VOIP News

I recently had the opportunity to ask Olle Westerberg, chief executive officer Ingate Systems, about his business and the direction he is taking the company. Ingate Systems produces a range of SIP-capable enterprise firewalls. Please read the TMCnet article about Ingate Systems SIP Trunking Network for more information on the company. Please outline your new corporate initiatives.  Ingate continues to lead the industry in SIP-enabling security technologies. We are once again working with our partners in the IP PBX and ITSP space to educate end-users, resellers and VARs on SIP trunking with the “SIP Trunking Series: Everything You Need to Know” at ITEXPO. We see SIP trunking as a way of making full use of the enterprise IP PBX, making it possible to use the IP PBX functionality outside the enterprise network. It is a critical stepping-stone to true global connectivity when everyone is able to connect with one another (both inside and outside the company) using the Internet. Looking ahead, we support the trend toward unified communications as it paves the way for true global communications by providing users the flexibility to choose the best way to communicate at any given moment. How is IP communications changing your company’s strategy? Ingate has had SIP and IP communications in our strategy from the beginning. Ingate was founded to enable enterprises to use SIP-based communications, not only when communicating within the enterprise but also when communicating with other enterprises and people. Our long history of extensively developing flexible technology makes it possible to address most of the demands from the market. How has SIP changed communications?  SIP has utterly transformed business communications. VoIP has had an enormous impact on enterprise telephony. With SIP, business communications can go beyond VoIP. We can do so much more by adding IM, presence, real-time video and a host of new applications. SIP’s elegant design is also partly responsible for this revolution. The SIP protocol is flexible to work with from a development standpoint, helping to ease interoperability issues. As long as manufacturers adhere to the SIP standards, interoperability issues can be overcome. And that benefits everyone including customers, VARs and developers. This design also provides unique opportunities to maintain security.  What is the biggest request coming from your customer base?  The biggest requests we see from customers is to provide solutions that are truly interoperable with other SIP-based products. We at Ingate adhere strictly to the SIP standards as outlined by the IETF. Our products are also designed to help bridge this interoperability gap when necessary. For instance, our SIP trunking software module helps establish interoperability between a customer’s IP PBX and ITSP. Our SIP trunking startup tool also helps establish interoperability in a fast and seamless manner. We also hear a great deal about security and control. Ingate’s heritage is in firewalling and security. All of our solutions are developed with security of the enterprise network in mind, and incorporate our unique SIP security technology such as our full SIP proxy. What do you think the future of the market is?  The future of the market is global connectivity, unified communications and the possibility to choose whichever method of communications is most appropriate for the situation. When every enterprise is using IP communications, both inside the organization and outside to customers, it allows for the  streamlining of business. It is when every person is able to be reached anywhere, and do business from any location — whether from another country or just next door — with the same efficiencies as someone working across the room.  How does the growth rate in the U.S. compare to the rest of the world?  The U.S. market is 12 to 18 months ahead of many other markets. The demand for applications like SIP trunking will grow in the near future, but other markets will slowly catch up and the gap between the U.S. and other markets will decrease What do you think of Google and Apple entering the telecom market?  The entrance of these two high profile and influential companies into the telecom space an increase interest for real-time communications products and ultimately drives demand among all markets. How about Microsoft?  Microsoft’s adoption of SIP gave the protocol instant validation as the standard for real-time communications both now and in the future.  How will wireless technologies change our market?  Wireless technologies are helping to encourage new ways of doing business such as working remotely and making global connectivity happen faster. No longer is it necessary to be tethered by a cable to the Internet. The growing number of public wireless networks is also increasing opportunities for mobile workers to use real-time communications while traveling, and Ingate’s remote access technology enables these users to connect to their home PBX in a seamless fashion. How will communications evolve over the next five years?  We expect to see an increasing number of enterprises using applications other than voice when communicating in real-time. Instant Messaging, video and file sharing will be integrated as a natural part of the daily communication pattern. We will also see a rise in the number of mobile workers as the technology makes it easier and more seamless to work from remote locations. In addition, more enterprises will adopt technology that allows these remote workers (and even satellite offices and customers) to access the applications of the corporate IP PBX. What sorts of things will we be hearing about during your presentation at ITEXPO? Steve Johnson’s presentation, “SIP Trunking from 10,000 Feet,” will provide an overview of this technology and why it’s important. The presentation will also discuss other issues and talk about case studies for enterprise deployments. Steve will also discuss the ROI businesses can expect from SIP trunk deployments. Why is your presentation a “Can’t Miss?” SIP trunking is an important technology that permits businesses to adopt VoIP with its attendant benefits and remain connected to others who rely on the PSTN. If your business could benefit from rapid reduction in communications costs than this seminar is for you. What do you want the industry to know about your company? Our customers call us the “Swiss Army Knife” of real-time communications. Like a good Swiss Army Knife, Ingate’s products are extremely flexible and can provide solutions in most any scenario. They are interoperable with leading SIP-based IP PBXs, ITSPs and with all solutions that also adhere to SIP standards. In other words, Ingate products “just work.” Ingate’s leadership in SIP and SIP-based security technologies is unprecedented. While we offer an award-winning SIP trunking solution, we also provide solutions for remote workers.



