Source: www.voip-news.com
Infonetics is predicting that VoIP will continue to expand. Read about it on VoIP News of the UK.
VoIP Watch reports that Radio Shack is now selling Ooma systems.
VoIP Insider has news of a new Cisco gateway set to be released (and a first look at it).
Source: www.voip-news.com
VoiceCon San Francisco 2008 will be held at the Moscone North Convention Center from Nov. 10-13. The conference will also feature an exhibition of vendors with new and exciting products.
“With a great amount of transition and change occurring in enterprise communications, we are pleased that VoiceCon continues to be the premier platform for vendor leaders to introduce their latest products and technologies,” said Fred Knight, VoiceCon General Manager. “VoiceCon San Francisco presents an ideal setting for attendees to experience and interact with these new technologies, and to gain a better understanding of how to expand and leverage their communications platform.”
There will be a number of new products unveiled at the conference as well. Here’s a sampling:
911 Enable will be introducing Desk Alert, an emergency reporting application that notifies security personnel of 9-1-1 calls in progress through a pop-up window on their workstations. The alert provides the caller’s name, callback number, location information, and a link to location and employee-specific information.
Fluke Networks announces Visual Performance Manager 4.0, a unified system that provides integrated views and data correlation for effective management of VoIP and application performance and response time analytics. Included is a new Application Performance Solution, vastly more efficient at analyzing relevant traffic information for efficient delivery of business services.
Mindsharp will present the most useful, comprehensive instruction available for designing, deploying, configuring, and troubleshooting Microsoft Unified Communications (OCS 2007) core components. As premier technology educators, Mindsharp is known for matching business needs to technology and creating fresh ways to teach people how to use technology to achieve success.
MXL Technology Division will showcase the MXL AC-404 USB Conference Room microphone and MXL AC-405 Personal Computer speakerphone. Both products offer radical improvements to voice quality on computer and laptop conferencing and are a perfect complement to internet telephony services like Skype(TM). Booth #247
NetIQ will debut the latest iteration of NetIQ(R) Vivinet(R) Diagnostics, version 2.3, the most comprehensive performance analysis tool for diagnosing and troubleshooting voice quality issues. New features include: Layer 2 and 3 path tracing across VLAN configurations and deeper support for Nortel hybridized Ethernet, router and switch data gear.
NetQoS is launching version 2.0 of its VoIP monitoring product with expanded support for unified communications, including quality of experience monitoring for video. The product also includes enhanced diagnostics and reporting for Cisco IP Telephony environments to better monitor VoIP performance across the network.
Polycom will demonstrate new unified communications solutions across its voice, video and telepresence portfolios. Polycom will exhibit its: expanded VoIP phone portfolio with new desktop models that further the adoption of its revolutionary HD Voice technology; 1080p telepresence solutions; Microsoft OCS integration; and Converged Management Application.
Psytechnics is unveiling Experience Manager 4.0. Experience Manager 4.0 enables service providers and enterprises to proactively manage and rapidly diagnose user quality issues in video conferencing and voice. The new capabilities will help drive video conferencing as businesses strive to reduce their carbon footprints and lower costs.
ShoreTel will feature its new release of Converged Conferencing that frees enterprises from expensive conferencing services with a flexible, integrated conferencing and instant messaging solution. Converged Conferencing 7.1 helps improve collaboration and lower costs, with all the Web collaboration tools users require in a user-friendly, simple to manage package.
VIXXI-PBX is a new E911 solution for PBX users or vendors, providing exact location information of an emergency caller from within a PBX network as opposed to the location of the main switch. The technology’s use of x, y, and z coordinates promotes the speed and accuracy of emergency response.
VoIPshield Systems introduces two new models in its VoIPguardTM line of VoIP Intrusion Prevention Systems (VIPS) — designed to protect enterprise Voice over IP systems. VoIPshield will feature live product demonstrations of the VIPS10 at the booth at VoiceCon and have information on the VIPS1000 — the new carrier grade model.
