On Rad's Radar? - xo Archives

Is it Cloud versus Agents?

2012-05-02T16:45:52Z

Is it Cloud versus Agents?

As an Agent, I sell bandwidth and transport almost exclusively. I am learning that the Channel does not want that business. The carriers do, but on the wholesale/carrier side. No 10GB private lines. No 1GB ports. Nope. The Channel wants Multi-site multi-access customers. That's fine. Just stop talking about your fiber map then. It's irrelevant for that kind of sale.

The CLEC's also want Agents to sell Managed Services and anything Cloud. That's nice but who cares?

Cbeyond announced that they are "no longer recruiting traditional telecom agents". well, they already signed up the biggest masters - CMS, Telarus, Microcorp, TBI, etc. So what they are really saying is that traditional agents will have to use a master agent to get paid. That's becoming Normal in telecom. Carriers just want to deal with master Agents. I guess, they think that is more effective or efficient. I have no idea if it is either. We'll see, I guess.

Like so many other providers, Cbeyond thinks that the answer to its cloud strategy will be VAR's. That's not likely to happen.

VAR's don't trust telco. (Heck, I'm still waiting a month for an FOC from XO on an Internet T1, so I totally get the attitude.) VARs already have relationships with VAD's like Ingram and Tech Data, who can provide most of what Cbeyond is offering - or they can provide it themselves. Would you go to Rackspace or Cbeyond or EarthLink for hosting? That's basically what it comes down to: who is doing the hosting.

Right now Microsoft itself and carriers are getting into the traditional VAR space (offering hosted Microsoft products and data backup). Why would VAR's shift from a reseller model to a sales agent? It's kind of like, do you want white-label or straight resale?

The thing that most miss is that it is all about Control. In white-label, you can build a branded business that you have a decent amount of control over, especially in Hosted PBX. In straight resale, the bill, the brand, everything is in the carrier's name. No control at all.

My clients - CLEC, ISP and ITSP - want the illusion of control - or at least as much control as they can get. VAR's want the same thing. In the case of the ISP and the VAR, they like technology, but selling and marketing not-so-much. And you won't have much success forcing them into a sales+marketing shop - any more than you will trying to get T1 slingers become Consultative Sales people pitching cloud. Why? Motivation. Comfort Zone.

Robin Robbins has a very successful business offering turn-key marketing programs to VAR's. Cloud providers need to plug in to that kind of a system.

XO just re-launched its old hosting brand, Concentric, probably to get some space between the telco and its cloud services. (XO has to do something about its reputation in the telecom space and re-branding buys them time until someone buys them.)

Some Agents will obviously move into this space. Some already have making money on Cloud Comm like Hosted PBX, UC, IVR and conferencing. Some have sold collocation - although its a big leap to PAAS and IAAS from colo. But virtualization might be a nice tool in that box. It will come down to who you trust to deliver it.

I'm not saying Agents shouldn't be shifting their business. Lord knows that the way it is now, it is extremely tough to make the living we are used to while selling what we are used to. So a shift has to come. I just don't think it will be to the same carriers that make it in the future. When you look at things like commission adjustments, contract disputes, channel segmentation, and the like, Agents might want to try another silo of vendors to see if they get a better shake.

There is a tremendous amount of competition for the attention of Agents and VARs. That means that there will be price competition, commission shopping, and other things that the providers do not want to have to deal with right now.

The only providers who can afford to be exclusive right now are vertical cloud providers and cablecos - both have an almost exclusive product to offer.

Everyone else is selling the same stuff - MPLS, SIP, backup, managed network security, blah, blah, blah. That means the Channel can shop around. And as you can see from the ecosystem diagram, there are a lot of places to shop - VAD, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, ILEC, CLEC, Cableco, MSP, Rackspace, Web hosts, Parallels, ITSP's, and so much more. And Agents can just partner up with a VAR or MSP to sell their own services, leaving the CLEC's out to dry.

It's a matter of control. Do you want to build yourself a business with white-label partners (like VAR Dynamics) or do you want to trust that the telco that is having trouble delivering telecom services reliably will be able to provide you and your customers with unparallelled service delivery of cloud services?

We'll see. In the mean time, be nicer to the Agents. They may be all you have left.

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.

