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Avaya's Top Communication Trends in 2012

December 16, 2011

Recently I had a chance to have an in-depth conversation with Avaya about the trends they see for 2012 in the communications space. In particular I spoke with George Humphrey a Director and Line of Business Owner at Avaya and Diane Royer, Senior Marketing Services Manager.

The trends below are at times augmented or enhanced with my thoughts.

1) Mobility raises the expectation of availability

Voice is morphing in the enterprise and becoming more consumer-driven and as a result everyone is connected at all times and moreover everyone wants immediate action. Consumers want to know right away if that widget on the website is compatible with European power or if the red color of the lamp online is closer to burgundy, beet or pomegranate.

Consumers are walking around with smartphones today that are the computing equivalent of supercomputers of a few decades back. This means we not only can do anything anywhere from a voice and data perspective, we will need to in order to maintain our customers and jobs.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Amazon, Android, Apple, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Cisco, Cloud Computing, Communications Developer, Conference, Consumer Electronics, FCC, Facebook, Financial, Gadget, Google, IP Communications, ITEXPO, Microsoft, SIP, Speech Technologies, Technology, Twitter, Unified Communications, Video, Virtual Worlds, VoIP, Wireless, iPad

Survey: Games Most Popular Smartphone Apps

July 6, 2011

And surprise, most people will pay for apps

Games, weather and social networking apps are where people are spending a tremendous amount of their time followed by mapping, news, music and entertainment. These are the results of a new survey from Nielsen which asks what apps people used in the last 30 days. iPhone users who are mobile gamers play about 30 minutes per day on average or 14.7 hours per month while Android users play 9.3 hours per month.

Nielsen supplied chart of apps which smartphone users have downloaded in the last 30 days

While we see mega deals in the video game world for titles like Angry Birds and social companies like Zynga preparing for multi-billion dollar IPOs - let's keep in mind part of the reason for this is that everyone it seems will pay for games on their phones. Consider in fact Nielsen found 93 percent of app downloaders are willing to pay for the games they play.

Posted in 4G, Android, Apple, Broadband, Consumer Electronics, Facebook, Gadget, Google, IP Communications, Microsoft, SIP, Skype, Social Networking, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, Virtual Worlds, VoIP, Wireless, iPad

Electronic Warfare is the Future. Are You Ready?

February 14, 2011

Stuxnet is Victory at Entebbe 2.0

The Stuxnet worm alleged to be the work of Israel and the US was designed to target and disable Iranian centrifuges by increasing their speeds to dangerous levels while reporting to operators that all was well. The latest report from the New York Times shows this worm has also hit five industrial sites in the land of Ahmadinejad.

It’s no secret most of the world does not want Iran to get nuclear weapons and the best weapon being used to deter the country’s nuclear program was sanctions and if they are working it would be tough to know it as the country are prospering greatly as the price of oil is much higher than what Iran has budgeted.

So electronic warfare is a nice and neat way to disable a portion of the country’s operations without the need to go to war, risk lives, etc.

Because of the nature of this attack some predict the Iranian nuclear program has been set back by two years, making this attack historic in its ingenuity. It is really Victory at Entebbe 2.0. As you may recall, Operation Entebbe was a daring hostage rescue mission pulled off by the Israel Defense Forces in 1976.

Cyberattacks are not new by any means but the level of sophistication and damage created by this attack make it something bad guys everywhere will be trying to emulate.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Apple, Blackberry, Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Cisco, Communications Developer, Consumer Electronics, E-Commerce, FCC, Facebook, Financial, Gadget, Google, Green, HD Voice, IP Communications, IPTV, M2M, Merger/Acquisition, Microsoft, Nortel, Open Source, Optical, Political, SIP, SaaS, Satellite, Science, Search, Security, Skype, Smart Ecosystem, Smart Grid, Social Networking, Technology, Twitter, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, Virtual Worlds, VoIP, Vonage, WiMAX, Wireless, Yahoo

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

January 24, 2011

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.

Posted in 4G, 4GWE, AT&T, Apple, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Cisco, Communications Developer, Conference, Conferencing, Consumer Electronics, E-Commerce, FCC, Facebook, Fax, Financial, Gadget, Google, Green, HD Voice, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, M2M, Merger/Acquisition, Microsoft, Musings, Nortel, Open Source, Optical, Patent, Personal, Podcast, Political, SIP, SaaS, Satellite, Security, Skype, Smart Ecosystem, Smart Grid, Social Networking, Speech Technologies, TMC Team, Technology, Twitter, Unified Communications, Verizon, Virtual Worlds, VoIP, Vonage, WiMAX, Wireless, Yahoo

ITEXPO Reseller Week Podcast

January 20, 2011

Suzanne Bowen from DIDX just performed a podcast with industry icon Max Schroeder the Senior VP of Faxcore. Max is an expert in fax and extremely knowledgeable about IP communications. He recently was interviewed by Suzanne about fax over IP, reseller opportunities and Reseller Week which is part of ITEXPO Feb 2-4, 2011.

Max also pre-breaks news about a virtual appliance his company will release and you can see it first at ITEXPO.

Take a listen here.

Posted in Broadband, Communications Developer, Fax, IP Communications, Podcast, Speech Technologies, Technology, Unified Communications, Virtual Worlds, VoIP, Wireless

$25 Per MB for M2M Just Tip of Iceberg

January 20, 2011

Stacey Higginbotham points out $25/MB is a tremendous amount of revenue and a great reason for carriers to love M2M. Another reason carriers love it has to do with the fact that that the old models of ARPU, churn and device subsidies go out the window. Sprint's Wayne Ward explained this to me in October of 2009 and went on to say you don't even need to deal with customers regarding rates as the machines do all the talking.

