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The recent news of Polycom’s (Nasdaq: PLCM) partnership with Juniper (NYSE: JNPR)—which GigaOm suggests is in response to Cisco’s acquisition of Tandberg—got me thinking of the playing together in the sandbox analogy. Making room for everyone to play well in the same space is more important than ever with the rapid advancements in communications technologies. It’s all about making sure that customers – businesses and consumers – have access to the networks and devices that best suit their needs and that the different technologies can be integrated easily.
I believe that this partnership, along with a slew of others recently announced (see here), will foster greater flexibility and more options for businesses and consumers.
That is why BroadSoft has established partnerships with Tandberg, IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) to name a few. And this week we announced an extension of our partnership with Polycom to provide an integrated voice and video solution. This new offering builds upon our long-term relationship with Polycom and brings video and voice together for businesses in a way that has not been readily available before. More often than not, video and voice live in separate silos at businesses, making it difficult for employees to leverage these tools simultaneously for the next generation of telepresence. Through our new solution, V2Connect, we bring video and voice together in one infrastructure so workers can take advantage of these tools easily and seamlessly and businesses – including SMBs –can potentially save money and increase productivity.
At the core of all these partnerships is Unified Communications, enabling employees to communicate through various channels, at any time, from any location and in an integrated, streamlined way. For example, through our collaboration with Polycom, businesses have access to unified voice and video solutions delivered as a hosted service. Our integrated UC solution with Microsoft facilitates integrated voice, presence, instant messaging and web conferencing as a hosted solution, so that employees can work virtually, from any location and at any time.
Moving forward, we expect to see rapid expansion in the hosted UC market. As more businesses shift to a hosted model, the need for plug and play technologies will likely increase.
Broadband Ignite periodically catches up with thought leaders in the sector. This week we had the chance to chat with Praveen Kumar, the chief technologist for PacketSmart at BroadSoft. Praveen joined BroadSoft from Packet Island following the company’s acquisition. He spent some time discussing the integration of their solution into the BroadSoft offering and the momentum that has been building in the last five months. Click on the icon below to listen to the conversation.
You can dive a little deeper into the capabilities of VoIP monitoring and PacketSmart here for a 10-minute demo (software download may be needed).
Recipients of the first round of national broadband stimulus grants, 17 states have good cause for celebration heading into 2010. Just before the holiday break the government began doling out a portion of the $7.2 billion allotted to improve broadband access, announcing $182 million for 18 projects.
Many of these grants will be used to expand access in rural regions of the country, which is vital to the economic recovery. Tens of thousands of new jobs will be created almost immediately and the benefits will continue to flow down from there. Small businesses – the backbone of the American economy — will gain new opportunities to grow and compete. High speed access will enable them to be more efficient, provide better customer service and expand their businesses. And this is just the beginning for the SMB market, nicely summarized by Hillicon Valley.
For consumers who have gone without broadband, a whole world of communications will open up enabling new ways to connect, anywhere, anytime from a variety of channels. Imagine grandparents living miles away from their little ones who can now ‘visit’ regularly by video. Parents can check in with kids away at college with the click of a mouse. Schools and libraries will get long needed upgrades, enabling students significantly expanded access to information.
Increasing broadband access for all Americans is a win-win, and getting the ball rolling sooner rather than later – even as some details are being ironed out –makes sense to kick-start the recovery effort. An important next step will be a renewed focus on the mapping effort– already in progress in a number of states through the first round of grants. The national map –expected to be complete in early 2011—will ensure funds are allocated properly to the communities most in need. The roll-out of the National Broadband plan – due in February – will also be a crucial part of this momentous effort, particularly in determining how to fund access for all Americans beyond what is allocated in the stimulus funds. Early estimates put costs in the range of $20 billion to as high as $350 billion. While there are many questions that remain unanswered and challenges ahead, these are exciting times, and what happens next is sure to significantly change how we learn, work and play.
In case you missed the recent news from Alcatel-Lucent, the telecommunications equipment maker is the latest to throw its hat in the applications ring. GigaOm offers a good overview of both the future potential and current shortcomings of this new offering.
From a high-level, the primary benefit is tied to the open APIs that will allow developers to tap the assets within service-provider networks. If all goes according to plan – the groups will then be able to work together to differentiate their applications and build new revenue streams. However at the moment, the options are limited and only mobile location applications are supported.
BroadSoft is quite a few steps ahead in the application marketplace arena. While we both use a RESTful API architecture, that is where the similarities end. With a full 18 months under our belts, the BroadSoft Xtended program has attracted more than 2,000 developers. Plus our platform enables applications that integrate with business-process software, mobile clients, desk phones and other devices to offer a much broader range of applications.
