On Rad's Radar? - apps Archives

Vidtel Makes WebRTC Available with MeetMe

2013-01-31T16:48:06Z

WebRTC is an open-source application interface that allows real-time services like voice, video, and data sharing to work within a web browser. Vidtel's MeetMe and Gateway services both natively support WebRTC, empowering businesses to utilize video conferencing in entirely new ways.

VidTel's MeetMe service is an any-to-any cloud-based video conferencing service. To better explain that, it means that a customer can get video conferencing in the cloud, with no complex, costly bridges to maintain on-premise; even better, the Vidtel service also supports any-to-any, so in addition to supporting Cisco/Polycom/etc video devices, it also supports Google Talk, Skype.....and now, attendees calling in directly from a web browser via WebRTC.

So I had an (email) conversation with Alex Doyle, a long-time pal and the VP of Marketing at VidTel. Here's why this is blog worthy :), and why WebRTC in general, is important.

"Impediment Buster" - Doyle thinks historically, there have been a few key impediments to the take-up of video conferencing. End-point cost is high and management of video conferencing gear is complex and tricky. [High bandwidth circuit costs too.] Traditionally, Doyle says, "there's long development and R&D time in bringing out video end-points, and video has been relatively siloed. With WebRTC (plus cloud-based video conferencing), you can make the argument that these impediments have vanished - the bridge is in the cloud, and the "end-point" is just the browser. (There's not even an app or a plugin to download - unlike some of our competitors.)

"New Markets" - Doyle states that traditionally it's something that has been accessible only to the large enterprises - companies that could afford tele-presence rooms. With WebRTC and cloud based video, all of sudden there's an opportunity for the mid-market to benefit from video conferencing.

"Innovation and New Apps" - Doyle continues, "If you think about it, every HDX (health data exchange) on the market is basically the same thing. Building custom video end--points (like a tele-medicine "cart") is pretty expensive and takes a long time to get to market. But with WebRTC, if you think about it, the cost of building a new video app has been driven down to the cost of building a web page. Video suppliers can build custom apps like video interviewing, video health checkups, video consulting, etc as easily as they can build a web site. I think there's a huge opportunity here for innovation." So do quite a few pioneers in the WebRTC space, many of whom were at TMC's first WebRTC Conference.

I still think that video conferencing (like HD Voice and Cloud) is more hype than actual revenue. However, for a telecom agent or VAR, it takes multiple streams of income - and many tools in the toolbox - to make a successful business.

VidTel and ACT! teamed up.

It looks like service providers are starting to see video conferencing (and collaboration) is a must-have instead of a nice-to-have. PBX-Change launched miMeeting, a simple-to-use, feature-rich web and video conferencing tool organizations can use to host interactive and engaging online meetings, webinars, training sessions and events.

SubOut is the Best of What Cloud has to Offer

2013-01-23T00:15:30Z

The transportation industry is more efficient due to a new start-up that launched. SubOut.com is a subscription-based communications exchange enabling transportation companies to source business, buy and sell parts, and streamline subcontracting via a secure, easy-to-use interface accessible from any web-enabled device. [PR]

"SubOut.com is an innovative web-based tool that streamlines the subcontracting process for the bus and limousine industry", said Thomas Howe, an award winning communications software architect and one of SubOut.com's founders. "This easy-to-use platform uses the most up-to-date technology to reduce the overhead produced from charter booking processes by allowing charters to be posted and accepted online, in real-time."

SubOut is a vendor management platform for faster, stickier coordinated bus and limo transactions. Transportation is still largely inefficient and analog. This platform allows for the layering of communications on top for ease of use and to speed up the bidding process for tour operators (and the like).

Programmers and telecom insiders forget that many people do not sit in front of computers all day. This is a framework for those types of businesses to leverage technology for business process improvement -- the holy grail of cloud computing. Subout.com adds instant communication. This results in filled buses, sold charters, and reduced idle time - and increased revenue, notes Anthony Vaccarello, President of Transportation Partners of America. In some respects, this is like Craigslist or elance for the transportation industry.