Finally, he explained you can even use your older networks as M2M apps typically do not require tremendous speed or throughput.

Obviously these are some of the reasons why carriers are excited about the M2M market - not to mention market projections of 2.1 billion M2M connections in ten years. This is up from 61 million today.

Steve Hilton Principal Analyst at Analysis Mason says, "With a year-on-year growth rate of between 36% and 52%, M2M seeks to be one of the fastest-growing connectivity sectors in the next decade."

All this M2M talk reminds me of the upcoming M2M Evolution conference in Miami in two weeks.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Apple, Blackberry, Broadband, Communications Developer, Conference, Consumer Electronics, E-Commerce, FCC, Fax, Financial, Google, ITEXPO, M2M, Microsoft, Open Source, SIP, Satellite, Smart Grid, Social Networking, Speech Technologies, Technology, Twitter, Unified Communications, Verizon, Virtual Worlds, VoIP, Wireless

ITEXPO East 2011 Attendance up 52%

January 13, 2011

For those of you who attended the ITEXPO and related events last year in Miami, you remember it was a very strong show with great attendance. The conference usually draws from all over the world – especially Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Central and Eastern US and of course Canada.

The even better news about this upcoming event Feb 2-4, 2011 at the Miami Beach Convention center is the numbers are trending much better than last year. My marketing team just sent over the comparable stats and here they are:

Overall attendance up 52% over same time last year Paid conference attendance up 54% over same time last year Loews hotel block up 31% over last year

The event has certainly grown and there are currently 13 collocated events as follows. We believe there is no finer or more complete place to learn about the important technologies which will enhance your career and bottom line.

I hope to see you there and thanks to all my readers who have decided to register and/or sponsor attend the event.

4GWE Conference 4GWE provides unmatched networking opportunities and a robust conference program representing the wireless ecosystem.

Posted in 4G, 4GWE, AT&T, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Cisco, Communications Developer, Conference, Conferencing, Consumer Electronics, E-Commerce, FCC, Facebook, Fax, Financial, Gadget, Green, HD Voice, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, M2M, Microsoft, Musings, Nortel, Open Source, SIP, SaaS, Skype, Smart Grid, Social Networking, Speech Technologies, TMC Team, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, Virtual Worlds, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

22nd ITEXPO in 2 Weeks

September 21, 2010

This ITEXPO in Los Angeles in two-weeks will be the 22nd event and our best ever. Check out this message my team was nice enough to put together on my behalf today:

From Rich Tehrani, TMC CEO
----------------------------------------------------
ITEXPO West 2010 - The 22nd ITEXPO
October 4-6, 2010
Los Angeles Convention Center -- Los Angeles, California
www.itexpo.com

So Many Reasons to Attend ITEXPO in 13 Days

Dear Colleague,

My marketing team calls it "The World's Communications Conference". It really is. Twice each year, the communications and technology industry gathers at ITEXPO to do business.

What makes this event different from a typical 'industry' event is that it's also the place where people looking to purchase new communications solutions and applications come to evaluate the options available.

I encourage you to visit the event site to review the entire program and to register quickly and easily online: www.itexpo.com.

Now, here's my eagerly anticipated list of the most compelling reasons to attend ITEXPO in Los Angeles.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#1 Reason: Communications and Technology Converge, Creating Opportunity for You
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At one time, people came to ITEXPO to see the future of telecom.

Posted in 4G, 4GWE, AT&T, Apple, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, CRM, Cisco, Communications Developer, Conference, Conferencing, Consumer Electronics, FCC, Fax, Google, Green, HD Voice, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, M2M, Merger/Acquisition, Microsoft, Nortel, SIP, Security, Smart Grid, Social Networking, Speech Technologies, Technology, Virtual Worlds, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Avaya to Announce Tablet Tomorrow?

September 14, 2010

I meet with Avaya execs tomorrow and the speculation is the meeting involves the launch of a tablet. I mentioned Cisco is already announcing new apps for their tablet and it isn't even out yet. The tablet race is certainly on and I am looking forward to seeing what Avaya has to show. Now I am wondering if I should just leave the iPad at home.

Posted in AT&T, Apple, Avaya, Broadband, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, IP Communications, Nortel, Open Source, SIP, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, Virtual Worlds, VoIP

Cisco Quad Points to Communications Future

September 13, 2010

With Twitter and Facebook entrenching themselves as the defacto social destinations for consumers there is a more quiet race betwen enterprise technology companies to position themselves as the next information hub for collaboration in the corporate world. I recently spent a tremendous amount of time with Cisco's Murali Sitaram (pictured) the VP/GM of Cisco's Enterprise Platforms unit to learn more about Cisco's Quad initiative which ties together synchronous and asynchronous communications via a very social-networking friendly interface. The name Quad of course is a play on the campus quad which is often a meeting place at universities. And as you've no doubt guessed, the goal here is to create a virtual meeting place which has all the social benefits of the real-world coupled with the strengths of search, databases and real-time communications.

Cisco Quad aims to unify synchronous and asynchronous communications

At the moment Quad is targeted at enterprises with 100,000 users and up and in the future we can expect a cloud-based Quad solution provided by service providers for smaller companies to use.

There are a few very real business reasons to seriously consider enterprise social networking and without a doubt providing a familiar workspace for the "Facebook generation" is one.

Posted in AT&T, Avaya, Broadband, Cisco, Communications Developer, Consumer Electronics, E-Commerce, Facebook, Financial, Gadget, Google, HD Voice, IP Communications, Microsoft, Nortel, SIP, SaaS, Security, Social Networking, Technology, Twitter, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, Virtual Worlds, VoIP, Wireless

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