Tags: apple, firewall, ip communications, iphone, ip pbx, itexpo, itsp, Microsoft, Olle Westerberg, sip, voip, Wireless

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As organizations move to VoIP and other forms of IP communications it is imperative they realize the world of IP is far different from the PSTN and circuit-switched networks of yesterday. While Internet Protocol is the protocol of the Internet which was designed to be resilient enough to withstand a nuclear attack, IP networks need proper management to be able to continue operating under a variety of circumstances. The concept of the always up IP communications network was certainly in the spotlight recently as TMCnet’s Tom Keating broke the story of Skype, the world’s most popular IP communications software company having a major network outage. He surmised that a recent Microsoft upgrade to its operating systems was responsible for the outage. A few days later, Skype explained that indeed, Microsoft’s operating system update coupled with a bug in the eBay division’s software was responsible for leaving millions without IP communications. While some journalists have come to the conclusion that VoIP is no longer reliable because of this outage the reality is that a software bug stopped the network from functioning properly and this had nothing to do with the inherent reliability of VoIP. Still, when you leverage the benefits of IP communications you must also be aware of the responsibilities that come with the technology. Yes, you now have some responsibilities you may not have been aware of. Much the same way you now know to but a UPS on your e-mail server, you need to ensure you have adequate network management and security in place when you use VoIP on a regular basis basis. In other words, take this outage as a learning experience. Learn to test you VoIP network. Learn to monitor your IP communications network. Learn to have redundancy in your IP telephony network. It is far better to be prepared than to be left without your vital communications systems. For example, do you have redundant broadband connections coming onto your company? Even the smallest of the small SMB can afford to have a cable modem and DSL line to ensure they are always connected and taking customer calls. But even a network designed to handle myriad conditions cannot solve the problems of a service such as Skype being nonfunctional. After all, what do companies do if their primary IM software dies in the middle of a crucial trading day? Or in the middle of an important meeting or conference call? What is your company’s backup plan? Typically, companies have not used a backup plan for IM and VoIP services because frankly they didn’t see the need. The recent incidents involving Skype show how perilous it can be to rely on a single service provider for anything. If redundancy exists you should be aware of it and ensure your organization is prepared to switch IP communications providers in case one goes out. This strategy may not even cost any money but it will cost you some time. But the time you spend to ensure IP communications is working is critical. After all, if you are tasked with ensuring your company’s communications is working, can you afford not to be prepared? Even if you don’t use Skype you need to be covered in case a similar problem happens to other companies. One way to stay on top of the happenings in the world of IP communications is to ensure you read influential blogs such as Tom Keating’s VoIP Blog, Andy Abramson’s VoIP Watch and On Malik’s GigaOm. In addition, be sure to check in daily on TMCnet and be at the IP communications industry event, Internet Telephony Conference & Expo September 10-12 in Los Angeles, CA where over 7,000 IP communications decision-makers will be in attendance from around the world. The communications revolution continues and there is no substitute for a stellar education which can help your company get all the benefits of IP communications with little or none of the pitfalls.



