Communications and Technology Blog - Tehrani.com - TMC Team Archives

Need a New Car? Win a Mustang at ITEXPO in Miami Next Week

2012-01-27T15:48:11Z

I think I may have one of the best jobs in the world. I admit it is a bit ADHD-inducing as I get involved in lots of areas from new media to the latest technologies in the market as I run this major media company which is TMC. Not only do I get help influence tens of millions of people online I also get to host live events where I meet many of the readers who frequent my blog and TMCnet - the main web portal of TMC where I am CEO.

But the most exciting part of my job comes twice a year when I give away a car to an unsuspecting attendee at ITEXPO. Next week - Friday Feb 3rd at 1:45 pm at the Miami Beach Convention Center, I get to give the next car away and it will be a Ford Mustang. In order to be eligible to win you need to pick up a card at registration and get it stamped by all the sponsors of the car giveaway.

Thank you sponsors for making these giveaways possible. If I were an attendee at a show I would want a mix of solid education, a chance to network with peers, see the leading exhibitors in the space but also to have some fun and that is what events like our various receptions and giveaways are supposed to provide.

The TMC team and I look forward to hosting you next week. Thank you all in advance for coming to our event and hats off to the TMC team who is managing not only ITEXPO but a host of collocated and unparallelled events such as Super WiFi Summit, MSP World, our SUITS technology patents event, M2M Evolution, Mobile LATAM, HTML5 Summit, Cloud Communications Expo, The Channel Vision Expo (CVx), Business Video, Asterisk 123, 4GWE, StartupCamp5, Avaya Tech on Tap, the Blackberry Hackathon, SIP trunking workshop, business development workshop, telecom reseller week, to name a few.

http://itexpo.tmcnet.com/sip-trunking-workshop/miami/

Living in a Post-OS World

2011-07-28T19:01:56Z

Two of the major drawbacks to a perfect cloud-based existence where the browser serves all your needs are speed of remote apps/services and UI flexibility. It just so happens, two news items have coalesced recently to help usher in the post-OS world. You see, while the tech pundits debate the idea of a post-PC world, companies like Google are going a step further and hoping to get rid of the operating system on the tablet, PC, smartphone and just about any other computing device you use.

HTML5 is one of the primary drivers of the flexible new UI allowing truly customizable media to be shown to users. An interesting demo found at http://www.allisnotlo.st shows how you can merge written words with interactive video to create custom-inter-videos or CIVs (disclosure – I just made this word and acronym up). Michael Humphrey at Forbes has more on the latest HTML5-based music-videos which he equates to new-age MTV.

So now that we have dealt with the UI issue and as the HTML5 standards settle and browsers get better, we can rest assured web apps will look better than they have in the past.

This brings us to speed. Google announced today it will be caching websites for a fee – basically compressing them in a manner which speeds them up - potentially by 60%. Is this another step towards Google becoming a full-fledged CDN? Perhaps. But for a typical company what this means is they can have a really inexpensive webserver and let Google cache it and deal with serving pages to the world.

So the seeds of speed and web UI enhancement are being sewn and two major stumbling blocks to OS elimination are slowly vanishing. The question now is in a new world where an OS is less important, how will Google, Apple, RIM, Microsoft and others differentiate their device offerings? Moreover, since Android is essentially free, does this mean Microsoft’s OS will have to be free as well? Also, does the app store war go away as HTML5 takes hold and every program runs on most-every device? Doesn’t this also mean anyone who can place a functioning web browser on a gadget can compete for mobile market share?

As of now we have more questions about the future than answers but we know for sure that cloud—based services are the future and the local operating system continues to matter less.

How Poor Branding and Positioning Have Led to Tech and Auto Failure

2011-03-27T19:14:05Z

Lessons Learned From Microsoft, Cisco, Volkswagen, Mazda and Apple Misteps

Why do Cisco and Microsoft have trouble entering new consumer markets and why does Apple have challenges when trying to get into the enterprise server market? According to an article from Rob Enderle, President and Prinpal Analyst, Enderle Group the reason has to do with poor management choices which have more to do with seniority than ability - coupled with starving new products of the resources they need to make it.

I agree with many of the points he makes and the fact Redmond actually decided turd brown was a great color to use when competing with Apple is hard to digest (sorry). But in addition to the thoughts from Enderle I would add there is a positioning challenge facing these companies as well. In today's world where everything seems to revolve around clicks and search ads, most companies don't even seem to know what positioning means.

And its too bad because companies fail every day because they generate lots of leads that won't turn into business. A laser-like focus on measurable marketing ROI is actually killing to companies which need to brand or rebrand as they extend themselves into new markets.

The fact is when I think Microsoft I think corporate software, Costco - I think warehouse superstore, Cisco brings to mind corporate solutions, Campbell's makes us think of soup, McDonald's brings to mind fast food, etc.