Telecom Tidbits on Presidents Day

2012-02-20T19:22:10Z

On a LinkedIn group we are discussing SLA (service level agreements) and how they do not represent uptime. If you need uptime, you need redundancy. You need to build a resilient network. Netwolves has a solution called Bonded Broadband. "NetWolves consolidates the best carriers through their Bonded Broadband product by combining four circuits of diverse types from different carriers. It supports DSL, Cable, Fixed Wireless and VSAT (and even a T-1, etc.) simultaneously. It will to operate, though at lower speed, even when it loses one of the underlying circuits. It provides a level of high availability with diversity that is unique and valuable. Bonded Broadband always includes 1 static IP for the virtual circuit."

Conferencing is a different kind of sale. It's good that InterCall has added some scripting into their FAQ. By that I mean, by provided answers to questions that come up in sales meetings, like "The majority of our meetings are audio only, how can Unified Meeting add value to those meetings?" More companies should do that.

Aastra IP phones are not widely supported by Broadsoft based VoIP providers. Aastra gets a lift since Metaswitch based EarthLink selected 6700i SIP phones for EarthLink Complete™ (hosted VoIP service).

Analysts are raving about Rogers Communications in Canada launching One Number by utilizing Counterpath's Bria softphone. Now the customer has one number on any platform - PC, Mac, mobile, etc. Rogers mentions IMS, that long ago over-hyped architecture that was supposed to solve the telecom world's many problems, as the underlying network piece. The other is the Bria software, which presents an almost Google Voice like service. "Rogers, however, isn't simply re-branding the Bria Android and iPhone clients. It's doing something far more sophisticated. It's using the underlying Bria technology to power a web-based portal that can make and receive phone calls and send text messages to any Canadian number as well as video chat with other Rogers One Number users - all at no charge and with no penalty to a customer's voice minute or SMS caps," writes GigaOM. Jon Arnold has a good look at the service on his blog too, including a post about the beta launch.

AT&T partnered with VMware to launch AT&T's "Virtual Private Cloud". I have a blog coming up about telcos and Cloud. Watch for it this week.

New to the American market but not new to the global telecom industry, One Access

They make CPE for CLEC on multi-access platforms.

Looking for a white-label VoIP company? Flat Planet Phone Company is looking for a few select partners that want to own a VoIP business and the healthy (40%) margins that come with it.

I get press releases because PR folks like to make me annoyed daily. What really gets me is how many make outrageous claims like free calls and no more cell charges: "Zipring works with every phone and turns any smartphone into a free or cheap calling phone. It supports all SIP-enabled devices and does not handcuff users to Zipring software. It also turns any iPod Touch into a smart phone."

Carbonite has some cool new ads to sell online backup [from Adweek]

XO Communications Inc. launched a three-year strategic plan in 2012 that involves streamlining its product offering, including eliminating most TDM services.

The FCC has a lot on its plate and wants to close some dockets. FCC's Genachowski Tells Congress He Will Consider Closing Title II Docket, which proposed to reclassify Internet access service as a telecommunications service subject common carrier regulations.

I emailed my list this post from L3 this morning. How Kodak is just like POTS.

11 Top Stories in Telecom in 2011

2011-12-15T17:41:31Z

Here's my take on the Top 11 stories in telecom of 2011.

1. Shane McNamara being named VP of the Indirect Channel at XO. It was a shock pick for many in the industry.

2. TNCI Bankruptcy! I understand that the reseller model has been taking a huge beating in the last 3 years, but when you start off hawking "Agent Equity", you need to be better fudiciary stewarts than this.

3. WIND-PAETEC merger - I just didn't see that one coming. It did prove my point about the difference in running a private company as opposed to a public one, who is a slave to Wall Street.

4. Qwest getting bought by CenturyLink - and then CL buying Savvis. It was a big shopping spree. I thought it would have been wiser to buy a cell company, but CL is going all-in on the Cloud.

5. The TCA's Certification program. This is kind of self-promoting because I am a Board member and founder of TCA, but I have seen how the carriers are looking at certification for the indirect channel. I think for agents the CTP (or some certification) will be necessary.

6. The Cloud M&A - there was so much of it! The big one was VZ buying Terremark, which might have been the same plan that CenturyLink used when scooping up Qwest CyberCenters and Savvis. I think the one least spoken about is the TWC-Navisite deal.