Good luck to Thomas Howe and his company. Howe has won awards for creating telephony mashup apps before. It looks like he is getting back to roots.

Find SubOut on G+. Watch the video for a thorough explanation of SubOut.com

Predictions for 2013

2012-12-19T19:15:00Z

CenturyLink Biz has an ebook out with predictions for 2013 and beyond. M2M, mobility, cloud - all just mind blowing stuff . It's prediction time obviously. Let me say that 2013 can go a couple of ways - DC gets its collective act together to improve the financial situation or it doesn't. The economy will swing with either path - good or bad. We have already seen layoffs and threats of more. The only positive I see is bankers actually being penalize for fraud. That said what is in store for 2013?

Well, the FCC's pace for any case is slow and slower, so they will likely not get to the copper clipping and IP transition until 3Q2013 at the earliest. meanwhile, CLEC's have to be vigilante to document cases of copper clipping, because all the money that they - Integra, Megapath, TelePacific, XO, Windstream - have invested in EoC doesn't work without said copper. I think they will be fine until 2014 on this.

That said, CLEC's have to accelerate their plans for OTT services like cloud and Managed IT. When the copper plant disappears, wholesale (from fiber providers and cablecos) will get expensive. The money will be in Layer 7. I have often said that it was going to be Layer 1 or Layer 7. Without a network that you own, it will be a fight for apps and services. Everything will look like Office 365 - where 42,000 Microsoft partners are selling it for very little margin.

Here's the thing: more businesses are moving to the cloud for so many reasons - mobility just being one of them. Some CLEC's, VARs and even Agents will migrate to a cloud services brokerage model. That will work for slinging Hosted Exchange, SharePoint, CRM, simple backup, even VPS. Network will become a separate sale and negotiation.

I'm still shocked that no one has rolled out vertically based integrated bundles yet.

So mobility will still be huge in 2013, but with the new shared data plans, the monthly bill will be increasing, so businesses (and consumers) will be looking for alternatives. Wi-fi will be significant. When you add in mobile data caps and consumer cable caps - and metering - there will be a net effect on cloud services and OTT services.

When you examine the backlash yesterday on the Instagram privacy gaff (right after Facebook finished acquiring them for $715M), you have to wonder how much longer the online phenomenon continues. Privacy is non-existent. You have to be off-the-grid and paying with cash to be beyond corporate and government spying. I think we will see a little more backlash in 2013 - enough that FB and other companies see a dip in usage and corresponding advertising sales. Have FB and twitter peaked?

The companies to watch in 2013:

RIM and Alcatel because they are re-inventing;
Avaya because of its crushing debt;
Bright House due to its Telovations acquisition and to see if it is the first cableco to chase business outside of its region;
8x8 and similar OTT Hosted PBX players like FreedomIQ;
the Cloud Communications Alliance, especially the members who have not been acquired yet. If Hosted PBX doesn't explode in 2013, it never will;
Sprint because Clearwire+DISH+Softbank = a big ugly mess with Hesse;
Verizon but specifically its OTT hosted PBX service, VCE;
Dell as it continues its shift to cloud services from hardware;
Tech Data - between TDmobility and the Microcorp deal - 2013 will be telling;
AirWatch since MDM is huge and they are being sued;
Master Agencies that have to figure out relevancy in 2013.

For Agents and VARs, 2013 is the year they have to put a plan together. No more waiting. Too many VAR's are already jumping on the telecom/network bandwagon and not nearly enough Agents are jumping into the Managed Services and Cloud space. For Agents, 2 resolutions for 2013 would be (1) partner with a VAR or two; and (2) cross-sell services to grab more of the total wallet share of your customers. Look to revenue per customer and lifetime value of each customer as the most important metrics. (Mainly because they are.)