Some of the biggest blunders I have witnessed when it comes to branding and positioning have been in the automotive space. The first was the Mazda Millenia - a car designed to be part of an upscale luxury brand Mazda couldn't afford to launch. This incredible car was as good as many cars it competed with and in some ways surpassed them but car buyers didn't relish buying a Mazda when they could buy a Lexus - even if they saved money. You see Toyota went out and built a new brand because they realized the Toyota name could not successfully apply to inexpensive and ultra-expensive vehicles. Predictably, Mazda's positioning in the market didn't support this amazing car. And after seeing this financial disappointment, Volkswagen decided to also spend billions of development dollars to launch the Phaeton, a car more advanced than most of what Mercedes and BMW had but costing less. The lesson had to be learned again - the Volkswagen brand did not support this car - even though it had air vents which were hidden by expensive wood when not in use, an optional 12-cylinder engine and electric-massage units built-into all the seats.

If some of the largest car companies have lost billions making mistakes obvious to those who are cognizant of branding, it should come as no surprise the small company looking to sell equipment to an enterprise or a carrier doesn't know what they need to do either.

We all acknowledge that Cisco is a very well-run company and that's why I was thrilled that they took years before they killed the Linksys corporate name. They realized they needed a long time to position their company as a leader in the consumer electronics space. And most people would argue they never branded themselves as a consumer products company.

These issues will come up more and more as companies look to extend into new markets and leverage technology to break existing product purchase relationships. One recent example is Cisco selling servers, HP pushing its own networking gear and Oracle selling Sun hardware.

But it gets more complicated with Amazon selling apps, Google continuing to become a social networking company, Microsoft becoming a cloud player and Cisco trying to become a consumer company.

Perhaps the best book I have read on the topic is Positioning from Al Ries and Jack Trout and I suggest every CXO, president and person in marketing read it. In closing, it is worth pointing out the world will continue to get more competitive and if you aren't expanding while successfully branding your new intiiatives you run the risk of failing.

I go into far more detail on many of these issues in a recent podcast titled No One Buys Without Trust I was on with Peter Radizeski and I will touch on many of these points in a TMC-sponsored webinar series on online communities and how to build them - the first one kicks off this week, March 30^th, 2011, from 2:00pm – 3:00pm EST.

TMC Launches New Logo for Online Communities or OCs

2011-03-18T20:43:10Z

Many of you know TMC has been building viral, content-generated online communities for over a decade and in response to all the questions we have received over the years about community building, we have even launched an informative, objective and educational webinar centered on community building for companies in every industry whether they be in the B2B or B2C space.

Today we unveiled a new logo for these communities - and I wanted my readers to be the first to see it. I really hope you like it... Especially our new tagline, "Connect in the cloud." Also - notice how the cloud is a puzzle - which is supposed to symbolize "connecting."

ITEXPO East 2011 Tues, Feb 1, SIP Trunking, Cloud Computing & More

2011-01-30T21:35:44Z

Be sure to get to ITEXPO on Tuesday, February 1^st to take advantage of what has shaped up to be a great pre-conference day of networking and learning about communications and technology.

First up us Ingate's SIP Trunking Workshop at 1:00pm. Here is the schedule for the day:

1:00pm – The Case for SIP Trunking
1:30pm – Delivering SIP to the Enterprise
2:30pm – The Value of a Service Provider Demarcation Point
3:30pm – Ensuring Interoperability: The Key to Service Revenue Growth
4:30pm – Addressing Security Issues
5:30pm – Generating Revenue from HD Video
6:30pm – Wine Reception

Then at 2:00pm is Telecom One-on-One, a JS&A Power Networking Event. Bring lots of business cards and the sooner you start planning, the more meetings you can schedule and the more networking you can do. I attended the last one in NYC is was quite impressed with all the quality meetings I witnessed.

Finally at 4:45pm - Interactive Intelligence presents Cloud-Based Communications, an interactive event for Fortune-class organizations at the Gansevoort Hotel. This panel and reception is promised to be full of relevant discussion about the cloud and the benefits afforded to companies migrating their applications out of their own data centers.

Here is the list of panelists you can see – I am on it and can’t wait for it to start:

Tim Passios, Interactive Intelligence – Moderator
Jon Arnold: Independent analyst – communications and smart grid expert
Rich Tehrani: Yours truly
Gary Kim. Respected writer and media figure
David Yedwab: Independent analyst
Alan Percy: Often the face of AudioCodes
Thomas Howe: voice mashup and cloud communications guru

See you in two days.

