Recently in technology Category

There are a bunch of debates raging over the telecommunications infrastructure. 

Congress has looked at Open Access bills for cellular networks. By this we mean that a consumer can use any available handset or device on any cell network. This is kind of the Carterphone concept for cellular.

The 700 MHz auction had open access provisions built right in, so VZW's 4G/LTE network will need to incorporate Open Access.

Spectrum is a finite resource. TV, radio, public safety and the cell companies all share access to various licensed spectrums. Other companies, like oil companies to communicate with rigs and ships, have purchased spectrum licenses. There is also the unlicensed bands like 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 3650 MHz that are shared by any and all. We are seeing in the 2.4 GHz band that too much usage causes crowding and in some cases makes the spectrum useless. (Your little blue Linksys wireless AP's use 2.4 GHz, as does quite a few cordless phones and other consumer products). As more and more products and consumers go cordless and wireless, this resource will be used up. It must be allocated better. 

(An aside: Open Access has one advantage: less handsets in the landfill.)

Net Neutrality is based on network management. Both cable and DSL have bottleneck issues in your community. To manage those issues, the service provider uses tools, hardware and software, to prioritize traffic. This same set of tools can be used to degrade Vonage while prioritizing the ISP's VoIP service offering. These same tools can be used for DPI (deep packet inspection) to read every unencrypted packet that passes through the box. This same tool can be used to police the network (or Internet) of child porn, illegal downloads, and the like. Do we really want that kind of Big Brother action? 

At the heart of the NN debate is the fact that a few ISP's have degraded VoIP packets and legitimate P2P (peer-to-peer file-sharing) traffic. As networks go all IP, there needs to be a set of guidelines for peering traffic and network management. I don't think the FCC or Congress should be the ones making these rules. Any rules they come up with will be a compromise that will ultimately solve nothing, but create new problems.

The final debate in DC is about Fair Competitive Access to the telco infrastructure. After court rulings and Forbearance petitions in 2004-06, CLEC's and ISP's have been losing ground in the ability to get access to telco network elements to provide service to customers at a fair and competitive price. In so many cases, the CLEC "wholesale" rate is higher than retail. Make sense? Docket 05-25 at the FCC is the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Special Access Rates. 

While they may seem similar in that they are all about access to the network, they all are about different aspects of the network access. In the end, Open Access Rules and Net Neutrality guideleines will define how we use the networks for innovation, collaboration and communication.

My buddy, Derek Thompson, just started at Fishnet Security. Besides peddling Bluecoat and SonicWall Managed Services, he is also selling WAN Optimization. While I have heard of this, I had no idea what it was or how it worked. So Derek invited me to sit down with Doug Kruger of Riverbed. Doug explained it simply enough.

One reason companies consider WAN optimization is if the company needs more bandwidth. It may not need more bandwidth, it may just need to better utilize the Internet Access it already has.

Multi-location companies sometimes have servers at each branch instead of consolidating the servers in one data center. This saves money on maintenance and storage, but in some cases may mean a bigger pipe to access the servers in real-time from the data center.

By consolidating servers into one location can save on manpower, maintenance, and data storage/back-up costs. This is also the sales trigger for Virtualization and Cloud Computing. Save on hardware, labor and storage.

TCP and latency are other reasons that companies buy bigger pipe, when perhaps they could just optimize the current WAN connections (or change to MPLS pipes instead of DIA or dedicated Internet access circuits at each location). TCP is not the most efficient protocol, but it works, just sometimes creating excess packet traffic across the WAN.  Latency for real-time applications is also a real problem across the Internet. Lastly, many applications, including Microsoft Office, create excess traffic on the WAN when any document is being opened. 

One of the ways that companies like Riverbed optimize the WAN is to eliminate duplicate data traffic. It's called De-Dupe and the effect is to eliminate up to 80% of traffic across the WAN. WANO technology usually will work on eliminating all the excess packet traffic on the WAN, which will usually result in a bandwidth savings. 

Riverbed tweeks TCP headers to modify the TCP window sizing issue. The tech here gets beyond me and my discussion, but by modifying the TCP packet headers much of the TCP "noise" on the WAN is cut down. By diminishing the excess packet traffic from apps and TCP, WAN optimization technology is able to save a lot of bandwidth. 

Riverbed also works on application latency in a similar vein, by the mitigation of excess packet traffic from apps like Microcosft Office. The technology guesses what the application will ask for and deliver it all at once instead of in 20 different packet streams. Many Fortune 5000 companies use WAN Optimization due mainly to cost cutting force on them by the economy. Data is business critical, so any way that you can save money on the WAN is a good thing.