Tags: andy abramson, chat, circuit switched, gigaom, im, ip communications, itexpo, om malik, outage, pstn, Skype, tmc, tom keating, voip, voip watch

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Sadly, the Tissot High-T has been discontinued. This is terrible news as when the watch worked, it worked very well. It connected with the Microsoft Spot network which is now called MSN Direct. It had a touch screen and vibrate function which made it an exceptional watch as it could remind you of appointments without any sound. This was useful when you were in a meeting you would know 15 minutes ahead of time that another meeting is about to begin soon. You may recall my original Tissot High-T review and more recently my post blasting Tissot customer service. I should mention the company had a local jeweler call me and tell me to call the main Tissot office. When I called they told me the watch will no longer be repaired or sold and I am able to get any other watch they have instead. This is sad news as I really liked the High-T. I am looking for a new MSN Direct watch now. Wish me luck. Until then, expect me to be late for every meeting.

Tags: calendar, crm, Microsoft, msn direct, spot, Tissot, touch screen, traffic, vibrate, watch

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Listen, I don’t want to overdo discussion of ITEXPO in my blog but the fact of the matter is this recent e-mail sent by my marketing team is a great document discussing what is important at the show. It is a good guide for you. What to see, where to go, where to be, etc. You can see below the various aspects of Internet Telephony Conference & Expo which make it unique and the most imitated event in IP communications. And yes, I am aware that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Thanks for the complement. —- WHAT:     Workshops at ITEXPOWHEN:    September 10-12, 2007WHERE:  Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, CaliforniaWEB:      www.itexpo.com  Free Workshops for Resellers, Service Providers, Enterprises, SMBs Dear Colleague, At most conferences, you can register for a free pass that grants access to exhibits, and perhaps even keynote speeches. But only at ITEXPO can you attend free workshops created specifically to help you stay abreast of the important developments in IP communications solutions. This is why show after show, ITEXPO is the conference where enterprises, SMBs, resellers and service providers gather to learn and develop partnerships. Here is a look at the workshops planned for you at ITEXPO in Los Angeles next month. Admission to all workshops except trixbox training is free with your VIP Pass or Reseller Pass Registration.  Ingate’s SIP Trunking Workshop - September 10 – 11, 2007================================================Free workshop presented by Ingate and their partners. Details here. Learn how SIP trunking can maximize the ROI from your IP PBX investment in these informative seminars with Ingate Systems. SIP trunking rapidly reduces costs by leveraging SIP, eliminating redundant network connections and by allowing the Internet telephony service provider (ITSP) to handle PSTN termination.Join Ingate, leading IP PBX vendors, and SIP trunking service providers at INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO. You’ll learn:

  • SIP trunking: benefits, issues, and opportunities  • How SIP trunking can maximize the Return on Investment for your IP PBX  • Installation roadmap, solutions for interoperability, etc.  • An introduction to SIP Trunking service providers, their plans, and requirements  • A complete tool kit to ease the installation of SIP trunks

NEW SESSIONS — Tracks have been expanded to include topics on SIP architecture and security, issues critical to successful deployments of realtime communications, including VoIP. SIP trunks reduce costs, as they eliminate the need to purchase local PSTN gateways, costly ISDN BRIs (Basic Rate Interfaces) or PRIs (Primary Rate Interfaces).

Disaster Preparedness Forum — Monday, September 10th================================================Free workshop presented by the Disaster Preparedness Communication Forumand The Enterprise Communications Association9:00am - 11:00am

National disasters - hurricanes, tornados, winter storms, - have demonstrated repeatedly that too many companies do not have an effective plan in place to ensure business continuity. However, although major disasters command a lot of attention from the media, they are rare and generally affect a small percentage of the total population. It’s the smaller calamities, such as power outages, fire, or local floods that are far more common and affect ill-prepared businesses every single day.Today’s technologies allow organizations to plan and implement solutions that are safe, solid, and affordable to ensure continuity of business in the case of a disaster of any size. This 2-hour workshop will focus on the use of converged IP solutions to seamlessly transfer vital functions and back up critical data, preventing loss and minimizing downtime during a business interruption whether caused by nature or man.

