Tag Archive
IBM Scores Record Cloud Deal
In what’s being touted as the largest enterprise cloud-based communications deployment to date, IBM (IBM) said that Panasonic will shift its entire workforce to the hosted LotusLive e-mail and collaboration service – abandoning the Exchange server, from Microsoft (MSFT).Panasonic will start by porting over 100,000 workers in various departments, then include 380,000 …(311 words) Related Topics: IBM,... »
Polycom Expands Integration for IBM UC
In conjunction with IBM (IBM) Lotusphere taking place next week in Orlando, Fla., Polycom Inc. (PLCM) has announced an expansion of its integrated voice and visual communication solutions for customers deploying IBM Unified Communication and Collaboration (UC2) environments with support for Lotus Sametime and Lotus Notes.The combined solution is designed to give …(363 words) Related Topics: IBM,... »
IBM Taps Partners For Mid-Market
IBM (IBM) announced it is relegating mid-market responsibilities completely over to partners. Furthermore, the company will restructure internally to work solely with partners rather than end customers, in this market segment, which was originally created to divert the sales force’s focus from only large accounts.IBM also announced it is increasing sales …(92 words) ... »
8 x 8 Has an Outage
I received an email late yesterday afternoon from a reader about 8 x 8 suffering an outage. Unlike Tom Keating, who posted, I didn’t post, and was relieved that their PR folks had been quickly in touch with their customers over night, explaining the situation. In an era where no company (other than maybe the... »
Cisco brings TelePresence to the home
Last week at CES, Cisco unveiled its TelePresence system for consumer homes. The system used a set-top device, a remote control, a high-def camera, microphone, and a standard HDTV. The device is expected to cost around $1,000 excluding the cost of the TV and consumers’ monthly Internet bills. The company plans to trial its telepresence... »
Skype puts HD video calling on your TV
Finally something from one of my favorite movies, Back to the Future II, has come true. No, we haven’t invented hover skateboards–this is a VoIP-focused publication, remember? We can, however, finally get video phone calls via our HD televisions using Skype. Skype has launched an HD video calling feature for PCs as long as users... »
Dialogic, Digium team on media gateway interoperability
Dialogic, a provider of media gateways that provide PBX integration between applications on SIP-based media servers and the installed base of TDM and hybrid IP-PBX systems, has just signed an interoperability partnership with Digium. With this interoperability partnership, Dialogic’s 1000 Media Gateway Series and the Dialogic 2000 Media Gateway Series are now certified for compatibility... »
Google Takes A Page Out of Best Buy’s Playbook
Everyone who knows consumer electronics knows that in the USA, BestBuy is considered one of the savviest of retailers around, ranking up there with WalMart. So it's not a surprise to me that Google has taken a page out of the BestBuy playbook that basically broke the price controls, ludicrous terms and changed the... »
Adtran throws hat into UC arena
When you think of Adtran, you might usually think of DSLAMs, routers and LAN equipment, but you might also have heard they are dabbling in IP-PBX systems and SIP trunking. As they ramp up their VoIP technology line-up, they are also exploring Unified Communications (UC). The company plans to launch an IP-PBX capable of supporting 2,000... »
International contact center provider adds Asterisk to the mix
Altitude Software has announced that it will be using Digium’s Asterisk SIP telephony offerings for its vBox communications platform. Altitude Software is an independent contact center vendor with the Altitude Unified Customer Interaction (Altitude uCI) product line serving around 800 customers of all sizes in about 60 countries worldwide. By partnering with Digium, the Altitude... »
Did Sigma Buy Coppergate as Neither Could Make It Alone?
Shlomi Cohen submits: Mellanox Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq:MLNX), which I hold in my portfolio tracked by "Globes", will be at a Credit Suisse conference this week in Arizona, where it is expected to reiterate its optimistic outlook for the fourth quarter. Other companies at the conference will be some of Mellanox’s major customers – such as... »
Digium|Asterisk World Expands At ITEXPO
TMC and Digium announced that all exhibit space sold out at their expanded Digium|Asterisk World, scheduled to take place Jan. 20-22, 2010 as part of ITEXPO East in Miami, Florida. Recently, TMC was forced to expand the Digium|Asterisk World exhibit showcase since all 16 spaces originally allocated had been sold. There are... »
Where Have The Big Internet Players Gone in VoIP and Why
The crusty John C. Dvorak has been a fixture in PC Magazine for many years. This week he penned a piece about Google Voice and free calling. In the opinion column John raised a few points that need to be expounded upon, and I’m in the kind of mood to do just that! Point One: Now... »
With Video Conferencing Deals, Polycom in Sharp Focus
First Cisco Systems decided to buy Norwegian video conferencing equipment maker Tandberg for about $3 billion. This week, Logitech, a Swiss computer peripherals maker, acquired LifeSize, an Austin, Texas-based private company, for about $405 million in cash. The two deals have brought the fast-growing but often-overlooked video conferencing market into sharp focus. And that... »
Citrix Adds Toll-Free Option to GoToMeeting
Citrix Online today announced they have added integrated Toll-Free audio to GoToMeeting Corporate and GoToWebinar. With this addition, meeting participants now have several audio options to choose from, including integrated toll-free, a toll-based number, or VoIP for audio over the Internet. Each participant in the same online meeting can select their own audio option. Customers... »
Run Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Virtualized
According to Microsoft, Office Communications Server 2007 R2 can now be deployed onto Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, or onto any virtualization solution that is a certified partner through the Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP) certified partners. Running OCS 2007 R2 “virtualized” is a hot topic, so knowing exactly how and which components can be... »
HP and Dell Ranked One and Two in Newsweek’s 2009 Green Rankings, Apple 133rd
Newsweek has published their 2009 Green Rankings that ranks the top 500 American companies according to their environmental records. In 2009, HP and Dell were ranked one and two respectively. Other technology companies in the top ten are Intel (4) and IBM (5) while Apple comes in at a lowly 133rd. Other technology companies in... »
Cisco vs. the World: Rough Seas Ahead?
