Upcoming Meeting Notice


SAVE THE DATE:

MINNEAPOLIS REGIONAL MEETING AND RECEPTION
SEPTEMBER 23, 2010
Le Meridien Chambers Minneapolis Hotel, Rooftop Lounge – Minneapolis, MN

TAMPA REGIONAL MEETING AND RECEPTION
OCTOBER 21, 2010
Maggiano’s Little Italy - Tampa, FL

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Acquisitions
International news
IP telephony
Leadership
Partnerships
Unified communication
Wireless

Acquisitions

Paragon buys Telpro
Paragon Communications Inc., a supplier of refurbished telephony, data and networking equipment, announced that it has acquired Telpro, Inc., a reseller of telecommunications equipment. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. "We are excited about the opportunity to serve Telpro's customers, vendors and business partners with our market-leading sales and support staff as well as our portfolio of world-class telecommunications and networking equipment brands," said Mike Prefontaine, President and CEO of Paragon. "We see this as an opportunity to continue to prove to the market our ability to serve all of their networking hardware needs." Paragon said it is positioned to continue similar acquisition activity with data network equipment suppliers, network storage companies, cellular hardware and phone equipment suppliers, SIP hardware and phone suppliers as well as pursuing existing acquisition opportunities within the telecommunications and data equipment industries. The company has entered into additional acquisition discussions with several companies across these industries.
Visit www.paragonnt.com.


PAETEC acquires Quagga
PAETEC Holding Corp. announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, PAETEC Corp., has closed on the acquisition of Quagga Corporation, a privately-held Sacramento-based company.  As a world-class systems integrator, Quagga is the top Avaya partner on the West Coast, with expertise in IP-based voice and video systems for medium and large businesses. The company also specializes in data and business process management as well as consulting, design and maintenance of communication systems. Upon the closing of this acquisition, Quagga will become part of PAETEC's Integrated Services Group (ISG) focused on delivering complete equipment-based communications solutions to businesses nationwide.  "For nearly 10 years, we've had a robust Value Added Reseller presence in the Eastern United States.  The addition of Quagga now allows our equipment capabilities to more geographically mirror those of our national network business," said Douglas Derstine, PAETEC's president of wholesale also overseeing equipment sales. 
Visit www.paetec.com or www.quagga.com.
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International news

Aastra launches new partner program in Middle East
Aastra, the No.2 in EMEA in enterprise communications, launched a new partner program (Aastra ONE Partner Program) customized for HP resellers in the Middle East and North Africa carrying the ProCurve networking portfolio. A founding member of the HP ProCurve Open Network Ecosystem (ONE) Alliance, Aastra offers its MX-ONE Communications Manager on the HP ProCurve Services zl module, an application blade for the HP ProCurve Switch 5400zl and 8200zl series. The product collaboration between Aastra and HP ProCurve provides a single network and unified communications solution with a lower TCO by reducing investments in hardware and maintenance expenses, and reduced complexity with easier deployment and management of network equipment and users. Aastra Telecom Middle East is the Middle East and North African business unit of Aastra Technologies Limited.
Visit www.aastra-mena.com.
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IP telephony

CommuniGate Systems launches VoicePlus HD telephony
CommuniGate Systems announced the release of VoicePlus, the only professional quality High Definition IP telephony solution designed specifically for the small office. The product is based on the resilient and battle tested carrier-grade technology that CommuniGate Systems has become renowned for over the past twenty years. VoicePlus is a complete small business communication solution offering a full IP telephony platform combined with exceptional Unified Communication functions, ready to support the evolving requirements of the small business:
- eDisc, a simple yet powerful way to share files and collaborate with windows, Mac, or Linux computer systems.
- WebCals, a powerful way to publish or subscribe to Calendars, even on external systems such as Outlook/ Exchange users.
- Business Grade IM, with support for Multi-party chat rooms and external integration to Google’s gTalk, and Exchange running the XMPP gateway service.
- Email, collaboration tools and much more.
Visit www.communigate.com.
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Leadership

GENBAND enhances management team at close of Nortel CVAS acquisition
GENBAND, Inc., a leading developer of next-generation networking solutions and services, announced it has solidified and strengthened its management team to coincide with the completion of its acquisition of substantially all assets of the Nortel Carrier VoIP and Application Solutions Business (CVAS). The appointment of key executives completes the foundation of a core management team that is expected to lead the company’s unprecedented growth in the next generation IP infrastructure market. Reporting to Charles D. Vogt, Chief Executive Officer, GENBAND has named Daryl Raiford as Chief Financial Officer, formerly vice president of finance and business transformation at publicly traded Fortune 500 Freescale Semiconductor. Before joining Freescale, Daryl was CFO at Travelport, Inc. (previously Cendant Travel Distribution Services), responsible for the worldwide finance function of this $4 billion global travel distribution firm. Formerly with Nortel CVAS, Jeff Townley has been named President of Operations, responsible for Professional Services, Support, Manufacturing and Supply Chain. Townley is a 26-year veteran of Nortel’s Global Operations group, where he has held a variety of managerial positions across multiple product lines and in all major regions.
Visit www.genband.com.
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Partnerships