Alcatel’s marketplace-deployment model is also quite different than ours —they give service providers a gallery of applications and then point you to the developer. And as we announced just this past quarter at our annual users conference, we now have complete ecommerce enablement of our marketplace. Consumers can now download apps directly and start using them. Here are a few very cool examples of apps that can be found on the BroadSoft Marketplace, which were unveiled at our annual users’ conference in our always popular “Show Me the Apps” session:
- Microsoft CRM intergration – this full-service CRM app, delivers streamlined communications options for users that enable them to quickly find and communicate with the right person, improving work flow and, more importantly, customer satisfaction.
- Our app that integrates with Mobile Max extends real-time communications to the mobile device with one number, one device, and one address book.
- JoeDevloper’s app transcribes voice messages to text and email,and enables users to search messages by keyword in their inboxes.
In short, our business model is creating integrated, real-time communication options that you can quickly take to market, delivering a superior communication experience to consumers. That’s where apps are more than just the next big thing – they are a real game changer.
This week we caught up with Vince Margiotta from XO Communications to learn more about their new Enterprise SIP Communications Solution for Multi-Location Businesses. Vince talks about what makes this new offering compelling to large companies in today’s market. He expands on how it streamlines, simplifies and reduces costs to enable businesses to better implement and manage their communications platforms. Please click the link below to listen to the interview.
Finally back from our annual executive users’ conference, I’m still running on the energy from this year’s event – our biggest and best so far. We had almost 800 attendees from 30 countries this year spend two and half days with us. More than 60 exhibitors filled the Solutions Showcase hall, which industry analyst Jon Arnold claims in his wrap-up conference blog post generated more buzz than SUPERCOMM.
While there were a number of insightful and exciting presenters, such as Nicholas Carr’s keynote and our much-anticipated Show me the Apps demonstrations, the most satisfying part of the conference for me was the overall enthusiasm and validation of how BroadSoft and its partners are driving innovation in the communications industry. While quality and reliability are still important in telecommunications – we see a great opportunity in enhancing the user experience. As most conferences promote vaporware and talk in the future tense, Connections 2009 showcased the consumer and business communications applications of tomorrow …which are ready for service providers to take to market today.
I heard throughout the event that Connections has become the de facto IP communications event …as it brings the best and brightest minds in the industry together to share best practices, learn and collaborate. At BroadSoft we see our role as being the center of this ecosystem, facilitating important dialogue and providing a core platform in which others can innovate off of, all with the objective to enhance the communications experience of end users.
I want to extend a big thank you to Microsoft, our event sponsor for the second year, along with our other sponsors, as well as to our customers, some of who flew across the globe to be with us. Without their support, Connections would simply not be possible.
Reliable service and call quality no longer separate one telecommunications service provider from another. Businesses and consumers expect quality access. Voice services in general have become a commodity. What puts one provider over another today is the delivery of enhanced services coupled with the best customer care. Long-time telecom analyst and CIMI Corp. President Tom Nolle recently covered the topic on SearchTelecom.com.
One company that seems to have this down is PAETEC (NASDAQ GS: PAET). PAETEC makes enhanced communications a no-brainer for tens of thousands of businesses around the country. A BroadSoft customer since 2002, PAETEC delivers personalized communications solutions and unmatched service to business-class customers in more than 83 of the nation’s top 100 metropolitan statistical areas.
PAETEC conducts a regular series of Educational Webcasts designed to share important industry trends with customers. Recently, they reached out to BroadSoft to participate as a guest, focusing on how businesses today are benefiting from enhanced communications. PAETEC’s VP of Product Development Pat Herron and BroadSoft’s Jonathan Wagner were interviewed about what’s behind the Voice 2.0 curtain. They dig deeper into what businesses want when it comes to communications and how best to provide it.
In this Webcast interview, Pat and Jonathan hit on a number of buzz words we hear a lot these days like business continuity, unified communications, and service level agreements. They break all of these down to explain where the real value in each one is and offers advice on what businesses need to look for when considering a VoIP partner.
Click here for the audio.
I am often surprised by the things I remember from my childhood. Of course there are the life lessons about good manners, playing fair and putting things back where you found them. But then there are those silly things that impress you, which you don’t quite understand why until later in life.
I vividly recall one day watching cartoons as a child, the Jetsons specifically. Jane was sleeping when her video phone rang. She obviously did not think she was looking her best, having been awakened from her slumber. Before answering the phone she put on a perfectly quaffed mask of herself.
Of course my immediate reaction at the time was — how vain. But now, I am a bit less judgmental.
Having access to multimedia communication options anytime and anywhere in our personal lives is now a reality. Today BroadSoft introduced the latest enhancements to our consumer solutions. Read the press release here.
Through our broadened focus on the consumer experience, we are delivering on a vision to enable the “connected” consumer to have access to a host of information, entertainment and other communication services, anywhere and at anytime, in the home or on the road.
We are empowering consumers by enabling them to control all their multi-media devices and communication services from a single, BroadWorks® powered online account.
Our consumer experience builds upon our BroadWorks Voice over IP application platform, a proven architecture, which manages multimedia communication sessions between devices for voice, video, messaging and content, beyond the boundaries of the subscriber home.
