of opinion & analysis...
I realize I haven't blogged since yesterday and the reason is I am just not up to it. I am not sure that I am ill but I suppose that is what it is. I have flagged 60 stories of interest to share and provide perspective on and I hope to get to these ideas sooner rather than later.
In years past the competition between GIPS and Spirit DSP has been the stuff of legend. While the competitive situation has unwound over the past 18 months or so it is still interesting to see how the companies compete with one another.
For example, some news out of this week's ITEXPO is that exhibitor GIPS has just announced it has been selected by Mail.Ru to have its GIPS' VoiceEngine embedded inside the Mail.Ru Agent, starting with version 5.2 -- allowing affordable calls to stationary and mobile phones.
Of course the interesting thing here is Spirit DSP is based in Moscow -- so this is a win in foreign territory for GIPS and the company can look forward to having its solutions rolled out to about 50 million new Russian users.
I just came across an article by Richard Zippy Grigonis regarding the success of ITEXPO in light of the incredible competition over the years. Reading it, reminded me of shows of the past which I enjoyed going to. Zippy -- as many of you know is about the straightest-shooter there is -- he tells it as it is -- from his vantage point of course.
This is what makes his thoughts are all the more incredible (and humbling) -- and Zippy -- you are part of the team that allows ITEXPO and TMC in general to flourish. Of course while i am in thanking mode -- getting ready to head out to LA for ITEXPO myself -- let me extend a hearty thanks to the entire TMC team, our advertisers, sponsors, exhibitors and partners who have allowed TMC to keep growing.
I look forward to seeing you all and thanking you in person this week. Be sure to register now and come on down.
Long Island's news 12 just ran a news piece on IP faxing. IP faxing has been around for years but is it enjoying a resurgence? It seems the technology may be getting a boost from the move by companies looking to save money and go green.
See DalCom's Fred Hakim discuss his company's product FaxSer in this video which ran on Cablevision's News 12 Long Island.
I realize this has nothing to do with my typical subject matter but as you know as I get closer to a trade show I do look for nice segues to help me discuss the show. For example, next week, ITEXPO will be held in Los Angeles and coincidentally about an hour or so ago, Kanye West was arrested in Los Angeles.
So coming to ITEXPO can not only be good for your career and help you supply your users with a better IP communications experience, you can come to the show in the city where Kanye West was actually arrested. If you come to the show via LAX, you can actually visit the airport and perhaps gate where Mr. West -- famous for the song Gold Digger and Stronger among others -- was handcuffed and taken away.
With any luck -- being LA and all -- you may get to see other celebrities arrested on your way to the show as well. If you do -- be sure to drop me a line.
Silliness aside -- we are all looking forward to seeing you next week in LA.
Whenever I go to a conference, I learn a tremendous amount from the people I meet at the show. I really enjoy the impromptu networking which takes place at events as it allows me to learn so much about what is happening in the market. Ironically, I generally learn things I didn't think I would learn ahead of time. Quite often, I wish I would have known more about peoples' experiences before I met with them as it would allow me to be better prepared to ask pertinent questions.
I further wish I knew who was coming to events and and moreover I wish I could get a "brain dump" from them before the event so I could have a frame of reference before our conversations take place.
Imagine how much better networking at a show would be if I had an idea what people were generally thinking about the market before I even say hello.
In less than two weeks the world with gather at ITEXPO -- The World's Communications Conference to help select products for purchase, learn about the latest events in the telecom market and network with peers.
It is this last area where this blog entry should be of maximal benefit. You see, over the past month or so I have been interviewing the telecom movers and shakers who will be coming to ITEXPO. I certainly didn't interview every mover and shaker (exactly what is a telecom shaker anyway ;) ) but this list should give you a good idea who some of the speakers and exhibitors will be at this year's show.