Cisco Systems, the Wall Street darling, might soon find itself in a street brawl with not only former enemies but also allies who are turning on it. The company, which once made its living selling core infrastructure products such as routers and switches, has more recently been chasing new markets such as video conferencing... »
eOn Communications launches Linux-based eConn IP-PBX
eOn Communications used this week’s VoiceCon show to debut eConn, an IP-PBX server-based IP communications platform. eConn IP-PBX uses commercial off-the-shelf hardware and the Linux operating system with support for SIP VoIP and TDM voice. The system offers all the services eOn’s Millennium Converged Communications Platform provides and works with eOn’s eNterprise 7000 Series IP Telephones, audio conferencing units, analog sets... »
Google CEO: We Won’t Repeat Microsoft’s Mistakes
Google CEO Eric Schmidt is on a bit of a Microsoft offensive. Earlier this week, while talking to press in Boston when Schmidt was asked to comment on a statement by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, he said, “I’ve learned not to respond to quotes by Steve Ballmer.” Oh Snap! “Hopefully we won’t repeat the same... »
Mashup Google Wave, Skype, and Asterisk = Ultimate Coolness
Skype Journal wrote about one of the coolest mashups I’ve ever seen. Certainly one of the coolest VoIP mashups. Skype Journal explains PhoneFromHere Tim Panton’s demo that he gave at Astricon where Tim mashes up Google Wave, Skype, Asterisk running Skype for Asterisk and Ibook to make Skype calls from within a browser-based Google... »
Ring2Skype Enables Free PSTN-to-Skype calls with Local Numbers
Ring2Skype, a new startup, brings yet another way to have free calling by leveraging both Skype and the PSTN. Ring2Skype allows you to have a free local number (in NYC, London, Madrid, etc.), forwarded to your Skype (wherever you are) — once again for FREE. I should point out that Skype charges you for a... »
SimpleSignal Brings Call Control Toolbar to Hosted VoIP
Hosted VoIP is making great strides, but there is often one problem – with hosted VoIP you don’t get desktop call control. Well, today SimpleSignal introduced its Call Control Toolbar, which adds advanced business VoIP calling features while leveraging their hosted environment. Personally, I am very computer-centric and hate managing my phone calls... »
IBM and Digium add Asterisk VoIP calling to Smart Cube
At Astricon last week, IBM and Digium announced an Asterisk-based phone system available on IBM’s Smart Cube platform. Smart Cube is IBM’s downloadable business platform aimed at small- and medium-sized businesses. The deal with Digium will offer Smart Cube users an IP PBX-based Asterisk business phone and other unified communications services that can be... »
The Rise & Fall of a Billionaire Technology Hedge Fund Guru
About 15 years ago, as a young reporter covering the semiconductor industry for a newswire, I met a man called Raj Rajaratnam. At that time he was not only an influential semiconductor analyst at Needham & Co., but also president of the brokerage firm. The Sri Lanka-born analyst was one of the best and... »
IBM & Digium Join Forces on Asterisk for Smart Cube
In a fascinating deal, IBM and Digium announced today that they are teaming up to offer Asterisk for Smart Cube, a customized version of Asterisk Business Edition. IBM’s Smart Cube is very similar to Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS), a pre-packaged bundle of various IT & business applications – except in this case Smart... »
Don’t install KB974571 or You will Break Microsoft OCS 2007!
If you’re running Office Communications Server or LCS whatever you do, don’t install KB974571 or you will cause the LCS or OCS server to state you are running the evaluation version and then say it has expired. Poof! – There goes your corporate unified communications (UC) followed by a parade of your coworkers carrying... »
3 Reasons Why I Love Larry the Oracle
If you follow me on Twitter, then you know I am less than thrilled by the chaos created by LarryStock, aka Oracle OpenWorld, in San Francisco each year. The annual conference causes traffic jams and attracts enormous crowds that collectively jam up everything here in the city’s SOMA neighborhood. Add in those ghastly Oracle... »
19 Chinese Stocks That Are Relatively Cheap
Hao Jin submits: China’s rapid economic growth will be the global story of the foreseeable future. Like the Japanese in 1980s, the Chinese are shopping for Hummers, IBM PCs, natural resources and real estate. In addition to growth, many investors look at emerging markets such as China as potential protection against a falling dollar. No... »
Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 XMPP Gateway Launches
Microsoft today just released the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 XMPP Gateway, which is available at no cost. That’s right, it’s free and is immediately downloadable. The XMPP gateway allows basic presence sharing and instant messaging (IM) with Cisco Jabber and Google Talk. OCS users can now instant message Cisco Jabber and... »