Reseller Solutions Day — Monday, September 10th==================================Free workshops presented by Interactive Intelligence9:00am — Learn How To Make Money Selling VoIP

Brit Vickner, Strategic Business Development Manager, Interactive Intelligence, along with TMC president Rich Tehrani and ABP president Robert Messer will draw on over 25 years of experience in the telecom market to help you take advantage of the IP communications market explosion. Learn how to “talk-the-talk,” how to bundle services to create more attractive offerings, and how to sell VoIP as an add-on to existing infrastructure.  Speakers:  Rich Tehrani, President and Conference Chairman, TMCBrit Vickner, Strategic Business Development Manager, Interactive IntelligenceRobert Messer, President, ABP 10:00am — Say Yes! To Unified Communications: It’s Not A Fad!Speaker: Brit Vickner, Strategic Business Development Manager, Interactive Intelligence 11:00am — The Success Story of How Partners Can Make Money Selling VoIP Using Unified CommunicationsSpeaker: Jeff Devries, Channel Sales Manager, Interactive Intelligence    Reseller Live! — Monday, September 10th==================================Free workshop presented by The Enterprise Communications Association 12:30 - 3:15pm — Reseller LiveThis session was first introduced at ITEXPO in 2005. Topics cover all aspects of converged IP sales including security, FoIP, hosted services, Software as a Service (SaaS), IP contact center operations and other key subject matter. The session is designed to maximize reseller participation so come prepared with questions for the panelists.  Also covered will be the panelist’s consensus of the Top 5 Reasons to Implement VoIP and the Top 5 Reasons customers may hesitate to implement immediately.   How to Profit from Selling Hosted VoIP in the SMB Market– Tuesday, September 11th==================================Free workshop presented by Vocalocity 9:30 - 11:00 amThe session will be led by NetZip and Vocalocity co-founder, Phil Hill, who will speak about the skills and techniques needed to effectively close deals in this competitive marketplace.  More businesses than ever are outsourcing their technology purchasing decisions to trusted resellers and solutions providers who can help them take advantage of the global migration to Voice over IP. Offering small businesses an enterprise grade voice solution allows you to enter new market segments, differentiate your product offerings, and stay ahead of the competition in the rapidly moving world of broadband communications.  It is unmistakable that Voice over IP and the hosted model are the future of business telephony. Maximize cash flow with upfront payments and residual commissions paid out for the life of an account. Learn how to choose a total solution partner who provides local, long distance, and toll free networks, a competitive feature set, web-based administration, and marketing and billing support. Voice Peering Workshop — Wednesday, September 12th==================================Free for Enterprises and Service Providers - Presented by the Voice Peering FabricThe Voice Peering Fabric (VPF), the preferred marketplace for carriers and enterprises to exchange voice, video and telephony services, is pleased to organize another distinctive Voice Peering Workshop at ITEXPO West 2007. This workshop brings to ITEXPO attendees a team of experts from the telecom, hardware and software industries. Their business strategies and technical insight will be the answer to your questions and concerns relating to voice/video routing and interconnections. The workshop panel discussions present the state of direct peering, putting you on track to harness the full potential of IP communications.

8:15 am - 9:00 am - Voice Peering 101

Speaker: Hunter Newby, Chief Strategy Officer, The telx Group9:15 am - 10:00 am - Inside the Voice Peering Fabric (VPF)

Speaker: Shrihari Pandit, President & CEO, Stealth Communications

More then 130 billion minutes of VoIP traffic are flowing through peering arrangements on the VPF annually, bypassing legacy switched networks and correspondent relationships. Discover the elements within that have attracted leading organizations worldwide to participate in this new marketplace:

   * What lies within the core of the peering fabric   * Where the peering fabric reaches   * Why the shift of VoIP to a private voice Internet   * How bi-lateral and multi-lateral (ENUM/SRV) peering relationships function

10:15 am - 11:00 am - Peering and Transcoding with Asterisk on the VPFSpeaker: Kevin Fleming, Director of Software Technologies, Digium

