Upcoming Meeting Notice:

2011 SUMMER RECEPTION
Wed., June 15, 2011 in Chicago
5:30 PM - 10:00 PM at BEYOND THE IVY
We will be ROOFTOP watching Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers while eating, drinking and networking!
BEYOND THE IVY - 1048 W. Waveland Ave., Chicago

(Click here for more information.)

Acquisitions
Avaya
Ethernet
Fraud
Hosted
Mitel
Nortel
Phones
Security
UC

Acquisitions

Cynergy acquires AS400Warehouse
Cynergy Telecom Management confirmed that they have acquired IBM cloud solution provider AS400Warehouse and have retained Robert Hootselle to oversee enterprise clients. To facilitate the growth of Cynergy's hosted voice and data solution offerings, Mr. Hootselle has been named VP of Sales and Marketing. Unified communication advances are pushing data storage and software off-site. Enterprise users are adopting more secure WANs, such as MPLS and VPLS, to accommodate the bandwidth that video and SaaS require. The acquisition confirms a growing trend in the technology space where hardware and network providers align with key leaders in the data-chain to present a one-stop-shop for expertise on a wide range of infrastructure solutions and equipment.
Visit www.cynergytelecom.com.
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Avaya

Avaya to seek $1 billion in IPO
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Avaya will be filing an initial public offering this week. The IPO will seek to raise $1 billion and might value the company at $5 billion. Avaya went private in 2007 when it was purchased by Silver Lake and TPG Capital. Though a relatively young company, Avaya’s genetic code runs to the beginnings of telecom. The company’s very distant initial version was Western Electric. Western Electric was originally established to provide equipment to Western Union, but eventually became the wholly owned manufacturing arm of Bell, and then as a division within AT&T. AT&T spun off its manufacturing divisions into Lucent, and in turn Lucent spun off its enterprise grade equipment division as Avaya. At birth, Avaya, when counting equipment previously installed with Lucent and AT&T branding, had the largest installed base of any of the companies that sell to enterprises and SMBs. Over a decade later, and even with the entrance of aggressive players such as Cisco and Shortel, Avaya has retained its lead in what is now defined as the corporate UC market. Avaya remains the largest installed brand, and the largest in terms of current line sales and revenue. The company went private in 2007 right at the peak of the UC market. While newspaper reports are focusing on the revival of the IPO market, the timing may also be connected to the recovery of the UC market as well.
Visit www.avaya.com.
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Ethernet

PAETEC propels Ethernet over Copper network to 100 Mbps
PAETEC Holding Corp. announced it has enabled its network with 100 Mbps Ethernet over Copper (EoC) technology leveraging Overture Networks’ next generation Carrier Ethernet edge and aggregation platforms. Overture’s industry-leading EoC technology and features allow PAETEC to leverage the qualifying existing copper infrastructure currently utilizing up to 15 Mbps per copper pair to deliver as much as 100 Mbps access directly to customers, supporting unprecedented bandwidth at a dramatically reduced cost compared to traditional SONET offerings. PAETEC has more than 370 central offices (COs) directly connected to its fiber network with additional COs planned this year. In addition to direct access for PAETEC retail customers, wholesale customers also can establish one or more Ethernet Network-to-Network Interfaces (NNIs) with PAETEC to drive down access charges and reach more than 200,000 business locations. PAETEC’s access loops are part of its comprehensive communications portfolio spanning 86 of the nation’s top 100 metropolitan areas.
Visit www.paetec.com.
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Fraud

Man sentenced to prison for defrauding Cisco
A Maryland man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for directing a multimillion-dollar warranty fraud scheme targeting Cisco Systems, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. Iheanyi Frank Chinasa, 39, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Chinasa and partner Robert Kendrick Chambliss submitted 414 equipment return requests to Cisco from 2007 to 2010, with the pair sending counterfeit equipment to Cisco in exchange for replacements, according to court documents. Cisco returned more than 950 pieces of equipment to Chinasa and Chambliss, worth about US$27 million, according to the DOJ's complaint in the case. Chinasa built the counterfeit computer networking and telecom equipment the pair returned to Cisco, the DOJ said in a press release. Chief Judge James Spencer ordered Chinasa and Chambliss to pay nearly $18.8 million in restitution. Chinasa was convicted on Feb. 7 of one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, eight counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding. Chinasa and Chambliss, 31, of Henrico, Virginia, were indicted in August. Chambliss pleaded guilty on Jan. 12 to conspiring to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. He was sentenced on April 13 to 12 months and one day in prison.
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Hosted

MegaPath offers customers best of both worlds with combined PBX-based and hosted voice services
MegaPath Inc. announced that it is providing customers with expanded VoIP offerings to maximize their voice investments. MegaPath’s Integrated Voice customers can add Hosted Voice services as an overlay to their lines or trunks, enabling employees and businesses to boost productivity and cut costs with advanced features such as Remote Worker, Find Me/Follow Me, Simultaneous Ring, Auto Attendants and Hunt Groups. Additionally, MegaPath is unveiling new voice bundles to help customers further reduce costs. MegaPath’s voice solutions save customers, on average, 50 percent compared to traditional phone services. Providing customers with even greater value, MegaPath is offering new pricing for its 8 and 16 Integrated Line/Trunk service with T1 access. These bundles will be available for single and bonded T1s with unlimited and metered long distance options. Customers have the option to get to get free rental of the equipment for 2 and 3 year terms or can purchase the equipment on a 1 year term.
Visit www.megapath.com.
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Mitel

