VOIP News

EMC Corporation, a provider of information infrastructure solutions, recently announced two new products that are aiming to give businesses more tools in managing their VoIP and IP telephony environments in a more efficient and productive manner: the Smarts VoIP Performance Manager and Smarts VoIP Performance Reporter.  With these new solutions, users will be able to easily close the gap between IP telephony and IP network management, using detailed reporting to enable better system performance overall.

The Smarts VoIP Performance Manager and Smarts VoIP Performance Reporter will deliver customers real-time information about phone extensions and calls, voice quality, telephone service availability and much more.  In addition, to provide users with the most comprehensive reporting, the solutions also detail route patterns, keeping availability at a productive and manageable level.

“Smarts VoIP Performance Manager and Smarts VoIP Performance Reporter are truly breakthrough solutions for managing today’s complex VoIP telephony infrastructures,” said Chris Gahagan, EMC’s Senior Vice President, Resource Management Software, in a recent press release. “Leveraging Smarts software, customers not only optimize call quality, improve reliability and reduce mean-time-to-repair - but they can also simplify management of geographically dispersed and hybrid environments. The end result gives customers what they expect from today’s VoIP deployments - maximized service levels, lower operating costs and dramatic improvements in employee productivity.”

More information can be found by visiting http://www.emc.com/products/

software/smarts/smarts_family/index.jsp

It was last week, but don’t worry, you’re in good company; I missed it too.  But never fear, I’ve got your back.  If you check out the official site for VoiceCon, you can catch videos of the keynote presentations, view three free webinars, and even download the official program guide.  Although a trip to San Fran would have been fab, at least we didn’t totally miss out on the event.

Catch up right here.

In an interesting move, VoIP, Inc. has publicized an open letter to shareholders on their website, letting it all hang out.  Detailing how the year has gone for them, what has happened since Tony Cataldo joined the company as Chairman and CEO, and their plans, particularly in a financial aspect, for the future, they left no stone unturned.  They also announced that they are predicting a positive cash flow for the company during the upcoming last quarter of 2007.  You can read the entire statement right here, but in the meantime, a brief excerpt:

Approximately one year ago when Tony Cataldo joined the Company, we underestimated the challenge ahead of us. We knew that VoIP was in a difficult position, but never expected that the debt the Company incurred would require such a difficult restructuring. Quite simply, the Company was pursuing the wrong lines of business, and had practically little to no operating cash. It could have easily chosen bankruptcy as an alternative, which would have allowed the Company to manage these difficulties in an orderly fashion. We believed then, as we do now, that the Company was not only viable, but its potential could be realized with strong and prudent direction. While it has taken us longer than expected, we were finally able to stabilize operations and invest in our network for growth. We wanted to share with you the steps we have taken to get to this point… 

Despite progress operationally and in improving our capital structure, Wall Street has not yet recognized these improvements. Our stock, on a split-adjusted basis, is near its low for the year. Our market capitalization is much less than the replacement cost of our network. We believe that those shareholders who have stuck with us through the tough times will be rewarded, as we feel we are entering a period of high value creation for the Company. We thank you for your support and look forward to sharing future developments with you in the coming months.

Finally a technology event that’s practically in my own backyard, Interop 2007 will be in New York from October 22-26. Stop and visit with over 200 exhibitors and see first-hand the latest IT solutions and technology trends. Besides over 100 sessions planned, there is a Boot Camp, workshops and networking opportunities galore.

Event highlights include:

In addition to a world-class Educational Program and the industry’s most comprehensive Exposition, Interop offers free sessions and events throughout the week. If you can make it to New York in October, you’ll gain invaluable information to improve your IT strategy the rest of the year.

Take your pick from dozens of free sessions. Topics range from VoIP, mobility and security to infrastructure, storage, data center and more. The free session schedule will be available in August 2007.

Big-time keynotes. Get insight into challenges and opportunities for information technology. Industry leaders will share their vision at keynote addresses throughout the week.