Xorcom will unveil EPICAcce, a turnkey solution from EasyRun that bundles its multimedia contact center software with Xorcom’s Asterisk(R)-based IP-PBX to control, manage, monitor and support blended inbound/outbound corporate communications. EPICAcce integrates seamlessly with any existing PBX and delivers immediate ROI through increased efficiencies. Product demo in Xorcom booth #740.
To learn more or find a schedule of all educational sessions, keynote addresses and participating exhibitors, click here.
Source: gigaom.com
Microsoft today unveiled its next-generation Communications Server product that will allow users to replace their existing phone systems with Microsoft’s software. It’s about time Redmond pushed its VoIP offering further. The product, which goes on sale in February 2009, replaces a PBX system with Microsoft’s VoIP software on a server, allowing employees to make calls to any phone number, to make calls from within Microsoft documents and adding audio conferencing.
The VoIP functionality and integration with Microsoft’s SharePoint product is Microsoft’s answer to the challenge Cisco is offering in the unified communications space. It has some nice features, especially the ability to use presence awareness, VoIP and IM on select mobile phones.
It’s funny how the more things change, the more things stay the same: I recall back in 1999 writing about unified communications, which at that time meant a one-stop online shop for emails, voicemails and faxes, with nothing real time about it. Today, we have the ability to connect with people in real-time via IM or VoIP while simultaneously sharing online documents, butwe’re still looking for that one-stop repository for all of our communications.
Microsoft aims to make its programs that one stop, by tying this next generation Communications Server to its SharePoint software. It allows users to see presence and call while within Microsoft programs, meaning employees don’t have to go to a separate presence application to talk or IM about a spreadsheet or Word document. That makes Office the one-stop shop for all communications, including those in real-time.
Cisco is taking a different tack, judging from its recent acquisitions and its CEO’s comments about the opportunity. It plans to create a separate layer of communications services such as IM and VoIP that will sit in the network and work across a variety of applications. If it can be a well-integrated, neutral vendor, it could blow Microsoft out of the water.
Source: gigaom.com
Updated: Cisco on Friday said in a filing that it planned to close its Broadband Telephony Services unit in the Richardson, Texas, office and will lay off 129 employees between Oct. 8 and Dec. 12. The networking giant filed this information with the Texas Workforce Commission on Oct. 10. In its letter to the commission, the company wrote, “A decision has been made by Cisco Systems Inc. to cease operations in its Broadband Telephony Services operating unit within its facility located at 2200 East President Bush Highway, Richardson, Texas 75082-3550.”
Richardson, near Dallas, is where Cisco opened a new data center in June 2008 as part of the company’s data center consolidation plans, and is also home to several other Cisco business units. For perspective, Cisco employed 66,129 people as of July 28, according to its filings with the SEC, so this is a small number of employees. I’ve asked Cisco for more details on the notice as I’m not sure if this is indicative of weak broadband telephony sales, the macroeconomic climate or simply a consolidation effort. I’ll update with more information once Cisco gets back to me. Updated below
Cisco issued a statement that read:
Cisco continuously evaluates its businesses to align human and capital resources to address key growth opportunities and improve efficiency. As part of our ongoing business processes, Cisco continually prioritizes its resource allocations to properly align those resources with revenue generation, profit growth, and market share opportunities, positioning itself for long-term sustainable growth.
That’s typical corporate speak for something that’s not making much money anymore, but I didn’t get information from Cisco on what the Telephony Broadband Services unit is . They’ve bought a lot of companies in Dallas over the years and my guess is these layoffs were related to one of those buys. Any help readers?
Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com
Spotted in the wild: Cisco’s new IP Set Top Box for AT&T’s U-verse.
I happened to be meandering in an AT&T store in San Antonio and spotted this display.
It’s bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s a Cisco IPT V set top box for AT&T’s U-verse offering.
