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NATD in the news
Avaya
Book review
Conferences & exhibitions
Mitel
Network performance
Partnerships
Recognition
VoIP

NATD in the news

SoTel Systems partners with The SIP School
The SIP School continues to establish itself as the provider of the global standard in SIP training and certification by gaining a major partner in SoTel Systems.  On deciding to offer The SIP School’s range of SIP and VoIP training programs to SoTel clients, Value Added Resellers and SIP service agency channel, SoTel had this to say: “The choice of SIP School was really not a decision at all.  They are simply the best self-paced learning option for gaining not only knowledge of SIP technology, but also how to sell it and the potential for an enterprise-class certification program for SIP through them is the ‘icing on the cake.’  This program is key to the education and certification of not only our Value Added Resellers but also our SIP channel partners.  This is part of our complete plan for becoming the SIP Partner to have for all telecommunication VARs in 2011 and beyond.” – Kevin Hill, Manager – Technical Assistance Center.
Visit www.sotelsystems.com.


Carousel Industries signs letters of intent to acquire Juma Technology and OmniPresence
Carousel Industries announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire the assets of Farmingdale, NY-based Juma Technology Corp., subject to certain approvals. Juma Technology is an Avaya Business Partner and a business unit of the publicly traded Juma Corporation (JUMT). By acquiring Juma Technology, Carousel Industries builds on its core capabilities in convergence, IP telephony and traditional networking while expanding its customer footprint in the northeastern region. Juma Technology was formed in 2002 and most recently was recognized for its fast growth and innovation by leading technology magazines including CRN, which ranked Juma number 50 on its Fast Growth 100 List in 2009. Juma Technology has approximately 350 customers and offices in Farmingdale, Long Island and New York City.

Carousel Industries also announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire the assets of Marlborough, MA-based OmniPresence, Inc., an integrator of A/V and visual collaboration services. When the acquisition is completed, the newly acquired company will form the core of Carousel's Visual Communications and Collaboration Group. By acquiring OmniPresence, Carousel significantly increases its capacity to incorporate collaborative A/V elements into a broad range of installation opportunities. OmniPresence, which was founded in 2002, has a customer base of approximately 2,500 end users.
Visit www.carouselindustries.com.
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Avaya

"Father of Ethernet" uses Avaya immersive web collaboration platform
Avaya announced that Robert M. Metcalfe, inventor of Ethernet and founder of 3Com Corp., used Avaya web.alive to enable remote attendees to participate in his first lecture as professor of innovation at The University of Texas at Austin Cockrell School of Engineering. Avaya web.alive is an immersive web collaboration platform that uses avatars, high-quality graphics, audio and analytics to bring a new dimension to real-time business collaboration among remote participants. Web.alive expands on traditional methods of collaboration, i.e. audio, video and webconferencing, to provide an engaging, interactive and intuitive environment that meets the requirements of users in any size business. During Metcalfe’s lecture, more than 40 remote participants using their own personal Avaya web.alive avatars were able to see, hear, move and interact with Metcalfe's avatar and presentation materials in a manner similar to the in-person participants at the university. 
Visit http://demo.avayalive.com.
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Book review

Cisco Networking Simplified (Second Edition)

The world of Cisco networking can seem overwhelming to the uninitiated.  There are literally hundreds of books about Cisco Systems and networking.  The vast majority are narrowly focused on a specific subject and were written for those already in the industry or students guided by an instructor.  It’s rare to find an introductory overview covering the depth and breadth of Cisco in more simple language.  This book does a credible job at making Cisco, and networking, less intimidating. In this completely revised and expanded edition, the authors have added over 100 pages, two sections, and 18 sub-sections (or chapters, if you will).  Additionally, they have rearranged and changed section and sub-section titles essentially making this second edition a wholly new book.

This book is for anyone with an interest in how the internet works in general, and how Cisco Systems supports internetworking applications including data, voice, video, image, etc.  Whether you want to become a networking professional or just want to understand what they’re talking about, this book is a good introduction.  I like this book and recommend it to anyone with more than just a passing interest in Cisco networking.

Reviewed by Jeff Owen, Independent IT Consultant with 20+ years experience in telecommunications/networking and IT.
Contact Jeff at [email protected]

Authors:  Jim Doherty, Neil Anderson, and Paul Della Maggiora
Illustrator:  Nathan Clement
Softcover: 432 pages
Publisher:  Cisco Press (December 2007)
ISBN-10: 1-58720-199-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-58720-199-8
Price:  $44.99; Digital Guru $27.50^Back To Top