ITEXPO East 2011 Schedule

2011-01-28T02:04:24Z

Dear ITEXPO attendees - thanks again for registering and we look forward to hosting you next week. My team just sent out this email of schedules and happenings from the show and it is so detailed and explains so much that I decided to pass it along. I hope you find it worthy of keeping on hand at the event.

ITEXPO

February 2-4, 2011

Miami Beach Convention Center

As you know, ITEXPO is next week at the Miami Beach Convention Center, February 2-4. Save time and money by sourcing products and services from hundreds of companies and gain industry knowledge through the conference program in one convenient location.

Below are some details and information that make your experience at ITEXPO great. As always, if you have any questions, please check the event site or contact Frank Coppola or 203.852.6800 x131 to register.

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REGISTRATION INFO

When you arrive at the Miami Beach Convention Center, please go to the Hall B Lobby and proceed to the registration counter to register and/or receive your badge. (You will need a photo ID.) Stop by the registration counter to pick up a badge and your conference bag, and you're ready to go.

REGISTRATION / KEYNOTES / EXHIBIT HALL HOURS

Wednesday, February 2

Registration: 7:00 - 5:00pm
Conference: 9:00 - 5:30pm
Keynotes: 3:30 - 5:30pm

**Kevin Martin (Former Chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Board of Directors, AirWalk Communications) Keynote Added at 5:00pm! Don't Miss It!

Keynote Giveaways: 5:30pm

**Exhibit Hall Grand Opening: 5:30-7:30pm (**NEW TIME) **Welcome Networking Reception: 5:30pm, Sponsored by Aculab (**NEW TIME)

Thursday, February 3

Registration: 7:00 - 4:00pm
Conference: 9:00 - 5:00pm
Keynotes: 10:00 - 11:00am
Keynote Giveaways: 11:00am
Exhibits Open: 11:00 - 4:00pm

International Networking Reception: 4:00pm, Sponsored by Rackspace Hosting ITEXPO Conference Party on South Beach at Mango's Tropical Café: 9:00pm (Visit Website for complete details) Sponsored by AudioCodes, DIDx, Eaton, Lockheed Martin

Friday, Friday 4

Registration: 7:30 - 3:00pm
Conference: 9:00 - 12:45pm
Exhibits Open: 11:00 - 3:00pm

WIN A JEEP! Jeep Giveaway at 2:45pm - Must Be Present to Win

See below for a complete, updated schedule or visit www.itexpo.com

Keynote Schedule: (Open to all attendees - Room B217/218)

Wednesday, February 2

3:30pm: Danny Windham, CEO, Digium
4:00pm: Charles D. Vogt, President & CEO, GENBAND
4:30pm: Pritham Shetty, VP of Product Management and Engineering for Rich Media Solutions, Adobe Systems, Inc.
5:00pm: Kevin Martin, Former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Board of Directors, AirWalk Communications

5:30pm: Keynote Giveaways

(1) 32GB iPad with 3G
(1) Sony Dash

Thursday, February 3:

10:00am: Alan Pound, Managing Director, Aculab
10:30am: Aaron McCormack, CEO, BT Technologies

11:00am: Keynote Giveaways

(1) 32GB iPad with 3G
(1) Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device

WORKSHOPS at ITEXPO - Open to All Attendees

Ingate's SIP Trunking Workshop-Begins One Day Prior to ITEXPO-Free Workshop Tuesday, February 1 - Friday, February 4

Learn how SIP trunking can expand your marketshare at the free pre-conference workshop, "The Case for SIP Trunking," a half-day seminar series at ITEXPO tailored specifically to service providers - focusing on the issues you need to address now.

Presented by Ingate Systems and their partners, this workshop will be held on February 1, 2011 - one day before the ITEXPO opens - to give you in-depth information and one-on-one access to the experts.

Reseller Week-Free Workshop

Wednesday, February 2 - Thursday, February 3 - 2-day Workshop open to all Resellers and Agents

This two-day seminar teaches attendees how to effectively sell IP Communications equipment & services, with proven tips and best practices for addressing the challenges resellers face in today's economy.

Reseller Week provides you with a forum for you to learn about cutting edge new solutions you can represent, to meet with many new potential partners, and to study proven sales techniques to help improve your team's performance.

StartupCamp 3: Comms Edition-Free Reception and Networking Event Thursday, February 3

StartupCamp 3: Comms Edition spotlights early-stage entrepreneurs and innovators in communication technology. Industry leaders, investors, developers and media to network and validate entrepreneur pitches in this energetic, unique setting.

MPLS University Session-Free Workshop

Thursday, February 3

Sessions at MPLS University are targeted to IT and business professionals to learn more about secure networking including connectivity and managed security options, regulatory requirements, and security standards.

Join us for two FREE training sessions--Learn how to improve the utilization and security of your network.