Asterisk is being deployed more often as critical infrastructure in enterprise and carrier networks. This session will focus on how Asterisk can be used to facilitate VoIP peering using industry standards (and Asterisk-specific) protocols including ENUM, SRV, ITAD and DUNDi. In addition, we will also discuss how Asterisk can be deployed as a high-performance ‘transcoding appliance’. Transcoding is often required when connecting calls between peering networks that use common (and not-so-common) voice codec’s. Fonality trixbox Open Communication Certification (FtOCC)==================================(FtOCC, pronounced “F-talk”) is a 3-day course teaching you the basics of trixbox administration. Designed for those who wish to install trixbox systems for their company or clients, persons tasked with maintaining a trixbox installation, or users relatively new to trixbox that want a better understanding of it’s capabilities. FtOCC focuses on the core operations that an administrator would need to handle on a regular basis. Who Should Attend?

• IT Engineers tasked with supporting or implementing an IP PBX
• System integrators and VARs who want to sell IP PBX systems
• Phone system resellers looking to move into the IP PBX market

Register Now (fee required). —————————————————————Informative Keynotes; Invaluable Networking—————————————————————

Besides a great educational experience in the workshops, you can expect first rate keynotes and networking opportunities that are unrivaled. As the IP communications landscape gets more sophisticated, it is imperative you come to industry conferences to experience everything there is to learn. In addition you are able to network with all the key players and your peers at once, ensuring your education is balanced. The worst thing you can do is make a decision without knowing all of your choices up front. Use this link to register quickly and easily online. Sincerely,INTERNET TELEPHONY Team P.S. Don’t forget that while at the show you could win a new ‘Tricked Out’ Toyota FJ Cruiser or a suite of Apple products, including an iPhone, iMac and Apple TV. Details are posted on the event Web site.  While at the show, please visit the booths of all sponsors: Diamond Sponsors:—————————-Aculab…
www.aculab.comAtacomm… http://voipstore.atacomm.comCisco…
www.cisco.com Platinum Sponsors:——————————8×8, Inc…
www.8×8.comABP…
www.abptech.comAudioCodes…
www.audiocodes.comComverse…
www.comverse.comDialogic…
www.dialogic.comFonality…
www.fonality.comInteractive Intelligence…
www.inin.comInter-Tel…
www.inter-tel.comIwatsu…
www.iwatsu.comNETXUSA…
www.netxusa.comNuvio…
www.nuvio.comSamsung…
www.samsung.comSphere…
www.spherecom.comTechData…
www.techdata.com Gold Sponsors:———————–911Enable…
www.911enable.comAdTran…
www.adtran.comBorder Ware…
www.borderware.comCylogistics…
www.cylogistics.comDash911…
www.dash911.comDice…
www.dice.comDirigisoft…
www.dirigisoft.comGenband…
www.genband.comGlobal Touch Telecom…
www.globaltouchtelecom.comGrandstream Networks…
www.grandstream.comHBF/911 Services…
www.hbfgroup.comIPGear…
www.ipgear.netIPitomy…
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www.ixia.com.comNetSapiens…
www.netsapiens.comQuintum…
www.quintum.comSangoma Technologies…
www.sangoma.comSansay…
www.sansay.comSyncVoice…
www.syncvoice.comVocalocity…
www.vocalocitypbx.com



Tags: 8×8, ABP, AudioCodes, Comverse, Dialogic, Fonality, Interactive Intelligence, Inter-Tel, ip communications, ITEXPO, Iwatsu, NETXUSA, Nuvio, Samsung, smb, Sphere, TechData, voip peering, vpf

Search Technorati: 8×8, ABP, AudioCodes, Comverse, Dialogic, Fonality, Interactive Intelligence, Inter-Tel, ip communications, ITEXPO, Iwatsu, NETXUSA, Nuvio, Samsung, smb, Sphere, TechData, voip peering, vpf

By now it seems the whole world is aware Skype had major problems last week. For most people, Skype was down. Tom Keating speculated the cause was a Microsoft patch which rebooted massive numbers of machines. He has a point as my machine coincidentally rebooted just before the Skype problem hit. Many people thought Tom was incorrect but it turns out Tom nailed the problem. Phil Wolf has an excellent recap of the problem with his thoughts and questions interlaced within. For example, when commenting on the following from Skype: 

Normally Skype’s peer-to-peer network has an inbuilt ability to self-heal, however, this event revealed a previously unseen software bug within the network resource allocation algorithm which prevented the self-healing function from working quickly.

