David Byrd : Raven Call
David Byrd
David Byrd is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer for Raven Guru Marketing. Previously, he was the CMO and EVP of Sales for CloudRoute. Prior to CloudRoute, He was CMO at ANPI, CMO & EVP of Sales at Broadvox, VP of channels and Alliances for Telcordia and Director of eBusiness development with i2 Technologies.He has also held executive positions with Planet Hollywood Online, Hewlett-Packard, Tandem Computers, Sprint and Ericsson.
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November 2012

You are browsing the archive for November 2012.

PBX Market Dynamics in 3Q12

November 29, 2012

With all of the talk of cloud computing and hosted communications, it is easy to forget that there remains a fairly strong market for physical PBXs. Of course, the traditional TDM based PBX market is falling, but the Hybrid (TDM/IP PBX) and IP PBX markets continue to generate new sales in all geographies and regardless of business size. And the overall size of the market is increasing quarter over quarter over quarter and year over year. However, in addition to technology TDM transitions to IP, and premises equipment versus cloud/hosted communications decisions, economic conditions are also affecting purchasing decisions.

In a yet to be released report by Infonetics, it is reported that in the third quarter the global enterprise PBX market, (TDM, hybrid and IP PBXs), grew 2.8% for the quarter but a 5.6 percent year-over-year decline was observed in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Lessons from Lincoln

November 26, 2012

ANPI is based in Springfield, Illinois where the Lincoln Presidential Library is located. I haven’t had time to visit the library as yet, but I did watch the recently released film, Lincoln. Without a doubt, Abraham Lincoln deserves the recognition as America’s best president. However, in watching the movie, you learn that the phrase “Honest Abe” may not have been an apt moniker.

A Telecom Thanksgiving

November 19, 2012

Thanksgiving is a time for reflection and to note the blessings in our lives. I have been associated with the telecom industry and IP communications for over thirty years and have seen many changes. As an industry we have been through recessions, the Internet bubble burst, deregulation and a myriad of other challenges. Yet, we thrive.

Social Media Best Practices for Small Businesses

November 15, 2012

With only 12% of SMBs believing that they are getting the most out of their use of social media, I thought it useful to present some best practices and alternative social websites during this blog. While this blog considers service providers (ILECS, RLECs and Wireless) and channel partners (VARs, Agents) as the primary audiences, I believe it is our job to communicate to our SMB customers how they can better leverage technology and grow their businesses. After all, ANPI and you guys are the trusted advisors.

Best practices for social media begins with reputation management and that means setting up an account with Google to take advantage of Google Alerts.

Small Businesses and Social Media

November 12, 2012

Normally, I combine small and medium size businesses into the common category of SMBs. However, today, I want to primarily address small business and social media opportunities and considerations. Over the last couple of months several articles and studies have been released concerning how small business can benefit from social media. It is very important that this segment of our economy with over 5 million representatives recognize that engaging in social media can result in growing sales, increasing customer satisfaction and improving customer stickiness.

As service providers, we can help small business by functioning as trusted advisors as they address the ambiguity of social media by providing some industry/business vertical best practices.

Where is that Cloud Going?

November 8, 2012

Earlier this week I discussed how client server computing could be viewed as Cloud 1.0 in the late 1980s and early 1990s. While knowing history is good, where is cloud computing is today?

A study released in June by North Bridge Venture Partners presents an interesting picture. After collecting information from 785 respondents that included users, vendors and consultants, a second annual Future of Cloud Computing Survey was completed.

Adopting a Changing Cloud

November 5, 2012

Over the last few years I have heard many definitions of cloud computing. Some increase an understanding of the technologies employed and others come across as naysayers, identifying cloud computing as an anachronism unfit for today’s needs. I find the latter difficult to support although, I have wanted to compare cloud computing with client server. Perhaps, it is best to review that now.

Personal Computing versus Personal Computers

November 1, 2012

Personal Computers or PCs remain the primary workhorse for the business employee. However, the landscape is rapidly changing. While Apple MacBooks are making inroads as an alternative to Microsoft Windows, it is relatively speaking insignificant. Windows continues to dominate the business PC market with 95% unit penetration.

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