Upcoming Meeting Notice:

2011 USA FALL RECEPTION
September 14, 2011
Boston, MA

2011 EUROPEAN FALL CONFERENCE
October 26 - 28, 2011
Hamburg, Germany

(Click here for more information.)

Avaya
Awards
Book review
Cloud
ITEXPO
Market
Mitel
Nortel
Power

Avaya

Cassidian Communications VESTA CS solution now rated “Avaya Compliant”
Emergency communications leader Cassidian Communications announced that its VESTA CS 2.2 service pack (SP) 5 call processing solution has completed extensive testing and is now rated compliant with Avaya Communication Server 1000 and Avaya Aura Contact Center solutions. Cassidian Communications is a member of the Avaya DevConnect program—an initiative to develop, market and sell innovative third-party products that interoperate with Avaya technology and extend the value of a company’s investment in its network. The VESTA CS solution is a server-based, full-featured IP PBX specifically designed for emergency call centers. It combines the Cassidian Communications proven computer telephony integration (CTI) solution, VESTA, with the Avaya Communication Server 1000. The VESTA CS solution also features sophisticated call routing; automatic call distribution (ACD) with options including queue-based, skills-based and Network ACD; and enhanced administrative control capabilities.
Visit www.CassidianCommunications.com and www.avaya.com/devconnect.
^Back To Top

Awards

BroadSoft wins Hot Ticket Award
BroadSoft Inc., global provider of software that enables mobile, fixed-line and cable service providers to deliver real-time communications over their IP networks, announced it was selected as the winner of a 2011 Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) Hot Ticket Award in the category of ‘hottest exit.’ The NVTC Hot Ticket Awards celebrate the efforts of entrepreneurial companies in the Greater Washington technology community that have exhibited outstanding vision, the ability to implement and deliver, an innovative management approach or star-quality charisma. In addition to BroadSoft, finalists for the NVTC Hot Ticket Award for ‘Hottest Exit’ were MobileAccess, Netwitness and SMARTHINKING. The NVTC Hot Ticket Award for ‘Hottest Exit’ recognizes companies that executed successful financial strategies that included mergers, acquisitions, strategic combinations and IPOs. BroadSoft’s IP communications software has been purchased by more than 450 global mobile, fixed-line, and cable service providers — including 16 of the world’s 25 largest service providers based on revenue — to deliver voice and multimedia services over their IP-based networks.
Visit www.broadsoft.com.
^Back To Top

Book review

Implementing Cisco IP Switched Networks (SWITCH)
Reviewed by Jeff Owen, Independent IT Consultant

Cisco has long conferred professional certifications to those who qualify via experience and demonstrated knowledge.  Their certification program comprises five levels (entry, associate, professional, expert, and architect) and includes multiple specialties, as well as general knowledge.  To be certified in each level and/or specialty requires the candidate to pass specific tests.

This book is designed as a learning guide for those preparing to take the Cisco SWITCH 642-813 certification test. Because the SWITCH 642-813 test is common to both Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) and Cisco Certified Design Professional (CCDP) this book is equally valuable to those wishing to pursue either track.  It assumes the reader is either a CCNA or CCDA, is working in the field, and has taken (or is taking) an appropriate formal course on switched IP networks.  It is well laid out and fully covers the foundation topics required in the SWITCH 642-813 examination.  The addition of review questions at the end of each chapter helps to reinforce learning.  Cisco Networking Academy CCNP SWITCH course students use this book as their official textbook.

Jeff Owen is an independent consultant with 30+ years experience in telecommunications/networking and IT. He can be reached at [email protected].

Authors: Richard Froom, Balaji Sivasubramanian, and Erum Frahim
Hardcover: 560 pages
Publisher: Cisco Press (June 2010)
ISBN – 10: 1-58705-884-7
ISBN – 13: 978-1-58705-884-4
List Price: $70.00; Amazon: $43.65
^Back To Top

Cloud

8x8 announces new cloud-centric channel program
8x8, Inc. announced it has launched the 8x8 Business Partner Program, a new channel initiative designed to offer agents, resellers and traditional hardware VARs a unique and compelling opportunity to capitalize on the growing demand for cloud-based solutions. The new program enables partners to engage with 8x8 as a single source provider of four key cloud-based offerings — Cloud VoIP, Cloud Video, Cloud Contact Center and Cloud Hosting — with innovative and lucrative incentives. In particular, the program sets out to create an effective model for VARs previously focused on selling hardware-based solutions to begin generating incremental, long-term revenue by reselling 8x8 SaaS offerings.  For VARs and system integrators who meet certain minimum requirements, 8x8 offers an opportunity to add incremental revenue in three ways — through one-time bounties on initial orders, monthly residual payments and commission on equipment accompanying the sale. This represents a new compensation model for traditional hardware resellers not accustomed to receiving monthly residual payments from the sale of services.
Visit www.8x8.com.
^Back To Top