Clarus Systems & AdvizeX enter into strategic reseller alliance
Clarus Systems, Inc., a global leader in enterprise VoIP management software and services, announced a strategic reseller partnership with AdvizeX, a leading information technology provider of infrastructure and enterprise application solutions.  AdvizeX will sell and integrate the ClarusIPC Plus+ software to their customers.  “We see Clarus Systems as a quintessential partner based on several factors,” said Craig Jacobson, Sales Manager, Government Accounts, AdvizeX.  “Their R & D team developed a superior toolset for UC network management combining both monitoring and testing.  Clarus Systems goes a step further as they provide a single integrated application with the ability to do performance monitoring, configuration management, and policy and compliance reporting. This is a real differentiator as these features exceed the customer requirements we normally get.  Customers are also impressed by the ease, simplicity and straightforward reporting and it makes their workflow more streamlined than they expected.”
Visit www.clarussystems.com or www.advizex.com.


IPsmarx partners with snom to deliver fully interoperable end-to-end VoIP services
snom technology AG announced that IPsmarx, maker of the IPsmarx multi-tenant IP-PBX platform, has joined snom's partner program as an Advanced Technology Partner, paving the way for reliable interoperability among the two companies' respective product portfolios. After rigorous testing and evaluation in both companies' respective labs, IPsmarx's platform achieved full certification as tested and interoperable with snom's full line of SIP-based desktop IP phones. The combination of snom's advanced desktop phones with IPsmarx's IP-PBX provides service providers who cater to small- and medium-sized businesses, as well as larger global enterprise businesses, a complete and affordable advanced IP telephony system. Becoming an advanced interoperability technology partner gives IPsmarx customers the ability to use snom's portfolio of advanced SIP-based desktop phones with the international company's multi-tenant IP-PBX, which includes integrated billing, call routing, and e-commerce functionality in one unified solution.
Visit www.snom.com or www.ipsmarx.com.


IPC and CyberTech International partner for voice recording and compliance solutions 
IPC Systems, Inc., a leading provider of indispensable trading communications solutions to the world’s top financial services firms, and CyberTech International, a leading solution provider for quality and compliance recording, announced their collaboration to jointly market, distribute and deliver the next generation of industry leading voice recording and compliance solutions for the financial services market. Through this strategic partnership, CyberTech expands its industry leading voice recording solutions with IPC’s high-performance VoIP turret technology.  Additionally, IPC and CyberTech plan to further enhance the benefits of the voice recording and compliance solutions through future development efforts.
Visit www.ipc.com or www.cybertech-int.com.
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Unified communications

Cypress Communications wins 26th Innovation Award for hosted unified communications
Cypress Communications is proud to announce that its hosted VoIP and hosted unified communications solution, C4 IP, has been recognized again with the 2009 Unified Communications magazine Product of the Year Award. Presented by the Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC), the award distinguishes companies that brought ground-breaking advancements to unified communications technology in the past year. Since its launch, C4 IP has been lauded by industry analysts, publications and users alike. With 26 awards for innovation, mentions in nearly two-dozen analyst reports and tens of thousands of satisfied users across the nation, Cypress has solidified its leadership position in the hosted unified communications industry. In fact, this is the third time C4 IP has been named a Product of the Year by Unified Communications magazine, signaling Cypress’ continued commitment to excellence and innovation. 
Visit www.cypresscom.net or www.uc-mag.com.
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Wireless

New Plantronics Savi 430 wireless headset delivers brilliant voice quality and extended mobility for unified communications
Plantronics, Inc. expanded its award-winning unified communication product portfolio with the Plantronics Savi 430, the industry's first wireless PC headset with a DECT USB adapter.  The Savi 430 provides on-campus professionals with unmatched wideband audio quality for clear, natural sounding voice conversations on the PC and greater range through the use of DECT wireless technology. The Plantronics Savi 430 helps IT departments enhance user experiences by delivering full call control functions such as remote call answer/end, for UC applications from partners such as Avaya, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft and Skype. It is ideal for those who use laptops or netbooks for voice, video and data communications. Its lightweight, noise-cancelling headset and DECT USB adapter provide brilliant audio and up to 300 feet of range. DECT is a voice-dedicated frequency that is not compromised by interference from other wireless devices or Wi-Fi. The dedicated bandwidth also ensures density issues do not impact audio quality. The DECT USB adapter has180-degree articulation and folds neatly for portability as users carry their laptop from building to building.
Visit www.plantronics.com.
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