Tours of the InteropNet. One of the things that makes Interop unique is the gigantic network that connects every aspect of it - the exhibitors, attendees, conference sessions, and more. Tours of the state-of-the-art network InteropNet, led by Interop volunteers, show you the technology behind it. Take an interactive tour of the InteropNet built for Interop New York 2006.

Celebrate and network with peers at Interop New York’s first ever attendee reception on Tuesday, October 23rd. Join your colleagues after hours to relax, have fun and talk about exciting new technologies. Attend with any educational package or an Expo plus pass.

Enjoy a refreshing beverage while visiting exhibitors during the Booth Crawl as the first day of the exposition draws to a close.

Complete registration information can be found right here. Early bird pricing is still available.

Digium, Inc., the Asterisk company, announced this week that they are now accepting entries for their inaugural Digium Innovation Awards.  The awards focus on recognizing those with outstanding achievements in “improving business processes, overcoming technology challenges and enhancing the company’s bottom line.”   

The awards will be presented October 30th-31st at Asterisk World Boston, with winners in the following categories:

• Pioneer Award - most innovative Asterisk implementation
• Big Biz Asterisk Award - largest Asterisk enterprise class installation
• ROI Award - best measurable ROI from implementing Asterisk
• Inside Out Award - best use of Asterisk in a business outside of telecommunications

Being named an Innovation Award winner reaps many benefits, including:

• Presentation of award with a profile of your company in the Conference General session
• Congratulatory press release from Digium, Inc.
• Listing on the Digium website

“We are continuously impressed with the ways in which today?s business technologists are using Digium open source solutions to improve processes, reduce costs and cost effectively create applications to fit unique business needs,” said Digium Founder and CTO Mark Spencer. “The Digium Innovation Awards will shine a spotlight on the people who put Asterisk into action and the resulting open source deployments that are redefining the VoIP industry.”If you’re interested in being considered, you can apply at http://www.digium.com/ through October 1, 2007.

Extreme Networks, Inc. announced recently that they have now joined forces with Tallard Technologies, a distribution company, to assist them in getting Extreme Networks’ products and services out and more readily noticed in Latin American countries.  Tallard will now be distributing Extreme Networks BlackDiamond and Summit switching platforms and other products to give them greater market penetration.  With Tallard also supporting Avaya’s IP telephony solutions, the combination between that and Extreme Networks solutions will give users “an open, secure and available network with advanced communication solutions for IP telephony, contact centers, IP messaging, systems management and unified communications.”

“As a value added distributor, Tallard focuses on working with industry-leading, best-in-class technology products,” said Humberto Gonzalez president and CEO of Tallard Technologies. “We welcome the opportunity to work with Extreme Networks in the convergence space in Latin America, where we perceive an opportunity for growth which exceeds that of other comparable world markets. As an Avaya strategic partner, Extreme Networks is the perfect complement to our product portfolio and offering for our business partners though out the Caribbean and Latin American region.”

“By working with Tallard, Extreme Networks can provide customers who are facing growth and change in their businesses and applications with a converged network solution that can fit their needs,” said Dan Sibille senior director of America’s channels for Extreme Networks. “Healthcare, local government, higher education and various enterprise organizations share the need for advanced technology solutions which Tallard offers to customers with Extreme Networks products and services.”

With new VoIP service providers popping up nearly every day, Verizon Business is taking a different approach … focusing on their wholesale VoIP customers.  Next month they plan to introduce several new features and options geared towards their SIP Gateway VoIP customers, planning to give them more flexibility and options than ever.

One of the new features they’re making available is Foreign Telephone Number Assignment (FTNA), which will give users the ability to assign a US telephone number outside of the normal local calling area for that specific number. As they put it, “For example, a resident of Dallas could be assigned a Chicago-area telephone number, allowing friends and family in the Chicago area to place a local call. This feature also gives businesses the flexibility of maintaining local numbers for their customers while controlling costs by centrally locating all or portions of their business elsewhere.”  Additional planned features will let customers offer more customization to their subscribers, including ordering two-way telephone numbers associated with SIP Gateway Service with or without the E911 service.  Seasonal pricing will also be available, along with greater ability to track, monitor and block traffic.