Source: www.voip-news.com
Bye-bye, Cisco! It’s been a good run. But it’s time to go . . .
The Cisco VoIP system installed in Oakland, California, in 2003 has been removed. In its place is a new ShoreTel system. The unified communications system isn’t used by the Emergency 911 system there though.
Check out a video about the swap at Network World.
Source: www.voip-news.com
Vulnerabilities? What vulnerabilities?
That would have been the easy response for Avaya and Cisco when they were faced with a report exposing problems with their VoIP systems. But they didn’t. Instead, the company is facing them head-on, or seems to be.
According to Network World:
Avaya says it knows about the problems and is issuing advisories to customers and providing service-pack updates that address some of them. “Ongoing updates and service packs addressing this will continue to be made accessible on our support site,” an Avaya spokesman says.
Cisco is releasing software updates that address the vulnerabilities at no extra charge for customers with service contracts Nortel did not respond to questions about their response to the VoIPshield warnings.
Brava.
Source: andyabramson.blogs.com
Have you looked at the price of Cisco’s Personal Telepresence that was announced today?
$33,900 USD per seat
That’s 22 years worth of SightSpeed For Business for a ten (10) seat pack.
Granted SightSpeed is my agency’s client, but let’s get real and think about value and the budget. For every $33,900 a company can have hundreds of people inside the company using SightSpeed in the work place versus one glamour puss (CEO). Of course the IT director won’t get fired for buying Cisco, but if they tried SightSpeed to see how much use the video conferencing solution really receives they can quickly do some back of the napkin math to determine need and value to the company.
Oh. And here’s one more point. SightSpeed keeps getting better and improving what they do. All I’m seeing is that Cisco is carving up their Telepresence technology, as it drops down in price.
One has to really wonder if there’s that much difference in IP communications that’s worth an almost 300x investment when prices of technology always drop with each next generation of release. For me, the cost of Telepresence just don’t make sense (and I’m a Cisco shareholder and fan) given the ease of use, and low cost of a high quality service like SightSpeed already being on the market, plus having an award winning and proven track record clearly makes it a more than worthy option to consider.
Candidly, if I was the CFO of a company thinking of making the Telepresence investment, I’d at least want to SEE the comparison between the two with my own eyes before forking over $33,900 dollars for ONE SEAT versus $19.99 a month per seat.
Source: andyabramson.blogs.com
The other day Jonathan Greene posted about the lousy performance when it came to Broadband that he had at the Hotel Monaco in Seattle. The Monaco, like the Palomar here in San Francisco where I am for the week are both Kimpton Hotels and have a long tradition of catering to technology types on the road.
In the past I’ve always had a better than average experience at the Kimpton Hotel properties when it comes to broadband, but today, on the eve of Java One, my experience is nothing less than disappointing.
First I couldn’t log on, as the auto sign on said I wasn’t the guest in the room I was listing (wrong) and then it went on to say there wasn’t a credit card on file (wrong again as I already had checked in.) That required a call to support from ElevenWireless, the company which handles the connectivity.
After I was on, I realized the support person didn’t give me the service I was trying to activate, the more expensive ($4.95 vs. Free) service that promises higher speeds and better throughput vs. the free service.
Here’s what I found out:
Free service gave me 300 k down, and 150 k up. That’s not really broadband.
The paid service is giving me between 330k and 500k down and between 150 and 500 k up over a series of tests.
As JG says, "sorry. This isn’t broadband."
Source: andyabramson.blogs.com
Let’s face it. This is nothing new. For years one of Cisco’s channel partners has been SBC, Bell South and other now AT&T owned companies, working on the front lines as integrators as far back as at least 2001. AT&T has also been one of Cisco’s best customers, buying lots of routers. The big honking types that make it possible for all the traffic that is IP to work very smoothly.
So the latest "marketing" hook up, to sell Telepresence to the corporate market, by the two giants working together.