ITEXPO

Sipera Systems named newest Gold Sponsor of ITEXPO West
TMC announced that Sipera Systems will be a Gold Sponsor of their ITEXPO West 2011, September 13-15 at the Austin Convention Center in Texas. ITEXPO is the world’s largest and best-attended communications and technology trade show, currently ranked as the #3 fastest-growing event on Trade Show Executive Magazine’s Fastest 50 List. TMC expects to accelerate ITEXPO West’s growth by bringing the show to Austin, one of the fast-growing technology hubs in the U.S. Sipera Systems provides enterprises and service providers around the world with innovative solutions that secure voice, video, messaging, collaboration and other real-time communications solutions on converged IP networks. At ITEXPO, Sipera Systems will showcase its E-SBC product for rapid and safe deployment of SIP trunks. In addition, Sipera will highlight its UC-Sec solution for providing comprehensive security for VoIP devices, smartphones and safe deployment of Cloud-based communications and third-party applications.
Visit www.sipera.com and http://www.tmcnet.com/voip/conference/west-11/.
^Back To Top

Market

Worldwide IT spending on pace to grow in 2011
Worldwide IT spending is on pace to grow 7.1 percent in 2011, according to the latest quarterly spending outlook by Gartner, Inc. Analysts have revised overall IT forecast spending growth in U.S. dollar terms, up from their first quarter update, when they projected 5.6 percent growth for 2011. Global IT services is forecast to reach $846 billion in 2011, a 6.6 percent increase from 2010. The computing and hardware segment is poised for the strongest growth with spending forecast to grow 11.7 percent in 2011. The migration to public cloud services is currently one of the hottest topics in IT, and Gartner’s latest forecast found that spending in this area is projected to grow four times faster than spending on overall IT.

Worldwide public cloud services spending is forecast to total $89 billion in 2011, up from $74 billion in 2010. The market is forecast to reach $177 billion by 2015. However, to put this growth in context, Gartner analysts said public cloud services spending was only about 2 percent of global IT spending in 2010, and by 2015 the level of spending on public cloud services will be less than 5 percent of the total spent on IT overall. “Nevertheless, the emergence and adoption of cloud is an important trend, and in some markets, it’s already a significant factor,” said Richard Gordon, research vice president at Gartner. “For example, at about $10 billion, software as a service (SaaS) already accounts for 10 percent of enterprise applications software spending, and by 2015 this share is expected to increase to close to 15 percent and to exceed $20 billion in annual spending.”
Visit www.gartner.com.
^Back To Top

Mitel

World's largest JW Marriott selects Mitel for Unified Communications
Mitel announced JW Marriott Indianapolis has selected and deployed Mitel's Unified Communications solution based on its Freedom architecture. With 33 floors, over 1000 guest rooms, and 104,000 square feet of convention space, the JW Marriott Indianapolis is the premier convention center hotel in the Midwestern U.S. It is using Mitel as the foundation for its pure IP voice infrastructure covering every room and meeting area.
"Once the decision was made to use IP, Mitel quickly emerged as the best choice among a crowded field of vendors," said Ken Barnes, vice president, Information Technology for White Lodging, owner of the JW Marriott Indianapolis. "Mitel's IP architecture has enabled me to deliver communications to our hotel and convention complex, including over a thousand guest rooms, using single wire infrastructure, thus reducing deployment costs significantly. I also have the flexibility to improve guest service and response from mobile staff, and create impromptu contact centers anywhere in the hotel if need be. With IP connectivity in the guest rooms it can enable us to deliver web based information and services directly on the Mitel devices deployed throughout."
Visit www.mitel.com.
^Back To Top

Nortel

Nortel obtains further extension of stay period under CCAA
Nortel Networks Corporation announced that it, its principal operating subsidiary Nortel Networks Limited and its other Canadian subsidiaries that filed for creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) have obtained an order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Canadian Court) further extending, to December 14, 2011, the stay of proceedings that was previously granted by the Canadian Court. The purpose of the stay of proceedings is to provide stability to the Nortel companies to continue with their divestiture and other restructuring efforts and to continue to work toward the development of a plan of arrangement under CCAA. The materials filed in the CCAA proceedings are available on the Restructuring Document Centre of Ernst & Young Inc. (the "Monitor") at http://documentcentre.eycan.com/Pages/Main.aspx?SID
=89&Redirect=1.
Visit www.nortel.com/news.
^Back To Top

Power

Emerson Network Power to offer SmartRow standalone data center infrastructure
Emerson Network Power announced the availability of its SmartRow offering with program discounts for channel partners through the Emerson Network Power Innovation Partnership Program in North America. SmartRow provides Emerson Network Power channel partners with a unique standalone data center solution that provides outstanding availability and efficiency in an easy-to-deploy package. SmartRow is an intelligent, integrated infrastructure solution designed to work in virtually any business environment. It supports up to 20kW of IT equipment in a multi-rack configuration with integrated power, cooling, infrastructure management and fire suppression. It leverages industry best practices to provide a solution that is efficient, economical, interoperable and controllable to address the challenges of efficiency, capacity and availability.
Visit http://partnerapp.emersonnetworkpower.com/questionnaire1.aspx.

^Back To Top