7. InterNAP killing its Channel. I don't think this story is over, since the agents have to keep fighting this one or risk more crap like this from carriers who need to rightside their balance sheet like some kind of lipstick on a pig. Cloud companies don't want to see it, but it is this action by InterNAP (and Equinix with Switch & Data before it) that keeps Agents from running to the Cloud. Fear of being cut off at the knees. Not that telcos - remember MCI? - haven't sliced the channel (hello RBOCs!)

8. TelePacific's buying spree - Telekenex, Tel-West, Covad Wireless, and Orange County Internet Xchange. It was fast and furious and quick.

9. Dan Foster leaving then returning to MegaPath to take over for Bruce Chatterly as President of the Business Markets Group. That game of musical chairs was confusing to watch, coming on the heels of the merger of Covad's two largest customers - Megapath and Speakeasy - into one company.

10. Since 2011 seemed like the year of serial acquisitions from companies - Megapath, TelePacific, CenturyLink, Windstream, TDS - let's give a hand to EarthLink, who took New Edge Networks and combined it with One Comm., DeltaCom, and STS Telecom to make a nationwide business CLEC play, then added a bunch of IT/Managed services/Cloud services to that CLEC with Logical Solutions, Business Vitals and the Synergy Global Solutions deals. We'll see how that integration works out in 2012.

11. Comcast hiring Craig Schlagbaum to build and run its Channel indicated that Cable was coming to play in the business space. CLEC's need to take note, because most CLEC"s don't OWN or operate their own network, but lease network from ILEC's and Cablecos. Also, Cox and Comcast are rolling out Hosted PBX nationwide, which means the ITSP space better wake up and get its house in order, since cable has a brand and a network to go with that Hosted PBX service.

I'm certain we will see more M&A in 2012 since companies are flush with cash and can't organically increase revenue. And I am also certain that Cable will be making a big impact in the SMB space in 2012, much to the detriment of CLEC's and VoIP providers.

Frontier Gets Cell Service, Agents Should Too

2011-11-18T18:23:01Z

Frontier Communications has inked a deal to be a channel sales agent for AT&T for voice and data cellular plans, as reported by the Fool. "This was a natural extension of a product that we are not currently offering that would fit well with our product suite," Steve Crosby, Frontier's senior vice president of government affairs and public relations. At least they realize that cellular is an important part of the total telecom send. Do you?

When master agent,TBI, launched its SAAS-based TEM platform, Geoff Yearack, director of TBI's wireless division, stated that it was a way to aid agents with getting some of the wireless spend of clients.

Agents have to start looking at ways to get more of the telecom wallet as that budget is absorbed into the IT budget. The simple approach is to offer TEM to your clients. Another approach is to offer asset management. To tie into cyber-security , laptops, data cards, mi-fi gadgets, tablets and smartphones not only need to be tracked by businesses but secured against data theft and loss.

Cbeyond, XO, TelePacific and other CLEC's are offering cellular plans in conjunction with Dynamic T1 and other services. With the average T1 price at an all time low, it's one way to increase ARPU or MRR -- and in turn, increase commissions.

Sprint recently raised $4B in a debt offering in order to pay for network upgrades for "iPhone and its Network Vision network modernization plan". Rumor is that some of it will be used for Clearwire build-out, which seems likely given that Clearwire has some of Sprint's spectrum and has been Sprint's 4G partner. How do you hang that up now? But it goes to show that even after the billions already spent by the the cellcos - VZW, ATT, Sprint, Clearwire, and even MetroPCS - billions more will have to be spent to -- not buy more spectrum -- but to just deploy the spectrum they are currently sitting on, for tower backhaul and for network management. Big pie there that Agents need to take a piece of.

So Who is Going to Buy XO?

2011-11-03T18:11:22Z

I got asked this question again today: Who is going to buy XO? I think we can almost all agree that Carl Icahn would like to sell his company.

XO had 2010 revenue of $1.5 billion, only $8 million more than 2009. So that's flat. XO just laid off 400 employees - probably to make the numbers look better.

Who would buy them?

WIND just received approval to acquire PAETEC, so that takes 2 names out of the running.