It’s a triple win all around if the customers buy. I predict they will. Here’s why:
1) Bandwidth will go to more places now via AT&T and their carrier partners who will insure enough pipe to make an endpoint work
2) Video conferencing technology is at a point where its no longer the fuzzy picture. It works. Look at the in room like quality of SightSpeed (client), the portable video on the Nokia N810 and yes even Skype has achieved to see just how good laptop video is. Now add in the kind of processors that Cisco’s Telepresence delivers, some fat pipe from AT&T that’s being managed from end to end and you get an experience, not simply a picture.
3) The Green Movement-nothing will propel more adoption of video conferencing than the environmental issues other than one more tied to it factor. Gas and travel. These are lynch pins to driving the acceptance.
Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com
HONOLULU, (Cisco Partner Summit 2008), April 7, 2008 – Highlighting the value of improved communication and collaboration, Cisco today announced that Cisco channel partners enVision Networked Solutions and Hawaiian Telcom, have worked with the city of Honolulu to help deploy a gigabit fiber network and 3,500 Cisco Unified IP phones. This citywide network overhaul, part of a multi-year project to transform Honolulu’s communication and collaboration capabilities, includes the delivery of Cisco Unified Communications capabilities to Mayor Mufi Hanneman’s office.
The city of Honolulu’s revitalization efforts were plagued with a severely outdated public branch exchange (PBX) system that featured 14 separate PBX and key systems, including the main PBX system that was 30 years old and costing the City $250,000 per year to maintain. The city of Honolulu’s network quickly became an important issue. The result was the creation of a network upgrade that began two years ago.
"In my first State of the City address we identified our phone systems as a major barrier to achieving our goals for the city. For example, it had multiple prefixes, it was unreliable and yet it was the main communication vehicle to the public, creating a number of issues including public safety that needed to be addressed," said Hanneman. "Three years later we have made significant advancements. Our first responders are now on one reliable network system, improving public safety through enhanced communication and collaboration. And, by no longer investing in old technology we have been able to build this new network infrastructure without increasing our budget."
A side effect of Honolulu’s network revitalization is a better way to manage traffic congestion. To help inform citizens of the work being done and to minimize its impact, the city has created a website, driveakamai.org and a traffic information advisory hotline that is updated daily using Cisco Unified Communications technology. These systems give motorist advisories to help them avoid areas where road construction is taking place throughout Honolulu.
In addition, the Pothole Hotline utilizes Cisco Unified Messaging technology, allowing citizens to call and have a voicemail sent to the road crew in the form of an email, which expedites the work order. This accelerated process has enabled the city to commit to its citizens that it will fix a pothole within five days of notification. Since 2005, the city of Honolulu has patched 176,000 potholes, which is the equivalent of resurfacing 111 lane miles using 51,000 tons of asphalt.
enVision, a Cisco Premier Certified and Advanced Unified Communications Specialized Partner, and Hawaiian Telcom, a Cisco Silver Certified and Advanced Unified Communications Specialized Partner, both based in Honolulu, worked closely with the city to recommend and deploy a networking solution that would address current as well as future needs.
"Both enVision and Hawaiian Telcom are instrumental in ensuring a smooth deployment," said Gordon Bruce, city of Honolulu’s chief information officer. "Our goal is to complete the transition from the disparate, outdated systems to the Cisco Unified Communications system within the next 18 months. This is an aggressive goal requiring trusted advisors and suppliers, like enVision and Hawaiian Telcom, who provide local as well as Cisco Unified Communications expertise. We are over half way there already."
Source: andyabramson.blogs.com
This is an example of a channel program. Tandberg has a telepresence suite to compete with Cisco.
Tandberg though doesn’t have the sales channel strength of a Cisco, so they go to a company that has the field depth to compete. In their case, they went to a solid network equipment provider in Nortel.
Will this sell more for Tandberg? Likely, but I don’t see Nortel having the strength that Cisco has in the channel.