For VAR's, they have seen some big changes from Microsoft - Small Business Server's end of life as well as the way Office 365 was sold. VAR's also witnessed CLEC's - like Cbeyond and EarthLink - make a big splash in launching managed services and cloud offerings. In 2013, VARs will need network/telecom to make up for the revenue dips. Locally in Tampa, we have seen some Microsoft partners go to programming and integration services in place of the old model of SBS and Exchange. For all of cloud adoption, Integration is the key to any business process outcomes. There aren't nearly enough programmers to do all the necessary integration.

In the Google world, there are companies making money supporting and integrating Google Apps. Backupify, Batchbook, Insightly are just 3 companies that integrate with Google Apps for CRM and backup. As this ecosystem becomes more complete, Microcorp's deal with NeoNova could prove brilliant.

It is this type of package or bundle that most businesses want. Do they want stand-alone Hosted Exchange? Notsomuch. They want a complete package of inter-working software - the Hosted PBX integrated with Outlook and the browser - like they have on their smartphone!! It confuses me that the smartphone is more integrated than a laptop, Mac or desktop.

They want their CRM to integrate with all of it too. If Xobni can pull in all that social data, why can't a plug-in for CRM?

It's this complete solution that is needed. No idea what company will roll it out first or if it will be in 2013.

It's About Stats and Studies

2012-12-04T16:34:50Z

Here is a collection of some stats and studies for your reading pleasure.

(1)

Mary Meeker's 2012 Presentation On The State Of The Web is a good read despite being heavily mobile. She spends quite a few slides pointing out how SO many industries have been disrupted side-swiped by technology, especially Internet enabled apps.

(2)

"The worldwide Ethernet switch market, which had grown in large part due to the adoption of 10 Gigabit Ethernet technology in the data center, contracted in the third quarter, with revenue dropping 4.4 percent, according to analysts with IDC." [eweek]

(3)

Survey Finds 'Death of the Landline' as Most Disruptive Force to US-based Communication Services. I would have to agree. That copper plant impacts a lot of telecom.

(4)

"According to a recent market study made by Infonetics Research, the third quarter of 2012 saw a few positive changes in the leading business PBX telephony systems. Cisco was found to be the leading PBX business phone system vendor (for the 5th straight quarter), followed closely behind by Avaya." [source]

"the high roller in the Unified Comminications (UC) market is Mcrosoft, with a rise in revenues of approximately 40% over second quarter profits." You have to read it carefully. It's just about revenue growth. Diane Myers continues: “UC applications have been a real sweet spot. The demand for tools that aid employee productivity and flexibility is fueling growth in this segment, and Microsoft’s Lync has been the primary beneficiary, enjoying over 40% sequential growth in the third quarter.”

"Revenue is declining at a faster rate than shipments: for the first time, the average revenue per PBX line slipped below $200." This is globally in the whole IP-PBX space.

(5)

Frost & Sullivan's new report "North American VoIP Access and SIP Trunking Services Market 2012: Broader Market Acceptance Drives Robust Growth" to their offering. This couldn't be more obvious. SIP Trunking and VoIP are growing. No kidding. The PSTN is closing and copper is clipping. Cable Voice is all VoIP, even the PRI's. Try to buy a TDM PRI sometime, Frost & Sullivan. Oh, and there was consolidation in this space in 2011. See what I mean?

(6)

Garrett Smith on the video conferencing market.

(7)

Lastly, a beautiful infographic from GigaOm on the state of the US Broadband market!

Mobile Apps Are Not News

2012-10-03T13:44:57Z

Received yet another handful of press releases centered around mobility. Mainly it was about a new Android or iPhone app for UC. This is NOT news! Seriously. The desk phone is being replaced by mobile devices for knowledge workers and sales people. If you don't have a mobile app - that is news, because you will be extinct soon.

Really, the dude at Apple that has to approve all the iOS apps for the store must be thinking, "What? Another freaking VoIP app for the iPad? Aren't a thousand enough?"

Can You Beat the iPad?

2012-08-16T18:47:49Z

As tablet after tablet fail to make it - I am talking to you HP, Blackberry Playbook, Dell Streak, MOTO Xoom, Asus and even Creative - does it make it even harder for another one to launch?