Conferences & exhibitions

Leading network innovators to participate in TIA's industry event
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) announced the inclusion of Ericsson, Juniper Networks and Nokia Siemens Networks in the list of major sponsors of TIA's annual industry event, TIA 2011: Inside the Network. They join Alcatel-Lucent, GENBAND, and Walker and Associates in supporting TIA's new Summit and Exhibition being held this May 17-20 in Dallas, Texas. TIA's Summit is an integrated educational and networking event for leading information and communications technology (ICT) network innovators. TIA 2011: Inside the Network is the first event of its kind for the ICT industry and includes both live and virtual participants from around the world.  The event will facilitate business and technical conversations about how broadband communications suppliers, providers and operators will meet the needs of customers of all kinds with One Network - secure, reliable, scalable, and sustainable. AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson will deliver the opening keynote address.
Visit http://www.tia2011.org/.
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Mitel

Mitel optimizes customer operations with Benbria’s incident notification solution
Benbria announced that Mitel has deployed Benbria BlazeCast to further enhance their outstanding customer service operations with advanced notification, tracking and reporting. Benbria delivers incremental value to Mitel’s operations by streamlining the notification, accountability, escalation and resolution of customer feedback. Using a multi-modal, unified communications approach, Benbria BlazeCast enables Mitel customer operations to accelerate the customer feedback to resolution process by using a variety of communications channels and devices. Benefits include enhanced customer satisfaction, maximization of operational efficiencies, optimized response time, reduced maintenance costs and improved transparency.
Visit www.mitel.com and www.benbria.com.
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Network performance

Plixer unveils Scrutinizer NetFlow Analyzer 8.5
The clear trends towards data center consolidation, remote access, and voice and video traffic combine to place increasing pressure on IT management to stay ahead of network performance issues. That translates into the careful selection of network performance analysis tools to identify, isolate and resolve QoS issues. Scrutinizer NetFlow and sFlow Analyzer version 8.5, the latest in the Plixer network management software toolset, scales from the Helpdesk to the largest Network Operations Center (NOC). Scrutinizer employs Cisco’s NetFlow Technology, an IOS software feature on Cisco switches and routers, to retrieve the traffic flow data, and parse and present it in a clear and intuitive graphical view. Scrutinizer enables Cisco routers to function as probes, so there is no need for additional hardware, and supports deep packet applications recognition using Cisco NetFlow NBAR, which provides the ability to identify applications beyond HTTP. Scrutinizer also supports advanced reporting and alarming filters to alert NOC staff when user-definable performance thresholds have been exceeded, and can do so by subnet or groups of IP addresses.
Visit www.plixer.com.
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Partnerships

Catalyst Telecom enhances portfolio with Acme Packet session border controllers
Catalyst Telecom has signed a distribution agreement with Acme Packet. Acme Packet session border controllers (SBCs) enable the reliable delivery of trusted, first-class interactive communications (voice, video and multimedia) across IP network borders. Acme Packet SBCs support a variety of solutions, including SIP trunking, IP contact centers and hosted IP communications services for a wide range of businesses – from SMBs to large enterprises. “SBCs are a critical tool for Catalyst resellers who provide value-added solutions for enterprises,” said Mark Vella, vice president of business development, Acme Packet. “This partnership connects Acme Packet with a network of leading resellers, expanding our reach to enterprise customers requiring a secure, interoperable and reliable SBC solution.”
Visit www.catalysttelecom.com and www.acmepacket.com.
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Recognition

Veramark named one of the "best places to work" for second consecutive year
Veramark Technologies, Inc. announced it has been recognized by the New York State Society for Human Resource Management (NYS-SHRM) as one of the "2011 Best Companies to Work for in New York State." The award is based on employee satisfaction surveys, with winners receiving high marks in areas such as work environment, work/life balance, job satisfaction, opportunities for advancement and overall workplace excellence. "We are delighted to be recognized for the second year in a row as one of the Best Companies to Work for in New York State," said Tony Mazzullo, Veramark's CEO and President. "Earning this honor two years in a row is compelling evidence that Veramark is on the right track. We believe that we have a very special spirit at Veramark, and it's great to see this spirit acknowledged publicly." Selection of the 2011 Best Companies in NY was based on an assessment of the employee policies and procedures, as well as results of an internal employee survey conducted by the Best Companies Group.
Visit www.veramark.com.
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VoIP

Voxbone recorded continued solid growth in 2010
Voxbone said its growth and market acceptance continued apace in 2010, with revenue and network traffic climbing significantly and customers indicating high levels of satisfaction. The company reported that revenue rose 38 percent from 2009; minutes of use for inbound traffic grew to 2.1 billion, up 40 percent; the number of employees increased to 58, up 53 percent; and its core network experienced no downtime. This growth reflected service expansion and strong customer satisfaction for the market-leading wholesale provider of geographical, toll-free and iNum worldwide telephone numbers. The rising demand from global carriers and mobile and fixed national network operators for innovative and high-quality inbound solutions accounted for much of Voxbone's 2010 growth. The quest by these service providers for new revenue streams and the ongoing transition to VoIP are expected to further drive Voxbone's success in 2011.
Visit www.voxbone.com.
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