“Since we successfully launched our wholesale VoIP product suite two years ago, we have continued to seek — and find — effective ways to fulfill the needs of our customers,” said Jim Tyrrell, vice president of voice product management for Verizon. “Performance, reliability and a competitive cost structure are table stakes in this market. Our intent is to reach beyond those basics to offer an exceptional product with superior features.”

Allworx, a network solutions company, recently received a nice honor from Inc. Magazine.  They were named to Inc.’s 5000 listing for 2007, landing in the top third of the list.  With their growth rate pegged at a whopping 237%, it should come as no surprise, and they were lauded for their delivery of telecommunications solutions to small and medium businesses.  The entire list can be seen at http://www.inc.com/inc500 and includes a company profile for each recipient, and can be searched using a number of varying criteria (geographic location, year founded, etc.).  Each company must have a minimum of $200,000 in revenue in 2003, and $2 million last year, and must be an independent, privately-held US company for consideration.

“Inc. Magazine’s recognition of our growth further highlights a tremendous year for Allworx, and we attribute our success to a number of factors, ” said George E. Daddis, chief executive officer for Allworx Corporation, in a recent press release. “First, our engineering teams have created award winning telecommunications solutions that help small and medium businesses improve their productivity and save money at the same time. Additionally, our channel and reseller partners have delivered our solutions to market in a way that meets the customer’s needs better than any other solution, and ensures profitable and enduring relationships between us, our partners, and the end customers that use our technology. We’re honored that Inc. Magazine has recognized our accomplishments this year.”

“The Inc. 5,000 provides the most comprehensive look ever at the most important part of the economy - the entrepreneurial part,” said Inc. 5,000 Project Manager Jim Melloan. “The expansion of the list allows us to tell the stories of companies who are making enormous strides in industries that are somewhat underreported in the business media. Allworx’ success serving small and medium businesses provides a perfect illustration for the type of company we strive to honor, and we’re proud to name Allworx to our listing.”

Time Warner Cable has just announced the availability of their new International VoIP plan.  For just $19.95 a month (after signing up for another qualifying Time Warner Cable service), you will have the ability to call over 100 different countries, including Greece, India, and Poland for just one flat monthly fee.  Calls to cell phones in some countries is included as well.  Three-way calling and call forwarding are not yet available as part of their International VoIP plan.

Complete details can be found right here. 

Skype has just announced a new fun feature for their subscribers - the ability to share video content with friends and family worldwide.  By joining forces with independent video sharing sites likes DailyMotion and Metacafe and using Skype™ 3.5 for Windows, users can now download videos and add them to their Skype ‘mood.’  Users also have the option to share their video content in Skype online chats and can also take pictures while still making a video call, giving them more options than ever. 

“People thrive on sharing stuff with one another,” said Carter Adamson, general manager, desktop products for Skype, in a recent press release. A little over a year ago, we had 100 million registered users worldwide and we’ve more than doubled in size in the space of twelve months. This is because we continue to develop Skype and come up with amusing things to do. User-generated and licensed video content are incredibly popular. Working with Dailymotion and Metacafe means everyone can try out downloading their favourite clip and putting it in their online profile. Video content is a great conversation starter because people love talking about video clips and especially the ones that are personal to them.”

“Video mood messages provide members of the vibrant Skype community a great way to express themselves by tapping into the original and entertaining videos available on Metacafe, including those in our Producer Rewards program that pays video creators for their best work,” said Erick Hachenburg, CEO of Metacafe. “Online video has become so popular over the past couple of years in large part because it’s fun to find something entertaining and forward it to a friend who’s likely to enjoy it. Videos placed into Skype mood messages make this process even easier.”

“With this partnership, the online global community is really coming together to create a new experience in video sharing,” said Benjamin Bejbaum, CEO and cofounder of Dailymotion. “From now on, Skype users will have access to more than 3 million videos, including premium content and exclusive artwork from our MotionMakers.”