Level3 didn't win Paetec and just grabbed Global Crossing, but I could see L3 making a pitch to Icahn, because it would be revenue for L3 and a good portion of it is VoIP revenue. However, integration would be a flashback to the 2006-2008 era. Plus while revenue is up for L3 this past quarter, losses also increased. OUCH! [Plus as I have mentioned before L3 needs to take Cogent off the table, since that is their main competitor in the IP space.]

CenturyLink just swallowed Qwest and Savvis. That plate is full, plus I think focus at C-Link is Cloud not TDM/network.

EarthLink has just purchased 3 MSP's, following more in the PAETEC play book than any other. EarthLink acquired IT Solution Center and Hosted Application Business from Synergy Global Solutions. ELNK has completed the acquisition of xDefenders, a managed IT security company based in Rochester, NY, to "Enhances National Managed Services Provider Strategy". And ELNK "completed its acquisition of Business Vitals, a national provider of managed information technology (IT), security and professional services based in Columbia, South Carolina." They also bought LogicalSolutions.net. That's 4 quickies on the heels of STS Telecom, Deltacom and ONE Comm. Just it looks like the play book centers around MSLEC, the strategy that MegaPath re-branded under. Do they have room in the fold for XO? Probably. And ELNK has an easy time getting credit.

[BTW, have you seen the new ELNK website? It looks great! Seems like wordpress with its clean template design. It includes video testimonial!]

Zayo just surprised many folks by buying 360. I thought it would be the other way around, but I'm wrong often. (Well at least 20% of the time according to Dane!) Is there enough VC dough to get XO? (Or will I have that reversed as well?)

Broadview Networks, TelePacific, Broadvox and Integra aren't candidates, but who knows what private equity money is thinking.

Frontier and Fairport have not moved to cloud yet. They both have indigestion from eating up Verizon assets. Maybe one of them will pop some TUMS and give Icahn a bid.

Cox and Comcast - do the cable guys want to buy some VoIP and fiber?

Some outliers:

I remember being surprised when Host.Net bought WV Fiber, so it could happen again. Not likely with its strict focus on data center and cloud services.

A foreign company looking for network - like Tinet, Telefonica, Tata, Reliance (which bought Yipes in 2007), Orange telecom. I would have listed T-Systems, but with DT still wondering what is happening with T-Mobile, that seems unlikely - or if AT&T pays T-Mobile its break-up fee of $3-6 billion, they could buy XO with that!

Ethernet is Spreading

2011-07-18T15:59:55Z

So many notices this week about Ethernet. It's the preferred protocol for most businesses. (No one wants to buy a DS3 card and configure it, I guess). Ethernet is becoming more and more available as the delivery protocol for Internet bandwidth, MPLS, IP/VPN, and Private Line.

The M&A targets are all fiber guys like FiberLight, AboveNet, Zayo, Sidera, Fibertower, Fibertech and XO. All are Ethernet players.

AT&T announced that come August 1st it is almost doubling the Metro Ethernet rates in the 9-state BLS region. What a bonus for customers.

Sprint launched Ethernet access in 25 new markets and expanded offerings in five existing markets. Ethernet is available for MPLS and IP products. Sprint finally leveraging their pin-drop network. [Don't want to play with Sprint directly, TNCI resells Sprint.]

FiberLight released a new IP network architecture based on Ethernet for governemnet and enterprise customers. Juniper and IBM are technology partners in this new IP platform.

In a similar fasion, Comcast and Ciena went on the road to train salespeople on how to sell Comcast Metro E. "Ciena's Carrier Ethernet Service Delivery (CESD) platforms are being deployed by Comcast as customer premise equipment for business services and wireless backhaul."

Media reports that wireless backhaul is a huge market - and it is slowly migrating to Ethernet. I think physics determines that wireless tower backhaul is a finite market - - you can only get so many bits into X amount of spectrum, no matter how many radios you use. So with everyone spouting off about backhaul opportunities, I don't know how many players will actually make a huge dent in revenue from it. I have seen figures that VZW pays less than $1000 per tower backhaul. That would take a lot of towers to move the revenue meter. And let's not forget that it is a competitive market -- RFQ and bidding war anyone? Especially after you told Wall Street how much the backhaul market would bring in. DUH!