IMPORTANT LINKS

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OFFICIAL SHOW HOTEL - The Doubletree Surfcomber Hotel has been added, with a special rate for ITEXPO attendees until the room block is filled

SHOW LOCATION

Miami Beach Convention Center

1901 Convention Center Drive

Miami Beach, FL 33139

305.673.7311

QUESTIONS?

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I look forward to seeing you in Miami at ITEXPO and know you will have a great experience. Thanks!

Rich Tehrani

Conference Chairman

ITEXPO

ITEXPO EVENT AGENDA-PRINT THIS OUT AND BRING WITH YOU!

Tuesday, February 1

1:00pm - Ingate's SIP Trunking Workshop
2:00pm - Telecom One-on-One, a JS&A Power Networking Event
4:45pm - Interactive Intelligence presents Cloud-Based Communications, an interactive event at the Gansevoort Hotel (registration)

Wednesday, February 2

7:00am - Registration Opens
8:00am - Conference Breakfast (Paid Attendees - Room B214/215)
9:00am - Enterprise
9:00am - The Mobile Workforce
9:00am - Digium|Asterisk World
9:00am - 4G Wireless Evolution Conference
9:00am - Smart Grid Summit
9:00am - Business Video Expo
9:00am - M2M Evolution Conference
9:00am - VIPeering Conference
9:00am - Super WiFi Summit
9:00am - Ingate's SIP Trunking Workshop
12:00pm - Conference Luncheon (Paid Attendees - Pickup Ticket at ITEXPO Business Office in Exhibit)
3:30pm - KEYNOTE: Danny Windham, CEO, Digium (Open to all attendees - Room B217/218)
4:00pm - KEYNOTE: Charles D. Vogt, President & CEO, GENBAND (Open to all attendees - Room B217/218)
4:30pm - KEYNOTE: Pritham Shetty, VP of Product Management and Engineering for Rich Media Solutions, Adobe Systems, Inc. (Open to all attendees - Room B217/218)
5:00pm - KEYNOTE: Kevin Martin, Former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Board of Directors, AirWalk Communications (Open to all attendees - Room B217/218)
5:30pm - Keynote Giveaways: (1) 32GB iPad with 3G & (1) Sony Dash
5:30pm - Exhibit Hall Grand Opening
5:30pm - Welcome Networking Reception, Sponsored by Aculab
5:45pm - Reseller Week: Part 1: Reseller Sales Sessions

Thursday, February 3:

7:00am - Registration Opens
8:00am - Continental Breakfast Served (Paid Attendees - Room B214/215)
9:00am - Unified Communications
9:00am - Conferencing / Collaboration
9:00am - Service Provider
9:00am - Digium|Asterisk World
9:00am - 4G Wireless Evolution Conference
9:00am - Smart Grid Summit
9:00am - Cloud Communications Summit
9:00am - Business Video Expo
9:00am - M2M Evolution Conference
9:00am - Super WiFi Summit
9:00am - Ingate's SIP Trunking Workshop
10:00am - KEYNOTE: Alan Pound, Managing Director, Aculab (Open to all attendees - Room B217/218)
10:30am - KEYNOTE: Aaron McCormack, CEO, BT Technologies (Open to all attendees - Room B217/218)
11:00am - Keynote Giveaways: (1) 32GB iPad with 3G / (1) Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device
11:00am - Exhibit Hall Opens
11:00am - Reseller Week: Part 2: Reseller Focused Presentations
11:15am - ChannelVision Expo (CVx)
12:45pm - Conference Luncheon (Paid Attendees - Room B214/215)
2:00pm - MPLS University Workshop
4:00pm - International Networking Reception, Sponsored by Rackspace Hosting
4:00pm - EEVA Awards Reception
4:45pm - StartupCamp 3: Comms Edition Reception & Networking Event
9:00pm - ITEXPO Conference Party on South Beach at Mango's Tropical Cafe (Visit Website for complete details) Sponsored by AudioCodes, DIDx, Eaton, Lockheed Martin

Friday, February 4:

7:30am - Registration Opens
8:00am - Conference Breakfast (Paid Attendees - Room B214/215)
9:00am - VoIP Essentials
9:00am - Call Center
9:00am - Service Provider
9:00am - Digium|Asterisk World
9:00am - 4G Wireless Evolution Conference
9:00am - Smart Grid Summit
9:00am - Cloud Communications Summit
9:00am - Ingate's SIP Trunking Workshop
9:00am - Regulatory 2.0 Workshop
9:00am - SIP Tutorial 2.0: Bringing SIP to the Web
9:00am - Aculab to host AMS Server 'test drive' for application developers (registration)
11:00am - Exhibit Hall Opens (Hall closes at 3:00 pm)
11:15am - ChannelVision Expo (CVx)
1:30pm - How To Sellecom Hosted PBX session?
2:45pm - WIN A JEEP! Jeep Giveaway-Must Be Present to Win

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Visit ITEXPO Sponsors in the Exhibit Hall!