 Wolf wonders: 

If the bug was within the algorithm, in the Skype client, was the bug ever repaired? If it was repaired, how was the fix propagated?

 Brough Turner who has been a TMC columnist for about a decade also has some great thoughts on the matter. One final point… Skype did not blame Microsoft directly but it seems circumstantially they are saying a Microsoft forced reboot brought the p2p IP communications network to its knees. The point is that for all the resiliency inherent in p2p networks, they too are not perfect as they rely on software and systems not necessarily in a company’s control.



Tags: brough turner, ip communications, itexpo, Microsoft, nmss, p2p, patch, phil wolf, reboot, Skype, Skype Journal, tmc, tom keating, voip

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I happened upon a great article by Mae Kowalke discussing wireless company representation at Internet Telephony Conference & Expo. Companies discussed include a la Mobile, Airwide Solutions, Kineto Wireless, MobiTV and MOBIVOX. The article reminds me just how big the wireless market is becoming with regards to IP communications. Certainly the next few years could be instrumental in this “space” with the 700 MHz auction coming (see also 700 MHz Setback). We certainly have exciting times ahead for both consumers, service providers and business users. Perhaps most interesting is whether wireless providers like Verizon Wireless and AT&T Wireless will see serious competition from internet companies such as Google. In fact, one wonders why Microsoft and others wouldn’t be gunning to buy some of this spectrum as well. All told, expect a wild ride and more consumer choice for customers. I look forward to seeing you at ITEXPO soon to discuss this in person.



Tags: 700 MHz auction, Airwide Solutions, a la Mobile, at&t, ITEXPO, Kineto Wireless, MobiTV, MOBIVOX, Verizon

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While technology has a bewildering effect on the medical industry it seems one of the areas ripest for improvement and change is that of the interaction of patient and doctor. A recent article on TMCnet details how HD videoconferencing is improving patient care. Another area of change in contact centers is that of outsourcing. A recent article from TMCnet’s Susan Campbell talks about this change. Specifically it discusses a new study by Duke University and the management consulting firm, Booz Allen Hamilton which found that companies are increasingly moving sophisticated, mission-critical functions to China, India and other offshore locations primarily because these countries are providing the individuals with the necessary skills and education. Speaking of changes in outsourcing, did you know Egypt is trying to be a major player in this space according to an article from TMCnet’s Brian Solomon? There are more articles below on SaaS CRM, headsets and more for those of you who just can’t get enough call center news and information. 

• Insurance Telemarketing Gets Easier with the Predictive Dialer
• Headsets: Eliminating Noise in the Call Center
• Research Points to Changing Outsourcing Trends
• Research Shows Engaging Employees Leads to Better Customer Satisfaction
• The First Annual Best of SugarCRM Finalists Announced
• Q and A with IVR Technologies
• Parature Turns to Angel.com for Customer Support

Tags: bpo, call center, crm, egypt, ivr technologies, lifesize, offshoring, outsourcing, predictive dialer, sugarcrm, tmc

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It seems Skype is indeed up and running once again. As you may recall, TMCnet’s Tom Keating broke the news of the outage last week when he heard many of the TMC team members were not able to communicate with one another. I recently wrote about Skype stabilizing two days ago. It seems now the software/service has gone from stabilizing to working correctly. This is an e-mail I received yesterday from Skype’s PR agency: 

Good Morning, I’m pleased to share the most recent information on the Skype outage with you: ”Take a deep breath. Skype is back to normal.” ”On Monday, we’ll provide a more detailed explanation of what happened. Until then, we’d like to apologize and thank you. Precisely in that order.” ”We know how difficult and frustrating the past two days have been. And still, your good wishes kept flowing in. Thank you for the amazing patience, trust and support!” Skype released that statement a little after 11 AM GMT this morning (8/18/07).  Please expect information to arrive on Monday that more clearly answers the questions you have on this matter. If there is anything I can assist you with in the interim, please let me know. Have a great weekend. Ryan WallaceKaplow for Skype