In other Ethernet news in July that affects the Channel:

Netwolves announced that they can put multiple Ethernet providers with managed services on 1 invoice. NetWolves has relationships with over 50 different providers that sell Ethernet services. This allows us to find the provider that is best suited to deliver the service for you. We also have the ability to bundle multiple Ethernet providers onto a single bill for your customers.

Also, Airespring uses the lowest cost provider per area to build an inter-connected MPLS network. (Can you say NNI?)

NITEL is another carrier that can help Agents expand their product offering to with nationwide MPLS, Ethernet, dedicated Internet (DIA) and private line services.

EarthLink Business has nationwide MPLS, formerly sold under the New Edge brand. Since adding Deltacom, Ethernet should be available extensively in the Southeast.

All this Ethernet talk makes me think of the numerous Carrier Ethernet Exchanges that have evolved - from TELX and Equinix to Neutral Tandem and CENX. It's a lot of spots popping up to inter-connect using Ethernet. Basically, it's a meet-me-room with carrier ethernet switching gear (usually from Cisco) that allows the exchange of traffic at 100MB or higher. It is a cost-effective way to pay for peering (sort of), as you exchange traffic of HD voice, video, SAAS, mobile data, CDN and tele-presence packets. Carrier Ethernet Exchanges mean Ethernet sales and in many cases collocation sales for agents.

US Signal deploys Cisco ASR 9000 Series for enhanced Carrier Ethernet and a new managed Data Center service. The ASR will allow US Signal, a TCA vendor member, to scale its Ethernet offerings in the Midwest. "US Signal Managed Data Center service is built with dedicated resource pools designed to rapidly provision and host Virtual Private Servers accessible through the upgraded US Signal IP NGN." So we go from Ethernet to Cloud just like that.

XO Comments on L3-GC but not T-T

2011-07-13T19:20:57Z

XO Communications filed comments with the FCC that some media outlets said ripped the merger of Level3 and Global Crossing. Rodrego A. Byerly tweeted that it smacked of a spurned suitor. Maybe it was. XO issued a statement that the L3-GC merger was not in the public interest.

When I saw the tweet from @XOComm, I asked if they had filed comments against the AT&T-T-Mobile merger. The reply: We did not.

HUH? How can you say a merger of 2 of the 10 Tier 1 ISP's in the US (VZ, ATT, Qwest/C-Link/Savvis, XO, Cogent, NTT, Level3, Sprint, Global Crossing, Comcast) will affect public interest, but that the merger of 2 of the Top 4 cellcos isn't? Except that it doesn't really affect XO's business, since they aren't in the cell business, but are in the ISP backbone business. Just plain interesting.

I ripped on Sprint since Dan Hesse is everywhere jawing about the cellco merger, but no one is minding the Sprint store of fixing its own troubles to better compete, especially during the integration. (And get back to branding the wireline business you have. Sprintlink DIA is awesome!)

I'll rip on XO here for a similar reason. Carl Icahn has spent so much time and money playing Board politics that the XO boat has been sitting idle in the harbor. Icahn just won the ability to buy the last of the outstanding stock so maybe he will poo-or-get-off-the-pot at this stage. Meaning: sell it or invest in it. The employees and the marketplace distrust uncertainty. That would be more effective defense against a hyper-competitive backbone marketplace than a PR blitz against the merger.

SIP Trunking Deployment Lessons by XO

2011-07-13T18:57:27Z

XO has hired Ronan Keenan to handle their corporate social media, like the @XOComm twitter account. They put together quite the resource for SIP Trunking Deployment at Storify: SIP trunking implementation resources including videos, presentations and documents by Steve Carter, who is the SIP Product Manager at XO.

He narrates a detailed video about SIP Trunking: Learn the Steps to a Smooth Enterprise SIP Trunk Implementation. Good info for Agents to use to learn on their own at their own pace.

XO Has a New Channel Chief

2011-06-27T18:25:41Z

XO has announced that the new Channel Head at XO is Shane McNamara. Shane spent time in the channel at Global Crossing and recently headed up the carrier services department (agency) at CDW. Shane replaces Brian Law, who left XO due to a renewed entrereneurial spirit.

From the official announcement from XO's CMO, Mike Toplisek: "Today I'm pleased to announce the new leader for the XO Business Partner program and our indirect sales efforts. Shane McNamara will join XO Communications as vice president of indirect sales, reporting to directly to me.