Diamond Sponsors

Aculab: Booth 617
Digium The Asterisk Company: Booth 901

Platinum Sponsors

Interactive Intelligence: Booth 607
AudioCodes: Booth 507
Ditech Networks: Booth 501
Sansay: Booth 516
BridgeWave Communications: Booth 211
Commilogik: Booth 801
Dialogic: Booth 806
Sonus Networks: Booth 634
NEXTUSA: Booth 534
Applianx by Aculab: Booth 617

Gold Sponsors

MegaPath: Booth 706
888VOIP STORE: Booth 701
Speedflow: Booth 422
ADTRAN: Booth 300
ABP Tech: Booth 322
Sangoma: Booth 401
tw telecom: Booth 328
Kutenda: Booth 716

Complete Sponsor Listing

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Verizon Drives Stake Through Heart of Net Neutrality

2011-01-28T01:46:34Z

Updated with modified quote from Hunter Newby January 28, 2011, 8:15 AM EST

Updated again January 28, 2011, 4:37 PM EST for grammatical reasons

My views have shifted on net neutrality over the years - to the point where I firmly believe that carriers have the right to recoup investments they make in networks. At the same time, I understand fully that IP communications is dependent on traffic not being impeded by a carrier looking to promote an alternative service. Having said that, there are a number of peering points located around the US – only a few places where fiber exists in enough quantity to allow massive interconnections between hundreds of carriers, enterprises and web 2.0 companies such as Google and Facebook.

Terremark owns one facility – the NAP of the Americas in Miami. Telx owns another at 60 Hudson in New York, and CoreSite at One Wilshire in Los Angeles. These are perhaps the three most prominent locations in the US “carrier hotel” market. At industry gatherings I have often asked the people involved in running these facilities about the possibility of Verizon or AT&T purchasing one or more companies in the space. The response has always been that it would be bad news for the communications market.

You see, carriers interconnect with carriers in these locations free of interference from incumbent phone companies and in many cases they come to these carrier hotels to get away from the largest carriers. In fact, Google, Vonage, Facebook and others have interconnections in these facilities precisely for these reasons.

Now that Verizon has purchased Terremark, the market has shifted dramatically as Miami's carrier neutral mass of fiber and interconnections are now under control of a single carrier. The NAP in fact is referred to as the gateway to Latin America. Verizon now controls it all. Lock, stock and barrel.

When the news broke, I immediately reached out to Hunter Newby who was at one point synonymous with Telx and helped build that carrier hotel from nothing into a major industry force. He is now running a start-up called Allied Fiber whose goal is to provide dark fiber to companies in the US along hundreds of miles of railroad property.

This is what he had to say about the deal:

The idea of VZ owning the NAP in Miami has deep, far-reaching implications. The reality of it is even more complicated. That site is one of the most important "carrier-neutral" collocation facilities in the US and the world. Now it is owned by a carrier - one of the largest in the world. What impact will that have on the tenants, the service level, the pricing, and the control? Time will tell.

Several years ago I quoted Mark Fedor, who was at the time CTO of SunRocket and former senior vice president of engineering for PSInet, in an article about IP peering. We discussed the CIX, the first commercial Internet exchange, which was located in the San Francisco bay area, and where he was the first technical Director.

He said that the ISP's went into their own room in a different building to create a neutral environment and get away from the Bell CO and to get away from the "Bell attitude".

Now Bell has acquired one of the largest neutral IX points in the US.

He continued in a further e-mail by saying:

Interestingly, net neutrality is "Network" neutrality, not "Internet" neutrality. This deal proves that.

It is all about physical networks. Whoever owns the physical makes the rules. Think about that when it comes to the major carrier hotels and meet me rooms in the US. Who has been making the rules for the last 10 years? Not carriers. Not the FCC. And that's one of the reasons why the carrier neutral sites have thrived. They were around, self-governed as open interconnection facilities long before the notion of Net Neutrality.

Also, Verizon apparently took notice of Google buying 111 8th...

Next week at ITEXPO in Miami, Fla., this discussion is going to be taken to the next level at one of the conferences collocated with ITEXPO, VIPeering – an event focusing on voice peering or the carrier neutral concept of allowing IP communications providers to interconnect directly with one another. Will this Verizon news cause major problems for the peering market? Will Google, AT&T and Verizon now get in a bidding war to pick up other carrier neutral facilities? There will likely also be discussion of this transaction at the Regulatory 2.0 event next week which counts Google and AT&T as sponsors.