 What is amazing to me is how Skype has been able to run for so many years and with so many millions of users without such a problem. We have seen similar outages from hosted software companies like Salesforce.com but in Skype’s case, most of it’s services are free. The point I suppose is Skype is a complimentary service yet has been relatively stable for many years. This is the first major outage I recall. Still, the length of the outage is obviously a major challenge for the world’s most popular VoIP software company. For what it’s worth, I haven’t been able to verify Skype is working 100% myself yet as not all of my contacts are online this weekend. One of the problems I had with the software last week centered around some of my contacts not showing up online when in fact their own local machine’s showed them online. What is important to note is how businesses were affected by such outages. Many companies do indeed use Skype and one wonders how they coped with the outage. This will make a great story in the upcoming weeks for sure. If you want to stay up to date on the latest details, be sure to check out my blog at tehrani.com, Tom Keating’s blog or the Skype news page on TMCnet.



Tags: internet telephony, ip communications, itexpo, network, online, outage, Skype, voice over ip, voip

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As you may recall, Voxbone had announced a developer contest a while back and in my blog post about the contest I mentioned the three winners will get: 

• Recognition as a Voxbone certified developer. Recommendation to customers and partners in need of a third-party developer for integrating the Voxbone API.
• Marketing and promotion of winning projects to the specialized press and to Voxbone contacts
• Listing and description of winning projects on the Voxbone website

 Now, I am told the winners have been named. I am sure you are on the edge of your seat, waiting for the winners. Rest assured, this blog entry will not end with “To be continued…”

 Without further ado, the winners are: First place: Oigaa: Voztelecom’s Oigaa is a primary line VoIP service for small and medium businesses around the world. It replaces old PBX and traditional voice lines and runs over the Internet providing all telephony facilities, including PBX call control. Business communications are improved through capabilities such as presence, instant messaging and conferencing. The Oigaa web control panel implements VoxAPI v2.0 and offers online ordering and configurations of Voxbone DID numbers. For more information, go to
www.oigaa.com Second place: IVR Factory: X Machine’s IVR Factory is a web-based IVR content management system, deployment and hosting platform. It enables the building, deployment and archiving of professional IVR applications in minutes with a few clicks and drag and drops. It enables individuals to route applications to local, toll-free or national numbers in major markets all over the world. For more information, go to
www.ivrfactory.com Third place: DTL R Manager: Communicatii Libere’s DTL R manager is an open source Asterisk-based PBX solution with advanced features such as reseller routing, accounting, multi-level user portal, DID management. For more information, go to
www.hostedvpnswitch.com According to Rodrigue Ullens, co-founder of Voxbone, “Our contest demonstrated the power of VoxAPI and uncovered some very creative ways to realize business benefits. We congratulate our winners and are pleased to offer $10,000 to Voztelecom.” I am sure you are wondering who Voxbone is… The company leases international VoIP virtual phone numbers and worldwide origination services via VoIP to organizations in North and South America, Europe and Asia/Pacific regions. It delivers call origination and provides the global infrastructure that enables its customers to expand to international markets. Using direct inbound dial (DID) also called virtual numbers from Voxbone, customers may receive inexpensive, locally dialed phone calls. Using standard VoIP hardware, customers utilize the Voxbone API or web portal for the configuration of the acquired DIDs and to choose to which IP appliance the calls are diverted.



Tags: api, contest, did, dtl r manager, ip communications, ivr factory, oigaa, pbx, rodrigue ullens, voip, voxbone, winner

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Here is a podcast interview of Chris Lyman the CEO of Fonality. Topics of interest? I asked Chris why he started Fonality, what pains his company solves for customers and we get into a discussion of trixbox Pro and trixnet. Chris is one of the more dynamic personalities in communications. How many other CEOs are into extreme sports and compete on a semi-professional level? Hopefully you will enjoy the interview as much as I enjoyed producing it.



Tags: asterisk, chris lyman, fonality, itexpo, open source, rich tehrani, tmc, tom keating, Trixbox pro, trixnet

Search Technorati: asterisk, chris lyman, fonality, itexpo, open source, rich tehrani, tmc, tom keating, Trixbox pro, trixnet