The way individuals chose to communicate will continue to evolve. Can you imagine what might be next — the notorious shoe phone?
The way companies develop and earn revenue from new products (the world of R&D) has changed forever, and it is a great thing for all of us.
In April we announced our 2nd annual developers contest, XCv2, and earlier today we announced the winners. The interest and momentum in developing applications that either make our lives easier or are just plain amazing – thanks to the continued advancement of technology – continues to grow.
In only its second year, our developer challenge generated 10x the registrations over last year, and helped to grow the BroadSoft Xtended open-development community to well over 2,000 developers, who turn innovative ideas into reality.
Announcing the winners is of course exciting – but the applications will really be put into action next month when they are demonstrated live at our annual users’ conference, BroadSoft Connections 2009: Voice & Vision, during the much anticipated “Show Me the Apps” session. Show Me the Apps focuses exclusively on new applications that allow our service provider customers to further maximize their current investment in BroadSoft and the future evolution of their services and businesses. You can watch video clips of last year’s Show Me the Apps event at http://developer.broadsoft.com/smta.
But for now – let’s get to it. This year’s winners are….
In the consumer category, MyZazu from WorldxChange took first place. The app offers an online portal for users to share events and updates with their contacts via text-to-speech, email, SMS and twitter. Basically you can tell your friends and family what you are up to using any form of communication you so desire.
In the cool category, the winner is JoeDeveloper.net’s Visual Voicemail for Polycom’s VVX1500, which transcribes voicemails for business users and with just one click to a link in the transcription you can call the person back. There’s really no excuse for not returning phone calls when it’s this simple.
MobileMax Enterprise Edition tied for first place in the business category with Excendia Virtual Assistant. MobileMax is a Unified Communications (UC) application for mobile phones. It makes features in BroadWorks – such as your own personal web portal to manage communications, call conferencing and access to an auto attendant—accessible on a cell phone.
Excendia Virtual Assistant is a speech-enabled application that allows mobile users to listen and reply to emails, send new ones, review and schedule calendar appointments, control their phone status and call forwarding using hands-free, eyes-free voice commands while driving, or from any phone.
The selection process was very challenging…..so thanks to all the developers who submitted just fantastic applications. Look for all the contest applications on our next-generation Xtended marketplace next month.
Michael Tessler
Scott Hoffpauir
Leslie Ferry
Alex Doyle
Curtis Hartmann
Shirish Andhare
Paul Adams
AT&T to FCC — It’s Time We Moved On
January 20, 2010 in Broadband, IP | Tags: AT&T, circuit-switched, digital TV transfer, end PSTN, FCC, FCC and request for comments, landline deadline, VoIP and analog | by Leslie Ferry | 2 comments
AT&T rang in the new year with a special request for the FCC to set a deadline to end landline voice networks. This was in response to the FCC asking for comments on how best to transition to a fully IP national network. AT&T’s response reminded me of the classic Danny DeVito movie “Other People’s Money.” You may recall the famous speech DeVito’s character makes to the shareholders of a cable and wire company he is looking to liquidate, calling it long dead. And why, he asks the shareholders? “…Fiber optics. New Technologies. Obsolescence.”
This was back in 1991 – about five years before most cable companies even began moving to hybrid fiber/co-axial lines. A more recent example of IP transition we all remember is the digital TV transition – first set for February 09 and then pushed to June 09 to help ease the conversion for some consumers who were not quite ready.
The move from circuit-switched lines to all IP-based networks is nearing completion for the same reasons mentioned by DeVito’s character in the movie. The carriers see greater revenue generating opportunities in this switch over and there is tremendous benefit for businesses and end users. When the copper-based circuit switched networks are no longer a burden to carriers, carriers will have more resources to focus on innovation resulting in more robust, competitive products for consumers. In addition, the ability to access multiple communications channels across one network – Internet, TV, phone – is huge. We help over 450 carriers do this for their customers today. For businesses, the integration of voice, data and video brings new meaning to the word efficiency.
It’s easy to see that the question is no longer if, but when, do we make this move. There are several sticking points including how to service areas where high-speed access is not yet available, how to get the 33% of Americans who have access but don’t subscribe to see the value, and the whole ongoing discussion around emergency access and security. All of these will need to be addressed by the forthcoming national broadband plan –now due out in mid-March after being pushed off a month from the original deadline. One possibility highlighted in this e-Week article looks at transitioning to new companies focused solely on maintaining the old PSTN, perhaps with public subsidies.
While these details are being ironed out, it’s time to start preparing a transition plan so that the switch over will be as painless as possible. Consumers who don’t yet see that VoIP is every bit as good as analog, or just don’t want all the additional benefits of IP may need a little prodding. For them some financial help like the digital TV refund subsidy might be in order. But the change is coming – let’s help the FCC deal with it in a thoughtful and orderly way.
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