SUTUS sells an Office-in-the-box solution for small business. For 25 and under employees, the Sutus Business Central 200 is a file server, email server, router, wireless access point, and phone system. The BC200 has gotten an upgrade. 

• New User Interface: enhanced Flex technology supports seamless installation, management and use of the Business Central 200, onsite and/or remotely.
• Enhanced Desktop Install Tools: enables the set-up of desktops, VPN clients and mail clients in a matter of minutes.
• Enhanced Network Interoperability: the appliance now can seamlessly co-exist within a customer's legacy local area networks; including active directory, hosted exchange, and existing internet routers.
• VoIP Interoperability: ITSP partners added to the VoIP interop menu now include Bandwidth.com, Airespring, Excel and XO Communications.

It's the telephony upgrade that caught my eye: Call park / retrieve and directed pick-up. Older key systems use call park and most Hosted PBX systems cannot emulate that feature. (Aastra has a PBX that can). Other features include:

• Overhead and handset paging
• Open / closed call flows
• Enhanced directory
• Ability to manage Polycom handsets through user interface

SUTUS is distributed by ScanSource and NETX.

ADTRAN announced that it has teamed with telecom master agent, Telecom Brokerage, Inc. (TBI), to help channel partners drive revenue growth and become more competitive in the Small and Medium Enterprise market. (If you aren't a Cisco VAR, you need a hardware partner). 

When an agent can combine ADTRAN's industry-leading WAN solutions, including multiservice routers and managed switches, with TBI's partnerships with leading national and regional telecom service providers, agents can benefit from a complete solution; greater account knowledge and control; and generate an additional revenue stream.

At IT EXPO WEST I will be moderating a panel on Leveraging Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to Maximize Network Efficiency. Our panelists will be Zeugma Systems, Voxeo and Voxel dot Net.

While we hear discussions all the time about CDN, not many folks know what they are, how they are designed, or what it means to the customer experience.

The session description explains that "the network throughput has become the bottleneck in delivering high quality video. A variety of solutions to these challenges are being developed today, however, there's room for significant debate on which solutions are best."

We will be talking about CDN as a Network Optimizer and What the Business Models are for CDN beyond how it changes the Customer experience.

Join us Wednesday, 09/02/09 at 11:30-12:15pm for this discussion.

An interesting discussion on one of the lists started as VoIP Redundancy for ITSP's and quickly went on tangents. One tangent here hits the nail on the head:

I think the hardest part of this is that a modern business switching from traditional to VOIP is usually used to completely segregated networks. I know I at least always prefer deploying VOIP on completely separate infrastructure as much as possible, but the selling point of cost savings usually overrides this. The effect of this is that now what happens on a company's existing data network (or has already been happening for some time) can now effect voice quality and reliability, but the blame and burden of proof still comes back to the VOIP provider. This has repeatedly been the most common issue I have seen in deployments of business VOIP, especially hosted. It also shows how many companies have people running their networks that really have little to no idea of what they are doing."

"This is also exactly why the bulk retail residential VOIP providers put such little emphasis on their support, since they know it is a losing battle especially in today's reality of shared access MSOs and oversubscribed DSL providers. And that is before they actively block or shape the competition."

Many VoIP Providers don't even take this into account.

Another great panel at IT EXPO West will be Leveraging Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to Maximize Network Efficiency. We will be discussing what a CDN is; where it fits in the network architecture and why; what the business model is; and how it affects the Customer Experience. Voxel dot Net, Voxeo and Zeugma Systems will be on the panel. Stop by Wed., 9/2/09, at 11:30 AM.

I talk with many CLEC's and ISP's that are looking at the BTOP and BIP programs to see if there is opportunity for them. As I said in the podcast with Occam Networks, most of the funds are earmarked for companies already collecting USF funds. Why do I think that? Because it is a safe bet and politics is about safe bets.

I'm attending Tech Data's Technology Solutions Tour. This morning started with TD SVP Pete Peterson discussing how to translate the stimulus spending into technology opportunity. The ARRA (aka the Stimulus bill) will spend about $787B, of which, according to the counter at Recovery.gov, over $75B has been spent. One percent of the ARRA is the Broadband Stimulus spend at $7.2B spread over 3 agencies and 3 different awards. Did you know that $50-60B of the ARRA is earmarked for IT Spending for Education, Healthcare, Energy and Government? That money will go for smart grid, green IT, virtualization, EMR (electronic medical records), video surveillance, Business Intelligience tools and more. It's a bigger pie than BTOP/BIP.

Did you know that the largest spender right now is Uncle Sam? Or as many people like to say - the taxpayer.