Shane joins us from CDW, a major reseller of computer hardware, software and supplies from companies such as Cisco, IBM and Microsoft. As general manager of carrier services for CDW, he lead the company’s indirect sales to carriers and service providers and successfully grew its indirect channel sales business by more than 40 percent over the last three years. Prior to that, he was director of sales and marketing for Global Crossing's indirect channel, where he helped build and grow its channel business, which delivered more than 50 percent revenue growth while he was in this role. Before that, he held various account management and sales roles in both the direct and indirect channel at Global Crossing.

With more than 14 years of sales experience in the telecommunications industry, Shane is a seasoned indirect channel sales leader and known entity among our valuable partners in the indirect channel in the telecommunications industry. Shane brings both a deep knowledge of the industry and key relationships and will be a great addition to our sales leadership team.

TDCloud Joins the Fray

2011-05-19T19:37:48Z

We have seen the hardware distributors moving into the cloud space. We saw that SYNNEX launched Cloud SolvUC as a unified communications play. According to the PR, the first nationwide cloud UC product. Umm, just from that marketing spin alone, I would suspect that SYNNEX did not have its finger on the pulse of this space.

Like voice agents moving to IP and hardware VAR's struggling to become MSP's, distributors moving to cloud services is heavy on hype and thin on details.

Ingram Micro has gone cloud and today Tech Data announced TDCloud. The interesting thing about the TDCloud is how closely it resembles IBM's cloud strategy. Could be because they are a partner.

Ingram, TD and SYNNEX are used to managing gear and licenses. Now they have to take on monthly billing, which will include lots of accounts receivable and probably billing issues.

Also, how does a warehouse and logistics company deliver on cloud computing services, especially something like UC? There is probably a third-party behind the curtain, much the way Broadsoft's BroadCloud services are mainly resells of a video conferencing service and the like. (By the way, how do you profit in this scenario? UC-company+Distributor+VAR-or-ITSP-or-MSP+customer? Seems like a lot of middle men.)

For VAR's or Agents to start selling Cloud, we need more transparency. We need to know what's under the hood. We also need a Value Proposition, because without a Brand in the marketplace (like Amazon, Rackspace or Google), how do you get the customer's trust on an unknown brand and service? UC is convoluted and no two companies define it the same way. The on-boarding of a UC customer is a challenge. If the UC Provider goes up in smoke -- and some will because there are just too many of them -- what happens to the VAR/MSP/Agent's customer? And his business reputation?

We need details to feel comfortable selling it. Time and again I have discussed the UC components that can be used to provide that solution - email, collab, VoIP, chat, presence, video, conferencing, text and now social media elements. You will need a provider who understands that and let's you configure and sell it the way each customer wants to buy it or needs it configured. XO distribute through TD, offers the UC components and wasn't even mentioned. Ah, pay-for-play models.

Let's look at one more element. Most VAR's stop at the Router. Most Agents stop at the router - just from opposite sides. Cloud services requires LAN, WAN, IT and telephony to all be on the same page. It requires Internet Access to get to the various apps in the cloud.

It will be interesting to see how this shakes out, but remember that Cisco didn't set any sales records for Webex and that's the perfect analogy: how does a hardware company and its Channel suddenly sell services? We aren't all IBM and they took years to get to the services business.

Tele-Pacific Buys into Hosted

2011-05-06T19:16:11Z

Tele-Pacific is buying its way into Hosted PBX with its acquisition of Telekenex. TelePacific will gain approximately 1,000 business customers and 122 employees along with the hosted PBX platform. Tele-Pacific will run Telekenex as a separate channel, which is a good thing.

This is a good move for Tele-Pacific as it continues to dominate its region with more services plus another data center. It also gains a nationwide MPLS backbone and a fiber network in the San Francisco-Oakland Bay area.

Some telcos think they have to get into Cloud, so they are buying Savvis, Terremark and data centers. Other telcos realize that cablecos have a leg up on Hosted VoIP services, so they have to consider whether to jump in that pond. Some have, like XO and now Tele-Pacific. Still others, like MegaPath, realize that just selling Layer 2 and Layer 3 won't cut it long term, so they need to look more like an MSP (managed services provider). Tele-Pacific gets a data center, fiber, a Hosted PBX platform, customers and managed services - as well as talent to pull it off.