This is certain to also come up during my keynote discussion with former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin next week at ITEXPO. I wonder what his thoughts will be and what the industry will think about this deal. More importantly I wonder if the nuances of this transaction will get lost on politicians who look for pro net neutrality sound bite opportunities. Will Senator Al Franken tackle this issue for example? What about all the other special interest groups who want to guarantee net neutrality? What will the FCC do for example – do they have any power here? Will the Obama administration realize this move may be a threat to their policy of net neutrality? What will the DoJ say? Time will tell.

One transaction can have tremendous ramifications and the entire broadband market may have been shaken up with this news. How will it deal with this new reality and will this move radically alter how Google, Facebook and Microsoft get to their customers online?

I just can’t wait for ITEXPO to hear what the industry thinks.

Austin, Texas Selected For ITEXPO West 2011

2011-01-27T23:13:32Z

I have some very exciting news to share regarding ITEXPO. I alluded to it a few weeks back and now it’s here. ITEXPO West 2011 will be moving to the Austin Convention Center in Austin Texas, on September 13-15, 2011. ITEXPO was launched in San Diego, CA at the Hotel Del Coronado and moved to Long Beach and eventually Los Angeles. This move reflects the requests of many exhibitors and attendees.

One exciting benefit of the move for the communications and technology community is free WiFi in the convention center. The convention center is also located 15 minutes from the airport and is within walking distance of 6,000 downtown hotel rooms. Moreover, many refer to the city as the live music capital of the world.

It should come as no surprise that with less regulation, fees and taxes, the business-friendly Lone Star State is doing far better than California in terms of business growth and unemployment rates and although I look forward to bringing more events to California in the future, it is worth noting that show organizers want to host conferences in cities and states where the politicians create the most favorable business climate.

Moreover, Austin is surrounded by technology companies and the communications corridor of Dallas/Richardson is within driving distance. The response so far from those in the know has been very positive and we look forward to seeing you there and discussing the move further next week, Feb 2-4, 2011 in Miami at ITEXPO East 2011 and as soon as the show is over, expect the ITEXPO site referring to Austin to be up and running.

If Super WiFi is A Dream, At Least I'm in Good Company

2011-01-27T21:17:15Z

Updated Jan 27, 2011, 8:01 pm EST.

It’s no secret that both Microsoft and Google are looking at white spaces and Super WiFi as an area of growth allowing inexpensive broadband wireless signals to be transmitted over long distances.

But technology is difficult to predict – we didn’t know for sure tablets were going to cannibalize PC sales but they are and we didn’t know small, cheap hard drives were going to cut the legs out from the large, expensive hard drive market. You may know that in 1997 when I went to COMDEX and told the world TMC was going to launch a magazine called Internet Telephony – people laughed and told me it wasn’t an industry.

Ten years later after a few “overhype” phases, VoIP software maker Skype has devastated the long-distance market and is hiring by the hundred.

The point is technology does what it does – sometimes it transforms markets and other times it gives us massive bubbles of hype.

Still, as I sit here in TMC headquarters – at River Park in Norwalk… A building which is also headquarters to Priceline, I can’t think of how many times people told me Internet travel was doomed. Yet, the name your own price for travel company has a market cap of $24.5B prompting me to even call it's success revenge of the dotcom. Ecommerce was also supposed to be overhyped – but look at Amazon. Netflix was supposed to be overhyped and it is now worth $11B and even moved the markets substantially today and popped 15% or $27.84 per share as of this writing.

Point being, we don’t know what the next big thing is – but we do know that if we can find a way to take existing wireless spectrum which is unused and utilize it cost-effectively, we shatter the price/performance curve of broadband wireless and we turn pricing, investment and the wireless market as a whole on its head. And if this doesn’t scare incumbents, they aren’t breathing.

This gets us to an article written by Lynette Luna at Fierce Broadband Wireless titled White-space: Is super WiFi just a dream? in which she says the Super WiFi market is overhyped and that it is unlikely that it will ever live up to its promise. She does end the piece by saying this:

However, one can look back at the WiFi market in its early years and conclude that wasn't going to be much of a market either.

This was a smart move – because she now stands on both sides of the fence. No one can accuse her of taking sides but it is interesting that there are so many technologies which were “overhyped” and the people who sat out on the new markets ended up later closing down their companies or selling at fire-sale prices.

More intriguing is the fact I am only aware of a single event in this overhyped space. One would imagine a slew of conferences to keep pace with the inflated expectations. Next week collocated with ITEXPO is the world’s first Super WiFi Summit. The interesting thing about this event is that my company, TMC partnered with Carl Ford and the Crossfire Media team to host the conference. If you remember, Carl worked with Jeff Pulver back in the day to launch and run the very successful VON shows which also started out at a time when VoIP went from being a niche market to hyped to what many called overhyped.

