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| Peter Radizeski of RAD-INFO, Inc. talking telecom, Cloud, VoIP, CLEC, and The Channel.

September 2014

You are browsing the archive for September 2014.

The Cost of Attention (Advertising)

September 30, 2014

Note: This isn't a political rant. It's a numbers game.

In 2010, current Florida Governor Rick Scott spent $40 million to win the governor's race. The voter turnout was 49% according to the state of Florida.

There Are a Number of MSP Resources

September 29, 2014

What Business Are You Really in?

September 26, 2014

For the Cloud Comm providers, it seems like they are in every business except VoIP. They are phone (handset) purveyors, network operators (for all the circuits they provide), tech support, software integration, network monitoring and a host of other managed services. After that, they are voice service providers.

Dell, Gateway, Compaq, IBM - all sold desktops and laptops -- all clunky, not stylish, looked the same - only difference? Maybe price, components.

A $19B UCC Business

September 25, 2014

In a CRN article, Bob Gutschenritter, director of UCC for Ingram Micro North America, was reported: "Gutschenritter said the UCC business as a whole is already a $19 billion business, with 7 percent year over year growth. He said that while Ingram Micro has approximately 40,000 transaction resellers, he estimated 10 percent of those partners are involved in UCC solutions."

Seems bigger than any estimate I have seen until you drill down to what UCC is for Ingram (or TD for that matter): PBX, video, tele-presence and primarily Cisco distributed by the VAD. I would assume that also means Microsoft Lync licenses as well.

How Frictionless is the Sales Process?

September 22, 2014

On sales that are under $200, the sales process - ordering, quoting - has to be frictionless. The paperwork has to be online. E-signature has been around for a while, use it. No one wants to do paperwork for something that costs $25 per month.

Does Signing an Agreement Make a Partnership?

September 22, 2014

Does signing the agreement make a partnership? Um, no it doesn't. Any more than using the "fog a mirror" strategy builds a proper channel.

As I have said before, channel programs are only a numbers game when the people running them think that numbers is the metric to watch.

Do SPIFFs Work?

September 22, 2014

In a conversation with IPR Channel chief, Kirk Horton, this question arose: Do SPIFF's work? It isn't a yes or no answer. It depends.

When a new product is launched, spiffs help to draw attention to the new product.

A Chat with IPR's Channel Chief

September 22, 2014

Kirk Horton is the new Channel Chief of IPR Secure*. We chat for about eight minutes about the launch of IPR's Fusion Partner program, IPR and channel partner programs in general. Horton told me that he put the best agent friendly agreement in place that he could and that the program will be launching soon.

Before the call, Kirk and I had an hour long conversation about the channel.

Peter's View: The Channel Ecosystem

September 16, 2014

I read CRAIG'S VIEW: THE NEW CHANNEL ECOSYSTEM by Craig Schlagbaum, channel chief at Comcast. My response was too long for a LinkedIn discussion.

Craig, you make the same points that I have heard since Tiffani Bova first spoke at Channel Partners in Boston -- in 2008. Six years later.

2 Ways to Maximize Your Vendor Relationship

September 16, 2014

As channel partners, we get hammered all the time to sell vendor's stuff - even if it is unreasonable or doesn't fit our customer base.

We all have primary vendors, vendors that are significant lines of revenue. We also have secondary vendors. (We might even like them more.) The one thing most vendors have in common is that they have large catalogs of business services.

A Podcast with PlumUC

September 16, 2014

A Few Channel Associations

September 15, 2014

In case you didn't know, there is an association for agents, VARs, inter-connects and MSPs to get education and certification. The TCA is the only non-profit trade association for the channel.

There are other associations for channel partners. CompTIA for IT training and certs.

The IP Transformation Effect

September 12, 2014

While the former RBOCs run pilots for the TDM-to-IP transformation that they are pushing for, the rest of the ILEC world is scrambling to figure out how it will destroy their current business model. The Rural LECs have been kept afloat by USF funds; now, those funds will be less than half and based on broadband lines instead of POTS. The whole business model is shaking up.

Voice over IP is the aftermath of consumers moving from copper to FiOS or cable modem or even cell phone over the last ten years.

Two Sides of the Street

September 10, 2014

In the past 18 months, I have seen a lot of carrier channel personnel make their way into desks at master agencies. (For example, this release.) It makes me think about quite a few things, but I am only going to touch on 2.

One, master agencies are building up for scale. There are positions for carrier folks there now, because some of these agencies have gotten so big.

The Expo News Update

September 9, 2014

Datapipe, a global managed IT provider, acquired Layered Tech to add to its US federal government business. Layered Tech adds security and compliance to Datapipe's managed cloud service. It is not unusual to pick off a specialty shop since developing the service and hiring the talent is an uphill battle today.

tw telecom says that the new CIO of the combined Level3/twt will be twt's own Harold Teets.

PwC's Growth Study

September 4, 2014

PriceWaterhouseCooper (PwC) released a study about the future of work/ Here are some excerpts.

"The world craves growth. The developing world needs growth to pull people out of poverty. The developed world needs growth to tackle mounting unemployment and large government deficits."

What Did I Miss Part 34

September 4, 2014

Merger Details Emerge

In the mix of the Comcast-TWC merger will emerge a new MSO created by divestitures and swaps called GreatLand Connections, previously called SpinCo. Charter will own one-third and operate it, says Telecompetitor.

The FCC has received a lot of comments on this merger docket and many are anti-merger. I think it would be a mess for consumers - and the result would be a much larger Comcast that is too large already.

Security Leaks Everywhere

September 4, 2014

There are fake (portable) cell towers popping up across America. [CW, BI and here for best tech info]. I don't mean cell towers disguised as fake trees. I mean people are using technology like this Stingray to intercept cell phones, track and hack.

The Not Unusual Alteva Dilemma

September 3, 2014

A private equity group that owns 6% of Alteva made a play to buy it all and take it private. That move failed. The most interesting comment Rob Powell made was this: "[Alteva] has been seeking a future in hosted UC, where it has found solid growth but no profits yet."

When you look at the INC5000 for revenue numbers for many hosted players, none are clocking the ball out of the park, despite years of trying.

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