A Year in SMB
More options are always a good thing, and in that sense, 2017 was a good year for small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) seeking new business communications solutions. Market statistics vary, but all agree that the SMB opportunity is a massive…
Newz Snippets Spring-2016
Sometimes being succinct, yet thorough, and presenting details without fluff and hype is refreshing. Here, we round-up recent advancements around business telephony and unified communications products and services – in a brief, quick-take type of format. Read about some of…
Switchvox Drops Costs for Small Firms
Digium updates its Switchvox Cloud hosted unified communications (UC) service with a new, lower cost pricing option that will appeal to smaller businesses with low or unpredictable call volumes. Now, customers can opt for usage-based metered pricing that charges only…
Two Different Pictures
A few months ago, highly respected and legendary prognosticator Elliott Gold predicted that Vidyo would pass Polycom. At the time it didn’t seem particularly reasonable. But as Elliot says “the trend is clear.” My reservations with his prediction were that…
TalkingPointz Research on Digium’s Switchvox
A new TalkingPointz Report! I had intended to write these more frequently, but got wrapped up in some full time projects. I do plan to get more of these posted regularly though, starting today. I am pleased to announce that…
HP: We Don’t Need No Stinking 3Com
The news sparking this post is the HP has put 3Com’s VCX out to pasture. It had already done so with the NBX, so once again – 3Com is dead. 3Com was a highly innovative company that could never turn…
How Collaboration Drove Britannica Out of Print
If there were going to be another printed edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, they might consider updating the section about the Earth being round. Perhaps as with networks, planets also require different descriptions for physical and logical attributes. The Earth…
TalkingPointz Research Resumes
A funny thing happened to me on they way to my new forum. I used to post on Blogger (PinDropSoup.com). Blogger was simple, and with no real effort toward SEO I managed to develop an audience. Blogging was never meant…
ITExpo Miami Best of Show
Last week was ITExpo in Miami – generally a good conference. There was lots of news this year. I think the biggest story was Digium’s new phones (see here and here). I don’t think most people realize how impact-full these (well…
Digium Has Big Bells
Digium announces new phones. See my full post here. A few additional thoughts on Polycom, Aastra, and Snom – all three of which have been at every Astricon I’ve attended.
Cisco and Avaya Leaders Again
Cisco and Avaya were once again identified as industry leaders. This time, by a new IDC worldwide unified communications Marketscape report. The report claims to use a “rigorous scoring methodology that produces a definititive assessment of each vendro’s current market…
Industry Update
The iPhone and iPad have broken more records than the iPod did CDs. Microsoft buying Skype was a game changer, but the new game remains a mystery. Here is the current industry round-up. Read it quickly as things are changing…
Thoughts on Astricon 2011
A few thoughts about Astricon 2011. I probably learn more at Astricon than any other conference I attend. That says a lot since I attend about 25 conferences a year. Every conference has its share of selling and dispensing of…
Next Conference: Astricon
Astricon is coming up next week. This time it’s here – not only in Colorado, but actually in Boulder County. I missed Astricon last year, but attended several before that. It is a great conference, though it is one that…
Skype: Interop is a Waste of Time
Ecomm is a fantastic conference (for telecom propeller heads). This year I was only able to do a fly-by. However, the organizers are starting to post videos. Jonathan Christensen of Skype discusses the latest release of SkypeKit, an SDK for…
Frost Recognizes Switchvox
Frost and Sullivan recently recognized Digium’s Switchvox UC solution for “exceptional value.” The award comes out of Frost’s Best Practices Research effort where the firm makes an effort to “determine how best-in-class companies worldwide manage growth, innovation, and leadership.”: “Based…
Switchvox 5.0 Arrives
I’ve always been a sucker for Switchvox, I first discovered it around 2005, and in 2007 Digium acquired it. Switchvox uses open source Asterisk as its engine, but doesn’t modify the core code, so its enhancements are not open. Many…
Skype For Asterisk Was Already Dead!
The big story this week (so far), Skype for Asterisk (SFA) comes to its end. The official notification reads: Skype for Asterisk will not be available for sale or activation after July 26, 2011. Skype for Asterisk was developed by…
Digium’s Big Gambit
I know from two consecutive Astricon’s that it is a very unique and informative conference, but unfortunately I missed it this year. I did follow the information flow as best I could remotely and spoke to several attendees during the…
Astricon Predictions and Hopes
Astricon 2010 starts October 26. For those of you in the know that’s just a courteous reminder. For those of you that are not familiar with Astricon its time to find out. I attend about 7-10 conferences a year and…