The questions each person answered below may be slightly varied but what is common is the person's thoughts on their markets and where they think things may be going. I truly hope you find these interviews useful and I hope to see you at the show September 16-18, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
For over six years I have been espousing the virtues of 3D, stereo voice conversations with articles and ITEXPO demonstrations mostly focusing on DiamondWare and the company's patented 3D technology which allows you to have a conference calls with others and place them on the left right, front or rear.
Until you have heard a conference call in 3D stereo, you have not heard a conference call.
In addition, the technology allows the addition of overtones like adding a metallic sound to a speaker or group of speakers on a conference call. This function could be useful if you are looking to find a way to discern what group a person belongs to -- the Los Angeles office for example.
You may recall that on May 15th of this year, I suggested Nortel would even buy DiamondWare. Well today is that day as Nortel did just that... They purchased the company and further explained how they have a portion of their R&D budget devoted to making VC-like investments but of course with a potentially different exit strategy.
Nortel believes the future of communications is likely going to be avatar-based and even if they are partially right -- let's say 5% of all calls, this could be a huge market.
A Nortel Avatar Demo of their web.alive business communications platform:
Nortel is further betting that the technology advantage they have as a result of this acquisition will help insulate them against others in the market who compete. That would be Avaya, Cisco and even to a lesser degree (at the moment) Microsoft. You see, I personally believe that 3D, stereo communications provides such a rich immersive experience that once you have tried it, you will have trouble going back to traditional telephony.
This move is the second acquisition in a few weeks for Nortel as they just picked up Pingtel as well. For the Canadian-based company these moves are bold as Nortel seems to be gaining momentum in the enterprise. Many of us are aware that most acquisitions fail and Nortel's past acquisitions have not seen success above industry averages.
What the company has done these past weeks though is buy easily digestible companies which are relatively cheap. These companies are M&A training wheels and if the company can get better at acquiring, it can present a more formidable resistance to the Cisco onslaught. Over the years, I have heard more than one story of how Cisco has acquired Nortel partners and damaged Nortel in the process.
In order for technology companies to compete effectively against Oracle and Cisco, they need to know how to acquire successfully. So for Nortel, the world is their oyster... They have the DiamondWare 3D technology and are now a player in open source and have time to practice the M&A game.
How the company handles these two new companies will show me and others if they are able to successfully pull off more deals and become a bigger competitive threat to other industry players.
In the mean time, these moves should serve as a signal to competitors that Nortel seems to have gotten its mojo back and for customers, I suggest you join me in pushing Nortel to get DiamondWare technology into the company's entire product line ASAP.
Good news: I have noticed plane fares for trips to ITEXPO this September 16-18, 2008 in Los Angeles have dropped by hundreds of dollars in many cases. As a show organizer, nothing makes me happier than having our event more accessible to everyone.
The Internet Telephony event has really evolved over this past decade and is now the the largest gathering of IP communications companies and decision makers in the world. It is the one place to be if you manage communications for a service provider, enterprise or are a reseller/developer.
You just have to be at this show if you want to network with the industry and see what is next and what is happening right now.
So I am happy to share the good news with you all and I hope to see you in September... In LA.
Everyone needs an ultimate guide. Whether you like to fish, run marathons, play chess or whatever. Andy Abramson recently published what I would consider to be a road warrior bible and it is full of great resources to not only handle your technology needs but it also discusses services which ship luggage.
Andy has a specific blog entry with these tips and an entire blog category titled Working Anywhere which will chronicle his future writings on the topic.
Long Island's news 12 just ran a news piece on IP faxing. IP faxing has been around for years but is it enjoying a resurgence? It seems the technology may be getting a boost from the move by companies looking to save money and go green.
Good news: I have noticed plane fares for trips to ITEXPO this September 16-18, 2008 in Los Angeles have dropped by hundreds of dollars in many cases. As a show organizer, nothing makes me happier than having our event more accessible to everyone.
Everyone needs an ultimate guide. Whether you like to fish, run marathons, play chess or whatever. Andy Abramson recently published what I would consider to be a road warrior bible and it is full of great resources to not only handle your technology needs but it also discusses services which ship luggage.
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