We have three new ones coming out: the Google Nexus 7, Lenovo Thinkpad 2 and Microsost Smooth.

Google Nexus 7 is making the most buzz. It has sleek design and a gret starting price of $199. This is a straight consumer play, but I find it interesting that it will be the remote for Google's TV bundle on Kansas City Google fiberhood.

Lenovo is trying to be smart about positioning there win8 tablet. "Multi-user login for doctors, sales reps and lawyers." It is wise to target a vertical, especially if you can bundle in apps. If Lenovo can partner with professional office management software makers, like NaviNet, med3000, ADP's AdvancedMD, or a host of others.

Microsoft ties into its Live stuff. What about an Android tablet attached to Google Drive, especially for the small businesses that have gone to Google Apps?

,p>Matching hardware and software is something that Avaya tried but I do not know to what success. However, our industry has stranded a lot of hardware that either didn't live up to the hype or was under-utilized (like IP Phones that are mini-computers capable of running xlm apps.)

NEC has a docking station for the iPad to turn it into a phone working with its IP-PBX. Tom Keating writes how the Microsoft Surface might be a threat to IP desk phones. That's one way to skin a cat, but when I think about Apple and all its apps, I don't think making it an IP phone will make it a winner for 2 reasons: (1) most companies have money tied up in desk phones; (2) as Rich Tehrani commented to me, who would leave their tablet on a dock in the cubicle? It would disappear. (Need a GPS app to track it, I guess.)

When Level3 sales purchased iPads it was to improve sa;es presentations and expedite the sales process by having quoting and contracting on hand. That's the type of thing that Lenovo and Microsoft need to start thinking about. Tie it to business applications and verticals, not as another consumer toy, since the iPad is now being seen as both.

Rich Tehrani makes a case that Apple is the luxe and top of the market, so everyone else will need to sell for less or being freaking awesome and different. The Nexus, Amazon Kindle Fire, and the Microsoft Surface are all cheaper. It must be tied to business productivity. Isn't that the lesson we tell salespeople trying to sell cloud? It isn't about price; it is about productivity.

Just saw this article about the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 for $499. I don't know Samsung's strategy here. Going head-to-head with Apple at the same price point seems like a losing strategy -- and I am not even an Apple fanboy. Plus at $499, you can buy a nice laptop. At $499 in Apple land you can but, well, not much. An iPod, and iPhone and an iPad. No Macs in that range. I also thing Apple users like cool gadgets, be part of the club and tend toward liking visual presentation at its best. The rest of us just want function.

The Cloudy Race to Zero

2012-08-06T18:44:59Z

There has been an discussion about the Transactional Agent - and his demise. I beg to differ. I think The Cloud will end up being transactional as well.

A couple of months ago, Microsoft lowered its pricing on Office 365 in March to compete with Google Apps at $50 per year per user.

At first, I thought only MIcrosoft and select partners would be offering Office 365, but with Sprint's announcement today, it looks like anyone can get in the game.

I was sitting in a CLEC training when the subject of Hosted Exchange came up. The CLEC would offer special pricing to not lose a deal. So again "We will lower our pants to get 1000 seats." Price war.

These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.

How do folks choose CRM? I'm guessing for some, it is solely on price. Agents could certainly have a collection of 3 - Salesforce, Dynamics, Zoho - to offer to clients. See? Transactional.

Hosted PBX - how many Broadsoft players are there? Over 400. Plus add in Metaswitch offerings from EarthLink and others. It can definitely be sold on price.

Avaya's Live Connect at $19 per user is certainly a shot across the bow (towards a price war).

In an interview, one Tampa cloud provider said, "You can save a bunch of money by going to the cloud." That's when I knew it was going to be another race to zero.

ASIDE:

Managed IT had this problem a couple of years ago. Everyone and their uncle was selling managed IT via remote apps. Once it got to sub-$10 per machine, the pros had to leave the market, because you just can't provide decent service at that price point. I see this happening with other services like email, office, Hosted VoIP. Mainly because people sell it as a line item that can be comparison shopped.