In a way, I see Super WiFi as similar to VoIP as it should allow any company to develop technology which disintermediates incumbents.

I asked Carl for his comments on the above-referenced article and he pointed out that ATM was a technology which was also overhyped. He then went on to refer to communications legend Tom Evslin who has pointed out that if you can do so much with the poor spectrum allocated to WiFi, imagine what you can do with white space. Moreover, Ford continued by saying white spaces may be integral in the roll out of 5G according to his discussions with FCC representatives.

In the nineties, it would be crazy to think that Ford, Pulver or I knew exactly what would happen to the IP communications space and that the market would see a few bubbles burst before a massive multibillion dollar market would be born.

Likewise with Super WiFi – I am not 100% sure it will be the future of wireless but I realize the absolutely massive potential to transmit wireless broadband over unused frequencies is staggering and an entire market for chips, devices and resale of this spectrum could open up overnight.

And with a slew people who already disrupted at least once in their careers using VoIP taking time from their busy schedules to participate in the conference, can you afford not to take it seriously? Keynote speaker Jeff Ford for example is now CEO of Apriva but he was one of the original VoIP disruptors at Inter-Tel’s global wholesale division in the nineties. Brough Turner is now the founder of netBlazr but he was the CTO of NMS when they created one of the world’s first Internet telephony gateways in the nineties. Mary Evslin was VP of Marketing at ITXC – another early Internet telephony carrier disruptor.

Then there are the really big names in wireless who are participating. Bob Friday from Cisco is Dir. Strategic Initiatives & Business Development of the Wireless Networking Business Unit, Rick Whitt is the Washington Telecom and Media Counsel at Google, Akshay Sharma from Gartner Dataquest and Todd Rowley the VP of 4G at Sprint.

I could go on but suffice it to say, if I am about to walk into the world’s first event on an over-hyped technology, I’d want to be in the company of all of these people.

Perhaps the best way to end this post is with a comment from Carl who says:

The article from Lynnette Luna reflects the concerns of some in the legacy world. Lynette, here is an open invitation to come and see the innovators at Super WiFi Summit yourself so you can judge where the market is going after talking to the experts.

Getting to Know ITEXPO Participants

2011-01-25T01:33:48Z

AT TMC, we painstakingly attempt to ensure you know as much about the participating companies at our events as possible before the conference so you can get a sense of who is there, where there expertise lies and if they may have something of value to offer you as you look to make purchasing decisions in the world of technology and communications. As a result we survey ITEXPO speakers and exhibitors before the event and ask questions which can help you connect with thought leaders you believe might be of assistance at the event.

Not everyone answers but we do send the questions to hundreds of companies and they seem to trickle in each day. Here is the list of people and companies who responded to my questions and links to their answers. I truly hope you find it useful.

Oh and one note you should know... Many of these interviews are with speakers and/or exhibitors from the 13 collated events with ITEXPO such as Smart Grid Summit, Etc.

NAME	COMPANY
Mike Ross	4PSA
SANDRA XIMENA DIAZ HOYOS	SMART NETWORK SOLUTIONS
Mark Armentrout	Texas Institute
Alon Cohen	Phone.com
Jim Machi	Dialogic
Nathan McNeill	Bomgar
Mike Coffee	Commetrex
Jonathan Fuld	SIP Print
Alex Ferdman	Telinta
Ian Colville	Aculab
Christine Holley	ININ
Dina Vance	Ulysses
Matt Larsen	WISPA
Shawn Tsetsilas	Cellular Specialties
Ryan Lynn	Qwest Communications
Carl KS Teo	Ecocarrier Inc.
Bill Prout	Astaro
Tim Titus	PathSolutions
Aidan Connolly	Idiro
Andy Huckridge	VSS Monitoring, Inc.
Mark Ricca	IntelliCom Analytics
Michael Oeth	Junction Networks, Inc.
Michael Wheeler	NTT America
Tim Whittington	Aastra USA
Toby Holmes	WORKTANK
Doug Mohney	HD Voice News
Greg Maudsley	Juniper Networks
Steve Johnson	Ingate

-50F With Wind Chill. Escape to ITEXPO in Miami

2011-01-24T20:01:54Z

You know I would never stoop to reminding you about the weather to persuade you to attend what I believe to the be the best tech and telecom conference in the world - OK, maybe I would.

So I was driving along this morning on the way to work and noticed I couldn't feel any of my fingers. I decided to check to make sure I was wearing gloves. I was. Then I realized I couldn't feel any of my toes and yes I had shoes on.

I then looked at the temperature reading and it said one degree. I decided to risk my life to take the picture above while driving - I could have pulled over but hey, I was late for my first meeting and I would do just about anything for you, my faithful reader. Attention law enforcement professionals - some elements of this blog post may have been overly sensationalized in order to provide dramatic effect.

