March 2017

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3 Reasons Agents Won't Sell Hardware

March 30, 2017

SYNNEX and ScanSource and a number of other companies would really like it if partners starting selling hardware, devices, tablets, etc.

When VADs want you to sell hardware, it was always a possibility. It takes less than an hour to signup with SYNNEX, Tech Data or Ingram. Yet what Agent wants to sell hardware?

Posted in VAD, agents, channel

Tagged: agents, hardware, tech data, VAD : Related Tags: hardware, agents, returns, billing

A Lesson from Pharma?

March 30, 2017

This morning Pershing Square Holdings Ltd.'s head, "Bill Ackman "deeply and profoundly" apologized for his investment in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., a "huge mistake" that cost his firm $4 billion," in a letter to investors.

Valeant stock is off by 95% from its peak in August 2015.

"Valeant acquired Salix for $11.1 billion and got what has become a key franchise of gastrointestinal drugs. Yet the products haven't sold as well as expected, and Ackman said that it now looked like Valeant "substantially overpayed for Salix, and it has not yet achieved the results anticipated by prior management."" Doesn't that sound like every telecom acquisition since 1999?

Posted in ethernet, mergers, wireline

Tagged: centurylink, level3, mergers, pharma, strategy : Related Tags: prior management, valeant, ackman, management, letter, still

Why TelePacific is Re-Branding

March 24, 2017

In this podcast, I speak with TelePacific's SVP Ken Bisnoff on why TelePacific is re-branding. The CLEC of old is gone. Telecom is shifting to be more than voice and Internet. TelePacific has transitioned to a Managed Services Carrier with its acquisition of DSCI.

Posted in CLEC, Marketing, agents, channel, managed services, telco

Tagged: agents, branding, marketing, podcast, telepacific : Related Tags: telepacific

Telecom Tidbits (part # 2450)

March 21, 2017

Amazon Using Trojan Horse Approach To Go After Smartphone Voice Market. Amazon is agressively pursuing the voice personal assistant market, focusing primarily on the short-term outlook of market penetration of Amazon Echo and Alexa. Amazon may have failed in the smartphone arena, but its tablets and voice assistants are winning.

In the business market, Alexa is integrated with Skyswitch, a Netsapiens softswitch operator.

Posted in amazon, data center, fiber, hosted uc, jobs, voip

Tagged: amazon, data center, ftth, hosted pbx, jobs, seth, voip, windstream : Related Tags: market, amazon, better, voice

Telecom Tidbits (#2449)

March 21, 2017

Telecom is still broken. Ordering a 1GB Internet port in a Lit building has turned from a 2 week turn up to a 100-day pain in the ass.

In cable news, you get a site survey done supposedly before quoting. You get the quote; give it to the customer who says Yes. You get paperwork; customer signs paperwork.

Posted in Marketing, apps, backup, cableco, msp, security

Tagged: apps, backup, crm, marketing, msp, SAAS, saas, security, telecom is broken : Related Tags: based storage, storage systems, security services, network attached, attached storage, storage

Will 5G Break Wireline Broadband?

March 21, 2017

Pay TV is in turmoil due to cord cutting. Retail is in upheaval due to changing buying habits as well as a transition in how people spend free time.

"The U.S. (and the world) is in the midst of a sea change in how we spend our leisure time.

Posted in Internet, broadband, cableco, cellular, mobile, wireless, wireline

Tagged: 4G, arpu, broadband, cable, cableco, cellular, financials, jobs, telco tv, tv, TV, wireline : Related Tags: wireline broadband, young people, cable, revenue, broadband, buying

Oh, the Many Hacks That Hit Us

March 15, 2017

I received 2 notices in 2 weeks about hacks that got my email address and other personal information. This after not one, but 2 huge hacks at Yahoo! that affected me also. It is not a question of IF but WHEN you will be hacked -- and what you must do about it.

"Only two months into 2017 and already 13 million people have had personal information compromised.

Posted in outage, privacy, security

Tagged: privacy, security, vz : Related Tags: email addresses, physical addresses, addresses names, names physical, personal information, email

Will SD-WAN Crush Cisco?

March 14, 2017

As more and more providers add SD-WAN, what happens to Cisco (and ADTRAN and Juniper)?

Think about this: SD-WAN providers use an appliance as the CPE or end-point. This appliance can function as a switch, router and more. It can be a firewall, a wireless access point and more.

Posted in CLEC, SDN, VAR, jobs, msp, sdn

Tagged: cisco, earthlink, jobs, msp, SDN, sdwan, VAR, var, WAN : Related Tags: adtran juniper, cisco adtran, cisco, business, selling, technology

Music and the Mass Market

March 10, 2017

"Maybe decades ago you could aim your songs at a mass market, but music does not really have one of those anymore. Artists have to figure out whom they're speaking to and where they're speaking from. The rest of us do the same. For better or worse, it's all identity now."

Posted in Marketing

Tagged: marketing, sellecom : Related Tags: market, music, identity

M&A Update (#2448)

March 8, 2017

So many transactions. Companies are being bought and sold like a game of Go Fish.

Avaya sold its networking business to Extreme Networks for a paltry $100M (It is about $200M in revenue). That $100M does not make a dent in the billions in debt that Avaya is trying to scrape off in bankruptcy.

Posted in amazon, data center, fiber, hosted uc, mergers, unified communications

Tagged: 8x8, amazon, collaboration, data center, fiber, mergers, network management, rlec, UC, vc, women : Related Tags: capital partners, business, communications, fiber, cloud, centers

How Enterprise Voice Has Changed

March 7, 2017

Posted in expo, unified communications

Tagged: expo, itexpo, UC : Related Tags: enterprise voice, voice changed, enterprise

Telecom Tidbits #2447

March 3, 2017

CenturyLink sold its data center business (57 sites) to a consortium of PE firms fronted by Medina Capital Advisors for $2.3B end of last year. Details were sketchy for agents who had clients in those data centers. And we are still waiting. At least now we know that the spin-off will do business as Cyxtera.

Posted in ISP, SDN, channel, data center, mergers, organizations, satellite, sdn, sip trunking

Tagged: ADTRAN, centurylink, channel managers, channel partners, cisco, data center, earthlink, SDN, sip trunking, vz : Related Tags: million bonus, channel chief, business, centurylink, million, telecom

Sales is Hard

March 2, 2017

A few sales reminders from sales training I performed yesterday.

It is all about the Daily Activity. Your routines and habits determine your level of success. Tom Peters says, "Show me your calendar.

Posted in sales and selling

Tagged: sales, sellecom, selling : Related Tags: sales, number, takes

On Rad's Radar?

March 2017