It will be Bundling that changes this.

When there are only a select few offering a service, margin is high and knowledge is clustered. As more enter the marketplace, the knowledge spreads thin (not a good thing), value dips and price erodes. For example, a boutique IT shop selling integration of a software suite can sell on value and target highly qualified prospects who will need this service and be willing to pay for it. When it moves into the mainstream, not so much. More people selling similar services - or at least outwardly similar to the market. Less sales people that truly understand the value of the service; that can prospect accurately; and can sell on value. Price war. Red Ocean. See that ship? That's where it is heading to the Red Ocean.

Another iPad App

2012-04-05T16:28:10Z

I get an email daily about how someone launched an iPad app. Wahoo. Apparently, launching an app is now a media event.

People forget a couple of important details:

The Cloud is all about High Availability of data. If you want people to use your service, end users must be able to access their data on your platform from whatever Internet-enabled device they use. Apple, Blackberry, Android, Windows - doesn't matter.

The iPad app shouldn't just be about data access. What makes the app any better than just using the website? It has to either make the business process easier or it has to be enhanced. It shouldn't be like the LinkedIn apps that I have seen, which offer limited functionality.

Just giving your sales force an iPad doesn't make them better. But designing an app that can access network maps, lit buildings, collateral, service inquiries, quoting tool and forms might make them more efficient, which is the aim.

At some point, having a couple of hundred icons on your device to access every website you need is going to get arduous. Scrolling through bookmarks in your browser is easier. Unless that app is awesome and useful, it gets relegated to the back of the line.

So, as a note, stop sending me your press releases about your iPad/Android app releases.

The Scoop on TDMobility

2012-03-23T16:09:04Z

I spoke with Brian Kosoy, PR manager for Tech Data, and Charles Kriete, the Executive Vice President of TDMobility. Kriete is also the founder of the company that developed some of the key technology (CellManage) in TDMobility. His company was acquired by the joint venture between Tech Data and Brightstar. TDmobility launched recently as a way for VAR's to offer cellular service - handsets, devices, netbooks, tablets, mifi - to their customer base through Tech Data. Give it a listen. (embedded Flash player)

There are 2 sections. TDActivate acts just like an authorized dealer does for cellular products. Pick your device, pick your plan, activate it through the carrier - all through a TDMobility. It is not a true MVNO. It all goes through the carriers - AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint.

TDCellManage is the MDM or mobile device management platform. It is similar to a TEM model, where you can see the carrier billing, the devices, the contracts. It can be more as a solutions and software pillar to provide applications control on the device, email security, remote security (like wipe), desktop virtualization and anti-virus. RIM, Good and AirWatch software is available. This is the value that the VAR can add over an authorized agent, Best Buy Mobile or Amazon.

It's all about Management - managed servcies, TEM (telecom expense mgmt) or MDM (mobile device mgmt). Get in the game!

Download the mp3 here.

iPad, MDM and Other News

2012-03-09T15:12:30Z

Bandwidth.com bought DASH Carrier Services and renamed it inetwork. Apparently, inetwork is doing gangbusters in the wholesale VoIP space, the largest arbitrage space left, I would imagine. It's the new LD. inetwork offers origination, termination, e-911, SMS and toll-free. The cool thing is the TelcoTranslator that they launched to help with all the acronyms.

Birch has bundled credit card processing with its SMB services. Smart for the retail space. They might want to add 3G/4G redundancy to that. Oh, and I sure hope that are working on PCI Compliance.

So Apple's ipad3 is out. In 4Q the iPad outsold PC's in number of units sold. TDmobility told me that the future is in mobile devices not in PC's or laptops. (Netbooks and tablets are considered mobile devices.) But what is a telecom or pharma sales force supposed to do with the iPad after they plunk down $500 a piece for 50 or 100 of them? Speaking with Jody Haneke last night, it's all about interactive apps that make the sales presentation come alive. (That's what Haneke Design does here in Tampa Bay, home of some great mobile marketing talent.)

