NATD in the news
Upfront
Cost control
Emerging companies
Government
Innovation
Integration
Market
Nortel
Software
Training

NATD in the news

Telecorp Products, Inc. announces distributor partnership with TelStrat
Telecorp Products, Inc. is announcing its partnership with TelStrat. In an effort to better maximize call center efficiency, Telecorp has agreed to become a distributor of TelStrat’s Call Parrot. With Call Parrot’s unique features including screen recording, the technology is a great addition to Telecorp’s existing digital call recording solutions. Call Parrot was designed for medium to large call centers that seek to increase quality standards, ease agent training, quickly settle disputes and more. Because Call Parrot records both audio and screen activity, agents can see their progress and room for improvement instantly. Additionally, this feature allows for future planning on maximizing agent effectiveness. For dispute resolution, an agent’s communicated information can be verified by screen captures. Features offered include on-demand recording, regardless of the point at which the command is issued within the call. Call Parrot was created to consume a minimal amount of valuable network space, saving clients network speed—and money. As Telecorp continues to grow, select distributor partnerships will continue to enhance its available solutions to best serve call centers and more.
Visit www.telecorpproducts.com.


Notice of proceedings of the NATD Ethics Committee

An NATD Industry Practice Complaint was filed by:
SoTel Systems Inc., Attn: Mr. Randy Russo
19 Worthington Access Drive, Maryland Heights MO  63043
314-787-1000

Against:
Integrated Communications Services Inc., Attn: Mr. Jeff Connelly
39625 Lewis Drive, Suite 900, Novi MI  48377
248-848-1420

Integrated Communications Services, Inc. is not a member of the NATD or NTTN and they chose not to participate in the NATD Ethics process.  Since they are not NATD Members or a subscriber to the NTTN Trading Network, they are NOT REQUIRED to participate in the ethics process and such non participation is not to be construed as an admission of the facts alleged in the Complaint. We want our members to know that Integrated Communications Services, Inc. has chosen not to participate in our ethics process.
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Upfront

Mitel Networks withdraws IPO filing
Mitel Networks Corp. said it will not proceed with its planned initial public offering due to its recent acquisition of Inter-Tel Inc., according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Mitel originally filed for an initial public offering in May 2006, planning to raise up to $150 million. The Ottawa-based company had planned to offer shares concurrently on the Nasdaq Global Market and the Toronto Stock Exchange. In April, Mitel agreed to buy Tempe, Ariz.-based communications software maker Inter-Tel for $723 million, or $25.60 per share. Mitel expected to use proceeds of the offering to expand its sales and marketing and research and development activities and for general corporate purposes.
Visit www.mitel.com.
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Cost control

Avotus introduces eProcurement consulting practice
Avotus Corporation announced that it will be expanding its footprint in eProcurement by introducing a consulting practice in response to customer demand for more customized eProcurement capabilities. The new eProcurement consulting practice will provide customers a new standard of eProcurement and contract negotiations and builds upon Avotus’ ICM eProcurement automated solutions. Avotus’ proprietary ICM eProcurement technology allows vendors to compete for business in an online “reverse auction” thus shrinking the RFP process by months. Avotus ICM eProcurement is a patent pending, electronic RFP and reverse auction platform specifically designed for the complexities of communications procurement. It includes the industry’s only proprietary knowledgebase of best-in-class rates, terms and service levels derived from actual carrier bids. ICM eProcurement WebAuction has been used successfully by national and multinational organizations to obtain better contracts including rates, service levels and terms than they could have achieved using any other method. Customers have consistently obtained double-digit savings, many in excess of 50% depending on technology and sourcing criteria.
Visit www.avotus.com.
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Emerging companies

Nicer Canada Corp. sells IP-PBX call centre solution to Champion Canada and Stormtech
Nicer Canada Corp. announces the sale of an IP-PBX call centre solution to Oceanic Trading Co. Inc., parent company of well known sportswear manufacturers Champion Canada and Stormtech. The new IP-PBX solution will significantly reduce communication costs between Oceanic's Ontario and BC offices while improving service and flexibility at its call centre. Oceanic customers had been experiencing long wait times on calls, resulting in substantial numbers of dropped calls - an unacceptable situation in a business in which 97% of sales depend on telephone contact, according to Lui Marciante, Oceanic's IT Manager. In addition to the IP-PBX, Nicer has provided Oceanic with a state-of-the-art fiber network through its subsidiary Glopex Networks, Inc., which provides integrated IP based services and solutions for voice, video, security and global positioning systems.
Visit www.nicertech.com.
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Government

Nortel Government Solutions approved to integrate ID verification systems
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has approved Nortel Government Solutions, a U.S. company wholly owned by Nortel, as a provider of integration services for personal identity verification (PIV) systems compliant with Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12). This presidential directive requires all federal executive departments and agencies to secure access to facilities and information systems by implementing a government-wide standard for employee and contractor identification. GSA has added Nortel Government Solutions HSPD-12 integration services to GSA Multiple Award Schedule Contract Number GS-35F-4366G as part of Special Item Number 132-62. This contract is available for use by all Federal agencies and other eligible organizations. Nortel Government Solutions has an in-depth understanding of HSPD-12, the supporting special publications from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the GSA's requirements for PIV services, products and interoperability. This expertise can be leveraged to provide end-to-end, vendor independent identity verification solutions.
Visit www.nortelgov.com.
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Innovation

New Tenor security guide shows how users can secure Tenor VoIP networks
Quintum Technologies announced that they have published a brief security guide on the security measures that Tenors have built-in to their software, to assure VoIP security when deploying Tenor VoIP MultiPath switches and gateways in telephony and IP telephony networks. In light of the recent publicity about security breaches with VoIP gateways, Quintum developed a guide to address these concerns, and to show how easily users are able to secure their Tenors in both H.323 or SIP environments. Security measures that Tenors have built in to their software code include authorization and authentication.  There are also up to 5 layers within Tenor's configuration phases where passwords are employed. When SIP is in use, Tenors require that the SIP Registrar and SIP Proxy be configured with an IP address to make outbound calls. Incoming calls can also be "screened" by the SIP server to accept only those calls that are routed through the configured proxy.  For networks using H.323, Tenors have an Endpoint Address Directory to configure specific IP addresses, which will either allow or bar calls.
To obtain the Tenor SecurityGuide, please go to:
http://www.quintum.com/files/prod_lit/Security_of_IP_networks.pdf.