But getting back to Connecticut where TMC is based - one coworker who lives in Danbury, CT said it was -11 degrees when she left her house this morning. And that's nothing. If you can believe it... CBS News reports temperatures with wind chill hit as cold as -50 degrees F!

BTW, in AP biology back in high school we learned that -40F is the same temperature as -40C - this little bit of trivia courtesy of Mrs. Beers my 11th grade teacher. Hope I spelled her name right.

Oh, but back to the point of this meandering post... It is freezing out. There is one show in Miami next week where you can go to network with those who matter in the world of tech and telecom. Almost forgot to mention it is called ITEXPO East 2011. Every important topic is to be discussed from super WiFi to SIP to open source to virtualization and cloud computing. It is all there - in Miami under a single roof where you will also get to hear keynotes from former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin as well as executives from BT, Adobe, Aculab, GENBAND and Digium - the creators of Asterisk. Its the only industry event with a networking party at Mangos, one of the hottest spots on South Beach. Yes, there are other places to network as well.

So I hope to see you there and I look forward to greeting you in person.

Here is the ITEXPO show site, collocated events, free workshops, exhibitor list and giveaways you can win such as a new Jeep.

ITEXPO Hashtag is #ITEXPO, Receptions and More

2011-01-23T23:33:44Z

Good evening readers,

Just a note to let you know the hashtag for ITEXPO on Twitter will simply be #ITEXPO. You will see enhanced levels of twitter messaging at the show (Twitter stream at keynotes for example) allowing the ITEXPO and related technology and communications communities to stay connected.

A good way to keep track of news from the show is to set up a column with search terms ITEXPO and/or #ITEXPO in programs such as Hootsuite, Tweetdeck and/or your mobile Twitter app.

The show officially begins in nine days and here are some links you may find useful:

Agenda / Show Guide
Onsite Giveaways
ITEXPO Registration
Dates & Times
Hotel & Travel
Free Workshops
Exhibitor List
Keynotes (Former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin Recently Added)
Collocated Events
Speaker List
ITEXPO Floor Map
All Conference Party Feb 3rd at Mangos

In addition, I just turned on my out of office message (yes I'm early but I can't wait) to alert others to my participation. This is part of what I wrote if you want to utilize something similar.

----

Thank you for your message... Please be advised I will be out of the office Feb 2-4, 2011 attending TMC's ITEXPO in Miami.

There are 13 collocated events focusing on 4G, super WiFi, SIP, business video, M2M, Asterisk, cloud communications, peering, startups, the channel and more.

We would love to have you at the show.

----

Thanks and I look forward to seeing you in Miami.

Online Community and SEO Interview

2011-01-21T20:18:27Z

I was just interviewed on a podcast by Peter Radizeski who in addition to being a TMC blogger is an expert on the telecom channel and a sought out social media and marketing consultant. On the online community building and SEO podcast we discussed not only how to improve search rank but how to select keywords and use call to action to ensure success. We also had a chance to discuss TMC’s online communities which are news-generated and help our sponsors with their branding, thought leadership, social networking and lead generation. I Hope you like it.

A while back I was also interviewed by Paul Ritter of Interactive Media Strategies regarding online community building and how TMC builds targeted audiences on-demand via specific content and sophisticated, proprietary content-management systems. Check it out below:

Interestingly in the video above it mentions TMC has over 130 sponsored online communities, we now have over 200.

Thank you Peter and and Paul for the opportunity.

Here are more videos with Paul Ritter - What is TMC? and how to utilize video in your marketing strategy.

ITEXPO East 2011 Show Directory Available

2011-01-20T23:39:51Z

The show directory/guide for ITEXPO East 2011 in Miami is now available as is the agenda at a glance or schedule summary. The one point you should be aware of is that former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin was added after this guide was printed and the PDF has not been updated as of yet. Some times on the schedule have shifted as a result and at some point soon we update schedules online.

In addition, I want to point out that you can win a Jeep at the show as well as other great gadgets.

Finally - we added an all-conference party at Mango's Cafe - one of the most popular night spots on South Beach.

Hopefully you can make it down to the event... It's a can't miss.

ITEXPO Honored as One of Top 50 Fastest Growing

2011-01-19T14:20:48Z

We are honored to have ITEXPO be one of the fastest growing trade shows by Trade Show Executive in their Fastest 50 Awards. Much thanks goes to all of TMC's readers as well as our sponsors, attendees, partners, vendors who supply us decorating services, audio/visual, etc and of course the tireless TMC team who works around the clock to over-deliver for customers.

ITEXPO East 2011 takes place in 13 days - Feb 2-4, 2011 in Miami and I look forward to thanking you all in person at the event.