Anyway, Peterson told us that some cities and at least one state (Cali) does not allow the deployment of servers on-premise. It's a Green initiative and they are pushing Hosted servers or virtualization. I haven't heard that but it certainly interesting. (Also of note: No on has said Cloud since I have been here).

Another stat: there are 1 million doctor offices. Only 8% have EMR. The government wants it closer to 90%. There are funds and tax credits for that. Funny story: Nortel was pitching their Healthcare Management Programs yesterday, but didn't want to discuss the Bankruptcy nor the way the company is being sold off in slices. Um, tough to sell a solution that may not be there by the time the deal closes. When a VAR or Agent presents a solution, they are lending their reputation out to that vendor. If that vendor fails to deliver, it's a black eye for the VAR/Agent. (Psst: our most valuable asset is our reputation).

B.I. tools are important. Why? It adds productivity and efficiency to the organization that can correctly deploy and integrate it. (It's challenging).

Education will be spending on Broadband, IT infrastructure, Video surveillance, and digital signage. Go get you some From Tech Data, of course. They have SME's (subject matter experts), product specialists, marketing funds and other assistance available to help you take advantage of the current ARRA opportunities. (Including Wireless and other communications infrastructure projects).

Peterson concluded with a few insights:

- This is a Call to Action for service providers and VAR's
- (It is unprecedented in my lifetime and we likely won't see this again. It is a magnitude larger than Y2K and closer to what the US spent on NASA going to the Moon in the 60's).
- Recovery.gov is a great resource.
- Great companies are made in tough times.
- The flexible survive.

Tech Data's Senior Product Sales Champion for UC was at the event last night. I spent a few minutes chatting with him about his position, but couldn't really get a definition of UC out of him. Polycom and tele-presence are what he pushes - to me that's not really UC. HD Voice? No we leave that up to Polycom and the vendors. Seems even a tech company has a problem wrapping the head around Unified Communications. (UC doesn't mean the latest gadgets).

XO has some components to build a UC bundle - overlay IVR, Broadsoft SIP Trunking, some straight forward Hosted PBX (with a limited feature set), and Hosted Exchange for the email integration piece.

If the UC Champion thinks UC is tele-presence and video conferencing, what does that say about well defined the term is in the Industry?

Jon Arnold writes, "This year's MetaSwitch Forum provided a host of proof points that service providers of all stripes can stay competitive so long as they deploy the right technology and have the right vision for serving their customers."

Time and again, the pitch is about the company and the technology. Look at automobile reviews: It isn't about the engine size, it's about the 0-60. Telecommunications needs to do the same thing.

When Aastra talks about its AastraLink Pro 160, it should be about Asterisk. The story should be similar to the Aastra CT handset story. When anyone talks about the iPhone, do they mention that it only works on GSM or do they spend time talking about all the neat things they can do with it?  Same lesson.  I think that gadgets, handsets, phones and softphones can drive VoIP penetration, if they were easy to use (which they are), easy to add apps to, and did cool, useful things (for the consumer).

Take this example: "a food-service equipment innovator, Henny Penny, has deployed several Cisco Unified Communications solutions to improve customer service, streamline operations and enhance employee collaboration. ... Cisco Unified Contact Center Express and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express solutions are helping Henny Penny realize their business goals of getting their customers' issues solved more quickly and more simply than in the past."  The press release is kind of repetitive and vague. It should have said that Henny Penny used Cisco Unified Contact Center Express and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express in order to improve first call resolution, which has a direct impact on Henny Penny's bottom line. In addition, both the employee and the customer have seen an increase in satisfaction. Cisco's platform is a tool. The goal is to reduce costs by resolving customer service in one call, while improving customer satisfaction. This is what UC is all about. In fact, if you ever talk to John C. Kelly, Regional Vice President of Sales, North America, at Altitude Software, that's all that he is trying to accomplish for his clients - first call resolution. It's the goal of contact centers.

Another example is this Voxeo press release, which can help Human Resources departments with task resolution (like Self-service benefits enrollment, Job hotlines, Employee surveys and Employee notification messages) and efficiency especially now with job screening. These are concrete examples of what Voxeo IVR can provide. No tech talk. Just end user benefit.

The last example today will be Sprint's UC announcement.  SIP trunking over Global MPLS network. Yawn! The release did mention Sprint's 3 global partners: Cisco for mobile integration; IBM Sametime Unified Telephony; and Microsoft's OCS 2007 R2. The only case study: Sprint's internal deployment of unified communications and its $6 million annual cost savings, visit www.sprint.com/whitepapers.

When trying to market or sell UC, forget all that tech talk and tell a story about the customer. It's all about the customer. Their pain. Your solution.