The big thing, according to both Haneke and Charles Kriete at TDmobility, is MDM: mobile device management. MDM involves more than just inventory tracking of mobile devices. It includes remote wipe, anti-virus, virtualization, application control and more. If there was a managed service that Agents would want to jump on early, MDM would be it. It only takes 50 or 60 phones to be worth it for a business. There is also room for just mobile security management. The threat to mobile devices is huge. Imagine a virus turning your phone into a surveillance device!

Rumor Mill: is DT bidding on EarthLink? Tata and Vodafone are bidding for Cable & Wireless.

I Can Do It Myself

2012-03-06T14:37:09Z

I hear this all the time: "I can do it myself!" Backup solution? No, I'll build one myself. Outsource your email? No, I can run my own email server. White-label VoIP? Nope. I'm going to spin up an Asterisk box and use that.

You think I am kidding, but I'm not.

Yesterday it was: We needed to re-do our Broadsoft portal. After shopping around, we decided to build it ourselves.

It makes me wonder about a couple of things:

Are you a hobby or a business? A hobby is when you like to tinker with technology. A business is something else.

Do you know what your time and effort is worth? It takes a lot of time and effort to build a solution, maintain that hardware and software, and support it. Add in licensing, backup, redundancy and security to that budget number. Factor in that while spending your time and effort on Building Your Own, you could have been doing something else -- some other priority, some other revenue generating activity, or personal time.

There is always a debate about buy versus build. There are many reasons to buy: faster to market, outsourced skill and support, no CAPEX, knowledge base, etc. Yet there are reasons to build: you want more control, special features, proprietary, etc.

In today's world, where most service providers don't market very well or brand themselves (or their servcies), buying is the way to go. Why? It isn't about you or what you want. It's about your customers and what they want. It's a speed to market. It's about capturing wallet. And you can't do all that by yourselves. You just can't.

When I examine VDI, VoIP/Hosted PBX, UC, backup and conferencing, there isn't any special sauce being pitched. To the marketplace, it's one big nosie box about the tech and its features. That's why it doesn't sell fast and that's why you don't have to spend the effort building your own (in my opinion).

Can you put a competitive service together that your customers will be happy with in the most efficient manner?

Don't look at the cost (unless you factor in your time saved), look at results.

What Else Are You Going to Sell?

2012-03-04T23:44:40Z

TDM is running out of runway. Agents have already switched to selling Ethernet, MPLS and SIP Trunking. What else can they be selling?

Back-up, like Conferencing, is a cash cow that Agents just don't sell. From archiving email per federal regulations to backing up laptops, smartphones, databases, customer records, billing and more "in the Cloud", online backup service isn't much different from Google (see Chrome ad) or Apple iCloud. Access to everything you need through an authorized device attached to the Internet is the beauty to Cloud services, but backing up data is vital to business continuity. How long can a business run without billing records or a customer database? Not very long. Think how flummoxed you are when you lose your contacts in your smartphone. Imagine that contact list was your business. That's why backup is important (to your customers). VAR's are already selling different versions of online backup: their own; a white-label from Remote Backup, DriveHQ or LiveDrive; and a resell of Carbonite (who is hugging Agents right now) or Intronis (who loves the Channel) or Anxient or many others. There are some like SugarSync or Mozy that backup your smartphone and your laptop to the same account.

Managed Security - most of the CLEC's (XO, EarthLink, Netwolves, Integra, Cbeyond), the RBOCs and the ILEC's (Windstream and CenturyLink) offer some type of security offering, usually Managed Firewall, IDS (Intrusion Detection Service) and Network Monitoring. As more data moves to the web (Cloud), security will become even more significant, in the form of email and application security, encryption, event and log management, and mobile device management. For example, Reflexion provides hosted email security, archiving and encryption services exclusively through the channel.