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Integration

Esnatech converts Microsoft Outlook 2007 TM software into telephony, mobility and presence platform
Esna Technologies Inc. (Esnatech) announced it has added MS Outlook2007TM support to its market leading Telephony Office-LinX unified communication platform version 7.0. As part of its ongoing goal for interoperability and to offer the most integrations in the market, Telephony Office-LinX has integrated its rich presence, advance mobility and unified messaging with Microsoft's Outlook2007's Calendar, Contacts and inbox. Users of the Telephony Office-LinX platform will have advance presence, mobility and messaging features embedded directly within their MS Outlook client. Users can automatically change call forwarding and voice mail greetings directly from their MS outlook Calendar as well define voicemail greetings and call filtering rules based on their Outlook Contact list. From their inbox they can seamlessly send voice, fax or e-mail messages to any user without leaving their MS Outlook 2007 interface. MS Outlook2007TM support is part of version 7.0 service pack 3 release of Telephony Office-LinX. Esnatech has completed successful beta trials and will make it generally available to its partners in October 2007.
Visit www.esnatech.com.
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Market

IDG Research survey reveals top initiatives of IT investment
By ensuring high service levels, IT becomes a strategic business enabler, providing employees with the support they need so that they can better serve external customers, according to FrontRange Solutions.   A recent IDG Research survey, summarized in a Sept. 2007 CIO Magazine article and sponsored by FrontRange, says that it is equally critical that the IT group have the ability to align services with business goals. Doing so helps to increase velocity in today’s fast moving markets through speedier and more cost-efficient change management and more robust, automated workflows.  The survey reveals that the number one IT initiative today – and the top driver of IT investments – is aligning IT and business goals. The number two initiative: improving the efficiency of service delivery. At the same time, IT leaders view building and retaining customer loyalty as one of the top three challenges they face.  For many IT organizations, the desire to achieve this degree of partnership and alignment with the business is driving the adoption of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best-practices framework for IT service management processes – as well as solutions that support it and other processes, governance and compliance guidelines.
Visit <http://www.cio.com/white-paper/133101/ Transforming_Service_Delivery> or www.frontrange.com.

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Nortel

Nortel completes world's first demonstration of unified communications over 4G WiMAX
Nortel has completed what is believed to be the world's first demonstration of unified communications over 4G WiMAX at WiMAX World USA. With a simple mouse click in a Microsoft Office client, a phone call is initiated and transmitted over a 4G WiMAX network. The demonstration highlights the future possibilities for wireless carriers to deliver hosted unified communications solutions to their small and medium business (SMB) and enterprise customers. The combination of unified communications with Nortel carrier-grade technologies such as 4G WiMAX and Carrier VoIP will enable service providers to generate new revenues by capitalizing on opportunities created by the era of Hyperconnectivity, where anything that can be connected, will be. By offering carrier-hosted unified communications services, carriers can simplify business for SMBs and enterprises that do not have the resources to maintain advanced communication services in house.
Visit www.nortel.com.
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Software

Verint Witness Actionable Solutions announces new call recording software capabilities
Verint Systems Inc. announced the latest version of Audiolog, its call recording and monitoring solution designed for small- and medium-sized business (SMB) in the contact center and public safety sectors. Audiolog incorporates powerful new features, simplifying integration with a variety of environments, reducing total cost of ownership and optimizing performance. Leveraging Verint Witness Actionable Solutions’ enterprise screen recording technology, Audiolog adds concurrent recording capacity, supports free-seating, and facilitates screen capture in an even wider variety of environments – including Citrix Server, Terminal Server and multi-screen configurations. Audiolog screen recording also has been optimized to require less bandwidth and disk space for the transfer and storage of recordings, resulting in a lower total cost of ownership. Audiolog integrates Verint Witness Actionable Solutions’ CTI link technology to expand its capabilities with enhanced CTI interfaces through widely used and partner-certified implementations. To support the adoption of VoIP technology, Audiolog features high scalability and capacity, and increased recording throughput.
Visit www.verint.com.
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Training

TBI named master distributor for TECHtionary.com “Internet Studies” online courses
Telecom Brokerage, Inc. (TBI) announced cutting-edge learning tools designed exclusively for its agents. As technology continues to evolve at break-neck speed, it has become increasingly critical for agents to stay ahead of these advances. TECHtionary.com Internet Studies Program online courses are the perfect, web-based solution. Channel partners are faced with increased competition from other service providers, often lacking the resources to train themselves and their staff on emerging technology. TBI TECH-tools unilaterally solves this problem by allowing anyone involved in the sales process instant, online answers to any technical question they might have.
Online courses are available at a special discount of $199 each until 12/31 and then $299, with four courses available for $599; volume discounts are also available for large volume purchases.  
Visit www.tbicom.com or www.techtionary.com.
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