Since Tele-Pacific is so channel friendly, hopefully agents will get to make money from the new services division.

A Failure to Communicate

2011-04-06T18:01:07Z

In the Agent space, many non-telco vendors (like Conferencing and Hosted PBX providers) have tried to get traction. Sales traction from this independent sales force. It isn't going well.

Agents (and VAR's) spend about 80-99% of the work week in the comfort zone. That is, doing what they have always done. Selling what they have always sold. Selling the same way they always have.

Growth only happens in the Dis-Comfort Zone.

So providers have asked to co-market to the VAR or Agent client base. Maybe that happens one time. Maybe the results are "not worth it". So it doesn't happen again.

What's the Problem?

Well, Marketing requires Repetition - Not One and Done. There are 4 factors for marketing: list, headline, offer and repeat.

It could be that the Value Proposition for the new service (could be conferencing, data backup, efax or whatever) doesn't resonate with many of the targets.

One problem with Cloud is that it's too generic. It needs to be sold as a package aimed at a set vertical. For example, a premium Dental Office Bundle of DSL, 3G, mobile, credit card processing, data backup, EMR, dental practice management, invoicing system and payroll which ends up being a Dental Office in a Box.

That is easier to wrap your head around as both an Agent and a Customer.

Take Retail. Legacy New Edge Networks (now EarthLink Business) was very good at selling to Retail on its branding of PCI Compliance. The VAR or Agent can reduce churn and increase residuals if they sold a package of other services down that pipe. Attached to the NEN AX Platform are companies offering payroll, Hosted PBX and more. (I'm not sure how Agents make money on that, but it is a private connection via MPLS to the AX Platform.

What if payroll, Network DVR, a point-of-sale system, credit card processing, web conferencing, email, Blackberry service were added to the MPLS service along with 3G backup and cell phone service? The client gets one stop service for all its business application needs; the carrier gets a sticky customer with big ARPU (even though a percentage of it goes to partner companies); and the Agent or VAR gets paid on a bigger ARPU.

Plus now the Agent and VAR understand how Cloud and Apps and SaaS can affect a sale and a customer relationship. Something that has been disconnected before.

Next you have Unified Communications which has a similar disconnect for Agents and VAR's. Agents used to selling T1's and Ethernet and VAR's selling switches and servers don't have any of the UC components on their radar.

In this webinar with XO about the UC Sandbox, we talk about how UC is just a bunch of components to help any company communicate with employees, customers, prospects, partners and vendors. For UC sales to take off, the idea of the UC Sandbox has to get granular with very specific examples.

We will need case studies in print, podcast and video that are short but concrete about how a jewelry story benefited from UC and specifically what parts. Or how an auto dealership utilized UC to sell more cars or more efficiently scheduled repairs.

In the grand scheme, providers have to do a better job of being concrete with a value proposition and a specific case for both the indirect channel and the marketplace to embrace both Cloud and UC. All too often, I get pitched with a bunch of mumbo-jumbo that is either all about the company or a string of buzz words. Neither of those pitches explain what the benefit is; what the value play is; who would buy it; why would they buy; what pain does it solve. It is this failure to communicate these necessities that is causing a disconnect in sales.

Super Charging the SIP Trunk

2011-03-17T16:37:10Z

I was on a panel about Supercharging the SIP Trunk Sales by Broadvox. It sounded similar to the panel I did at CVX West 2010 on Upselling the SIP Trunk sale.

This one had to go a little more basic to What is SIP? SIP Trunking is how carriers power dial-tone to an IP-PBX. Beyond the definition of the term, there is the concept that this specification for a voice packet to provide dial-tone is the foundation of the Next-Gen Communication platform. Start with the SIP trunk as the basic circuit needed for communications. Then other applications that utilize SIP sessions can be integrated into the platform. (In many cases, the platform is the PBX or the softswitch.)

One point that I made: All voice will soon be Voice over IP. Cellular is. Long Distance is. Dynamic T1 is. Cableco digital voice is. AT&T is turning off the PSTN with the approval of the FCC in less than 10 years. SIP has become the de facto protocol for Voice over IP - beating H.323, MGCP and others. Agents (and customers) have to get on-board with this fact. SIP is here to stay.