Hosting and email services - everyone has a website or blog; everyone has email. Why shouldn't you be offering those services too? XO started out as Concentric Network, a hosting company. This was Cloud before it was called that. XO sells Hosted Exchange and website hosting. Megapath just rolled out the Microsoft suite. Intercall offers Live365. It isn't big dollars, but it is a place to get your feet wet in Cloud and apps.

Managed IT - remote monitoring of servers and desktops - is a VAR service powered by software like Autotask, Connectwise, Kaseya and GFI MAX. As businesses are essentially dependent upon computers and technology to do business, managed IT services become an option when skilled technical support staff are too expensive, churned or unavailable.

A step past, Managed IT is the remote desktop - aka Desktop-as-a-service (a term I dislike) and VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure). In 1999, Wyse terminals were going to replace desktops for efficiency. It didn't happen (except in the POS space.) Now we are trying it again. MSP's offer this service - with a big fat helping of bandwidth. There are big names in this space, including Citrix, VMware, and Microsoft. There are also a number of providers, like IIS Group, who provide VDI through the channel. Navisite, which TWC owns, just chose Desktone as its DaaS partner.

Next to DaaS is HaaS, or Hardware as a Service. Don't ask me how this is different or how it isn't just leasing. Ask Chartec.

There are issues with selling cloud services - like the service provider's (SP's) financial position; redundancy and resiliency of the SP's architecture; SP's ability to scale in terms of on-boarding new customers properly and scaling tech support for end users; the end users' experiences as cloud services will change some business environmental factors; and licensing issues.

That being said, Agents should be surveying their current customers about the needs outlined here. Why? To get a bigger share of the customer's wallet.

Another way to look at it is: the customer is going to shop these services like he shops T1's, broadband, and voice. He might as well pay you to shop them for him, like he does for the telecom stuff. Get in there!

If you liked this, you might like this blog post too:

What about selling Cloud

One addition, I interviewed VAR Dynamics (local boys from Tampa) at ITEXPO. VAR Dynamics is a private-label Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Cloud business apps provider selling exclusively through channels. Apps include Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft SharePoint, Zimbra, BlackBerry BES, email encryption, email archiving and more. There will be cross-over in what a provider sells. Just as VAR Dynamics sells the Microsoft software and email security, CLEC's that you are already familiar with - like XO and Cbeyond - offer a variety of services to sell deep into your customers.

Where Will the Revenue Come From?

2012-03-02T16:00:45Z

The screaming you hear is coming from execs at the global cellcos. For years we have been hearing how voice will be free. (Hasn't happened yet, but it has flat rated.) Now it seems the text messaging revenue arm is decreasing - 9% from last year globally.

According to this article, "Pinger and an explosion of smartphone messaging services -- like iMessage, BlackBerry Messenger, WhatsApp, Viber Media, Facebook Messenger and KakaoTalk -- have managed in just a few years to slash away at the important revenue that cell phone companies get from text messaging. Analysts say there's no end in sight to the financial blood letting."

This explains all the metering and bandwidth caps. Revenue is flat for cellular so they need to make it up in data revenue. When you are spending $7-9 Billion per year on the network, plus paying for roaming and having to buy spectrum, you want ARPU and revenue to go up.

There is also all this envy to Apple, Google and other cloud companies that are making money from apps, shopping and usage that the cellcos are not getting a piece of.

I think it is also why a good many cell phones do not have wi-fi. That tends to work two ways though: wi-fi is capacity offload while the customer is still paying you a monthly rate. Wi-fi upload may be how they save some money on capacity upgrades. Wi-fi capability in teh handset would also be a way to appease the folks who get throttled or capped. However, that doesn't help the carrier revenues. They just don't want to be a dump pipe, but every move they make seems dumb.

A Fun Chat with VAR Dynamics

2012-02-01T05:51:08Z

It started out coincidentally as VAR Dynamics CEO, Tony Francisco, was on my plane this morning. And he just recently moved from Silicon Valley to Tampa Bay, where I live. He is working with Gazelle Labs and spoke at BarCamp Tampa Bay, which is an un-conference I co-organize for the last 4 years. I had to go to Miami Beach to talk to him though. Go figure!

