Peter : On Rad's Radar?
Peter
| Peter Radizeski of RAD-INFO, Inc. talking telecom, Cloud, VoIP, CLEC, and The Channel.

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Selling VoIP and UC via Channel Partners

September 21, 2012

Retirement Planning for TDM

September 13, 2012

XO rolled out in purple for the Channel Partners Expo in Orlando. The Rocks lounge at the Peabody has been rocking with the telecom folks drinking and talking and talking till the wee hours of the night - then up to do it again the next day. This show has been a long series of meetings and events mixed in with catching up with familiar faces, but then that is the trade show formula, right?

This show like so many lately has been taken over by Cloud, which is not surprising except maybe to the traditional Agent base. Personally I think that some of the CPExpo should be more along the NCTA model: fun mixed in with seminars on business planning, retirement planning and exit strategies.

The VAR/Agent Comparison

September 12, 2012

At Channel Partners Expo in Orlando for TCA. Our first member networking event last night went very well with a good sized crowd. Today we have the TCA's 6th Channel Chief Summit with guest speaker John Zanni of Parallels.

The top Channel executives and even the bigger Master Agencies are all chasing VAR's. And this show is so cloud themed an agent would be hard pressed to find a telco element, which I think leads to less Agents, but perhaps not more VARs, since they have their own shows, including DreamForce this week.

While taking with one channel head, he mentioned that the numbers guys always want justification to continuing paying on that line item called commissions.



Channel Moves

September 5, 2012

Zayo decided to keep the AboveNet channel intact with Angelo Germani in charge. Zayo announced that zColo's products and services will join Ethernet, Wavelength and IP products for sale via channel partners.

Windstream is partnering with Lifesize (a division of Logitech) for HD Videoconferencing equipment. Paetec has long offered equipment for lease to SMB to go with services.

The Alternate to Cloud

August 15, 2012

For Agents that just don't want to go cloud, there are some alternatives. In my latest book, SELLECOM 2: Selling Cloud Services, there are a few products that Agents can sell that still fall inside the Replacement services umbrella. T1, broadband, cellular, voice are all replacement services for the transactional agent. That road is bumpy.

TCA Moves

August 9, 2012

The TCA, the only non-profit trade association for the channel partners (VAR's, agents, inter-connects, YOU), has a lot going on in the next two months.

Heading into CPExpo in Orlando, the TCA will hold its fifth Channel Chief Summit. The CCS is an opportunity for the top channel executives of our service provider members to meet face-to-face to learn and share. This time round, Quest CTO Mike Dillon and Parallels SVP John Zanni will be presenting to the participants.

It Isn't Easy Being an Agent

July 31, 2012

Tonight at a networking event I met a former VZ employee - a channel manager for the last 5 years. He told me he was going to be an Agent to put his telecom knowledge to work to fund his life's endeavors. He kept going on about dabbling in the agent thing part-time. Picking up a project here or there.

Comcast Hits 300MB

July 25, 2012

Comcast rolled out Xfinity Platinum service with speeds of 305Mbps down and 65Mbps up for about $295. It was designed to compete with VZ Quantum FiOS, which is 300Mbps down, 65Mbps up, and $205 per month in the Northeast. Xfinity Platinum will include free Xfinity Signature Support (27/4 tech support and a personal consultant), a secure wireless gateway, and the Constant Guard Security Suite.

In some areas Comcast is doubling the speed for its existing tiers.

7.5 Things Affecting the Channel

July 18, 2012

There have been some changes in the Channel. Agents need to pay attention because this will result in even more changes in the Channel!

  1. Windstream laid off their Channel Chief, Dan Sterling. Windstream has been trimming the management fat this year.

Various Tidbits

July 11, 2012

Two of my pals work at Counterpath. It went on NASDAQ today. Congrats! "CounterPath Corporation (OTCBB: CPAH) (TSX-V: CCV), an award-winning provider of desktop and mobile VoIP software products and solutions, today announced that its common stock will commence trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market on July 11, 2012.

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