Yes there are issues. Most notably Fax-over-IP (which many companies are working on, T.38 not withstanding); HD Voice; alarms, elevators, credit card processing machines; and inter-operability between the SIP provider and the gear attached to the Trunk. Since SIP is a specification of about 30 RFC's, it is interpreted differently by manufacturers and providers. Hence, inter-operability is extremely important. It is not like a PRI, which is a standard, with just 2 configurations available in any class 4 or 5 switch or any PBX system. That makes inter-op easy. Today. Maybe not so much in 1988.

Our panel then went a little crazy talking about Unified Communication and all the possible UC components that could be mounted on that SIP trunk - like SMS/text, IM/chat, Video, Presence, conferencing, ACD, IVR, etc. Unfortunately, it's not that easy and most of the integration is with the gear (PBX, IAD, softswitch, SBC).

During Q&A, some asked how to explain SIP to a customer. I said, Don't. Would you explain how the engine works in a car? Focus on the benefits, the reliability, the way it will help the business and you won't have to worry about saying VoIP or SIP.

The panel had to explain that SIP trunks mean different things to different carriers. In some cases, a SIP trunk is just a call path. In other cases, a SIP Trunk is a circuit containing many call paths. It's confusing for the agent and the customer.

There are two ways to deliver SIP Trunking: over an IP circuit and over the Internet. Big difference. SIP sessions over the Internet lack quality of service. Jitter and latency will affect the voice quality. SIP Trunks that ride private line, virtual circuit or MPLS circuit have not only the best call quality but enhanced security.

Many ITSP's started out as ISP's (or at least with an ISP infrastructure). At the NOC, the ITSP has aggregation circuits for DSL, MPLS, private line from ILEC's and CLEC's. Some even have aggregation with a cableco. This means that the ITSP - in its network footprint - is delivering VoIP service to you on a private network with QOS of some level. The customer is receiving Internet over the same circuit but the egress to The Web is AFTER the aggregation point and separate from the softswitch.

Major MSO's deliver their Enterprise VoIP product as a physically separate VLAN. That offers QOS and security as well.

At XO, Pete Davis and I have collaborated on a concept called The UC Sandbox. XO has all the components for UC available for sale. Hosted MS Exchange, Blackberry server, Hosting, Collocation, IM/chat, Hosted PBX, SIP Trunking, Contact center application, web & audio conferencing, video conferencing, data storage, Anywhere service, and more can be provisioned for the customer as a single individual service or as a bundle of components. The bonus for VAR's is that if they have a business selling email, security, what-have-you, they can mix-and-match components from XO or from a variety of providers to put the best solution together for the customer. That is the true value of VoIP, SIP and the future of Cloud.

Overheard in Vegas

2011-03-16T21:16:56Z

Telesphere hired Andy Abramson's PR firm, Communicano.

AireSpring rolled out Meshed MPLS. What's that? It's how you connect the MPLS networks of four carriers to be able to cost effectively deliver MPLS service to anywhere in the US.

TCA now has over 400 members and 100 agents registered for the Certified Telecom Professional program. Agencies - like RAD-INFO INC, Transit Broker, One Point of Contact, ATC - are certifying everyone to get a leg up on the competition. Are you certifiable?

Alteva rolled out a UC Certification program for its agents. (You could have worked with TCA).

TBI launched a wireless division on top of its nationwide ADTRAN contract.

RSS is dead. Blogs are dead. The web is dead.

"Will video go the way of voice mail?", Larry Lisser asks.

Tele-Pacific is now offering EoX - Ethernet over Everything, meaning copper, fiber and fixed wireless.

Event calendar from VAR Guy.

XO launched a Cloud Security Service.

Sprint declares that it's wireline business has been thriving. It has - to the tune of $5B in revenue according to Rob Powell. Sprint wants its agents to sell wireline (think MPLS and Internet Access, not LD), but the contract isn't ready yet - and admittedly some agents are nervous about pitching a company that can only talk about wireline for a few minutes a month - like they had a limited voice and data plan in that division.

Gary Vee explaining Social Media to reporters.

How to pick a small business IP-PBX by Tom Keating.