TalkingHeadz #10 Joe Burton CEO Plantronics (and Polycom)
In this TalkingHeadz, Evan (Twitter and LinkedIn) and I (Twitter and LinkedIn) discuss the human aspects of communications with Joe Burton, CEO of Plantronics (and as of this month Polycom too). It was almost exactly 49 years ago that Plantronics landed on the moon inside Neil…
Consolidation Round-up
The business communications industry is evolving fast in terms of technology, but also in the number of vendors and providers competing in this market. There were several major shake-ups that impacted the unified communications (UC) space in 2017. Mitel purchased…
The Saucer That Changed the World
25 years ago, Polycom created its iconic SoundStation conference saucer and the world a little easier to hear. Unfortunately, I had a few challenges with the video technology (a bit ironic really, but the conference was not hosted by Polycom)….
Polycom’s Mary McDowell: Leading an Endpoint Empire
[This interview first appeared on NoJitter on September 28, 2017] In the summer of 2016, Polycom was on track to be acquired by Mitel. The shareholders of both companies had agreed, but private equity firm Siris Capital unexpectedly intervened with a better…
Business Phones & the OPEX Model
Last June, we wrote about the growing number of traditional telephony equipment vendors seeking to simplify the payment model for customers that opt for on-site IP-PBX, contact center, messaging, meeting and UC solutions. These vendors recognize that many of today’s…
Update on Polycom
I recently attended Polycom analyst event in New York. The event took place just after the completion of its acquisition by Siris Capital. Mary McDowell was present and available to introduce herself as the new CEO. Session presentations included portfolio review, road…
Polycom Gets a Better Offer
Three months ago Mitel and Polycom announced their engagement. It was one of those deals that you had to focus through the left side of the brain to appreciate. The synergies were questionable, but Mitel got Polycom to agree to…
Mi-Polycom
Now that the deal is announced, Zeus Kerravala and I share our thoughts and reactions on the proposed merger. Related Posts: Mitel Polycom Unite See prior video/Blab on Mitel/Polycom merger speculation.
Mitel and Polycom Unite
The last time I went to Asia Mitel acquired Aastra. While traveling in Hangzhou China, I heard that Mitel now intends to acquire Polycom. Although I didn’t have time to post while traveling, I did manage to connect with both…
Mitolycom: Blabbing About Potential Merger of Mitel and Polycom.
Zeus Kerravala and I hosted a Blab on the potential merger of Mitel and Polycom. Still unsure about this Blab thing, but it is indeed fun. Simon Dudley joined in and we had a good conversation about this possibility and/or…
Acoustic Fence on VVX Phones
Last year Polycom introduced a technology it calls “Acoustic Fence” on its Group Series video solution. The technology utilizes cameras and a microphone array to create a targeted or “fenced” zone. It can reduce the noise that comes from outside…
Zooming into Video
I forgot that I made a stupid New Year’s resolution about being more positive, so let me do that in this post. First, let me talk about Polycom. Last week Polycom unveiled the “Workplace of the Future.” Some felt I…
Polycom’s Legacy
I associate Polycom with great phones – first the analog saucers, then the SoundPoint IP phones, and now the VVX series of personal devices. It is not just my opinion either. In recent Q2-15 earnings report the company reported its…
Split-Up or Shut-Up
In a recent interview, investor superstar Marc Andreessen told Bloomberg’s Emily Chang at the Salesforce Dreamforce Conference on Wednesday. that if a technology company is more than 20 years old, then “they’ll probably benefit from being broken up, and many of them…
IBM and SIP Phones
IBM sold off its low end server business to Lenovo. Lenovo was born when IBM sold off its PC and laptop business. Why would a computing company want out of computers? Well, they kept the good stuff (mainframes), but it…
No UC Encore from Andy Miller
“Elvis has left the building” is a phrase that was used by public address announcers following Elvis Presley concerts to disperse audiences who lingered in hopes of an encore. Make no mistake, Andy Miller has left the UC industry. Polycom went out of…
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…
Spectralink Back in Boulder
Spectralink was founded in Boulder, CO and became the leader in wireless enterprise phones. That was pre-WiFi and VoIP. Their phones were integrated with and resold by most of the industry’s major system vendors. The firm was successfully transitioning its…
The New SP
In my last post, The Emerging Cloud Order, I covered the new ecosystem emerging around hosted communications. In terms of quantity, it is the service provider that is really taking off. Seems everyone and their brother is a service provider…
UC Alliance Anyone?
The Tech Sector had a rough month in May. Kevin Kelleher of CNN Money asks (but doesn’t answer) the question Why Are Blue Chip Tech Stocks So Blue? Exhibit A, of course, is the Facebook (FB) IPO, which in its first…