VAR Dynamics is the geeks in the cloud that run the servers that run the software that VAR's and service providers then re-label and sell to end-users. Back in the day, they would be labeled Master MSP as they enable MSP businesses. I called then an MSPE - a managed service provider enabler. Tony disliked that immediately. They are like the VAR Viagra - get them up and running on the Cloud in a day, fully turn key and automated through the magic of open API's. Tony didn't like that either, but his VP of Marketing, Darrek Porter, a man who was in politics once upon a time, did. This system allows VAR's to consume and re-purpose cloud apps in a self-service atmosphere.

I like it when the discussion is lively, more like buddies chatting over coffee than telling me your talking points. VAR Dynamics has almost 200 partners, which include telcos, VAR's and MSP's. What's the difference between VAR and MSP? Mainly mindset. Break/fix versus MRR (monthly recurring revenue).

VAR Dynamics white labels a lot of Microsoft products like Exchange, Sharepoint, CRM and soon Lync Lite. They also white label Blackberry Enterprise Server and Zimbra. Why Zimbra? "For those that don't like Microsoft." They have add-ons like archiving and "Compliancy", which means help complying with the myriad federal regs like PCI, HIPAA, GLBA, SOX, etc.

Francisco did name drop Autotask, ConnectWise, Jamcracker and Reflection as current or future partners -- again through the magic of well coded open API's.

Are you a company with a base of customers looking for MRR - "and control of their future"? Then VAR Dynamics wants to talk to you.

How do you control your own future? By selling white-label services, you are the provider - no carrier deciding that the bottom looks better when they stop paying commissions - so the monthly commission isn't going to get cut off, unless the customer leaves you.

It's a Mobile Monday

2012-01-30T16:51:18Z

It's a mobile Monday as I get set to pack up to head to ITEXPO East 2012 in Miami Beach.

Yahoo was being Yahoo this morning as it announced - in the same breath - that it has launched a "Mobile First" mindset, then shut down 10 mobile apps. Granted, some of them were not doing well (like Yahoo itself), but it's schizophrenic to do it on the same day.

Patent house Klausner Technologies sues MetroPCS for Visual Voicemail Infringement. That's always fun - and profitable for the patent house. Hopefully, in this case, it doesn't mess up the consumers' experiences.

AT&T is now supporting DISH Network at the FCC on its deployment and usage of spectrum in the 2 GHz range that it acquired from bankruptcy court via TerreStar Networks and DBSD North America. In the Fierce article, it is suggested that the support is because AT&T has eyes for DISH spectrum. And as you have read, the rumor mill has AT&T bidding on DISH - for less than what T-Mobile would have cost. It will depend on the FCC rules on the spectrum.

Both Verizon and AT&T had bad quarters. AT&T attributed its $6.7B bad quarter to its $3B T-Mobile acquisition break-up fee. Some of it may be due to having too much focus on the merger you thought for certain was going to pass. VZ blamed pension liabilities on its loss. Windstream changed its pension accounting method.

Not for nothing, but the pension liabilities that VZ and CenturyLink (via Embarq) owe SHOULD have been funded all along -- not in lump sum, quarter killing fashion. I wonder if this is a boat anchor that will sink them?

While AT&T whines at the FCC about a "clear spectrum policy", can I remind that of a few things? One, you have spectrum. Deploy what you have! And try not to mismanage it this time, so your top execs don't have to explain it to Congress again! Two, what spectrum do you want auctioned off? There simply, at this time, isn't any. You and your ilk have bought it all up, horded it, did not deploy it, and screwed the pooch that is mobile data networks in America. Your pals at CTIA didn't plan well for the future either. Did you think that the spectrum was unlimited?

In more AT&T whining, there is this article about the roaming rules and how Sprint is free-loading. My understanding about spectrum was that deployment was required - with an expiration date. What happened to that? Where is the enforcement?

In cool news: Sprint has a $100 7-inch ZTE Android tablet coming out!