UTG partners with Mitel
United Technology Group (UTG) recently partnered with Mitel to streamline internal telecommunications for Definition 6, a unified marketing agency, with an internet-based phone system connecting offices in NY and Atlanta more efficiently. Definition 6 faced a telecommunications hurdle after it acquired its New York office, which consisted of a PR agency and video/post production company. The company struggled with two separate phone systems that were expensive, incompatible and antiquated, making it difficult to bridge the communication between its employees in both NY and Atlanta offices. The phone systems were also highly susceptible to frequent outages, and were unable to even transfer calls or messages between offices. In order to correct this problem, Definition 6 selected UTG as their trusted IT partner to provide an advanced, modern voice solution. UTG in turn partnered with Mitel to develop a turnkey strategy for addressing Definition 6’s short-term communication issues, while providing a long-term platform for future growth. Through the smooth implementation of the flexible Mitel 3300MXE controller and a new MPLS data network, the agency now boasts a seamlessly integrated voice system that provides all the functionality necessary to maximize collaboration between the two offices. Additional flexibility within the voice solution includes both Mitel’s Nupoint Messenger IP and Mitel Border Gateway, which are plug & play programs that fully enhance productivity with mobile and remote employees.
Visit www.utgsolutions.com and www.mitel.com.
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Nortel

Nortel asks judges for rules on dividing US$4B in cash
Nortel Networks Corp. and its bankrupt units in Canada and the U.S. asked judges in both countries to set rules on how to divide with its European affiliates US$4 billion the company will have when it liquidates. Nortel’s U.S. and Canadian divisions want judges in their respective countries to decide how to split the money while European units in bankruptcy in the U.K. want either a private arbitrator or a “transnational” tribunal to make the decision, James Bromley, a Nortel attorney, said in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. The European units “believe they will not get a fair shake before this court,” Bromley said. “And that is simply unfathomable.” Since filing for bankruptcy in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., Nortel has sold almost all of its businesses, raising about US$3 billion to distribute to creditors. Later this month, Nortel’s U.S. unit will hold an auction for more than 6,000 patents, in which the opening bid by Google Inc. will be US$900 million. That auction is the last major sale of Nortel’s assets.
Visit www.nortel.com.
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Phones

snom phones validated for use with Interactive Intelligence unified business communications solutions
snom technology AG announced that its snom 3xx series IP desktop phones have passed interoperability testing for use with the Interactive Intelligence all-in-one IP communications software suite, Customer Interaction Center (CIC). The combination of snom phones and CIC gives contact centers and enterprises an advanced, cost-effective and easily deployed SIP-based unified communications solution from which to manage dozens to hundreds of individual endpoints. snom's suite of VoIP phones includes advanced IP phones such as the snom 3xx series, full-color touchscreen desktop phones such as the snom 870, wireless DECT phones such as the m9 and related endpoints, such as the MeetingPoint conference phone. snom developed one of the industry's first  SIP-based solutions for endpoints and as a result, all snom endpoints are built on one of the most mature SIP stacks available, allowing for simple installation, industry-wide interoperability and crystal-clear sound quality. As unified communications systems have proliferated, the advanced technology and open standards in every snom product has proven to be an ideal combination for providing enterprises with cost-effective and feature-rich IP telephony.
Visit www.snom.com.
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Security

Global Crossing expands global portfolio of security solutions for enterprises
Global Crossing announced Global Crossing Security Solutions, an enhanced portfolio of security capabilities that allow customers to more easily and thoroughly protect, manage and monitor enterprise networks. The new suite of security features includes a firewall, intrusion prevention service, web content filtering, and antivirus and anti-spam capabilities, and provides reporting and analysis via Global Crossing’s award-winning uCommand customer portal.  The company is using a new Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platform, which generates the reports and posts them to the customer portal.  The SIEM platform resides in the Global Crossing Security Operations Center (SOC), where security professionals, analysts and engineers monitor and assess customers’ network security.  Global Crossing customers also now have access to a full array of professional services from Global Crossing Security Consulting.  These consulting services provide security assessments and audits, penetration testing, and vulnerability evaluations.  Global Crossing professionals also review and create security policies and provide on-site incident response services.
Visit www.globalcrossing.com.
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UC

Zultys announces Outlook integration
Zultys announced the availability of its new Zultys Outlook Communicator product, which provides close integration between the Zultys IP Phone System and Microsoft Outlook. Users have full call control from within Outlook, and can execute calls directly from Outlook. Furthermore, this product synchronizes presence with the Outlook calendar, and users may change their presence directly from Outlook. This brings tighter integration between the Zultys UC platform and the Microsoft messaging platform. As a certified Microsoft Partner, Zultys has designed the Zultys Outlook Communicator to provide Outlook users with core Unified Communications functions that operate directly and seamlessly from within the Outlook application. Zultys Outlook Communicator enables Outlook users to make, receive, transfer and disconnect calls through the Zultys Unified Communications solution, and automatically obtain a caller’s contact information in a pop-up Outlook window. Additionally, at a call’s conclusion, Zultys Outlook Communicator automatically can open a Microsoft Outlook journal window to document the call.
Visit www.zultys.com.
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