Upcoming Meeting Notice:

2012 ASIA CONFERENCE
February 1 - 3, 2012
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2012 USA CONFERENCE
March 7 - 9, 2012
Clearwater Beach, Florida   USA

2012 USA CONFERENCE
September 13, 2012
San Diego, California   USA

2012 EUROPEAN CONFERENCE
October 3 - 5, 2012
Madrid, Spain

(Click here for more information.)

In Memoriam
AscdiNatd
Aastra
Avaya
Cisco
Cloud
Conferences
Contact center
Mitel
People
UC

In Memoriam

Our Industry lost one of its Founding Fathers earlier this month.  On December 5th, Bill Simpson founder of Simpson Telecom in Canada passed away.  Before that, Bill spent about 20 years at Executone and co-founded Canadian Telecom Group and was an early member of the NATD.

Bill trained hundreds of people in our Industry, but was probably best known for his integrity and calming ways.  He was a heck of a salesman too.

Many of you know Dave Ross at Simpson Telecom.  Bill was Dave Ross's Dad.  If you remember any stories about Bill, I am sure Dave would love to hear from you.  (Dave Ross-  [email protected] 905-842-1414)

May Bill rest in peace.

Joe Marion
NATD
www.natd.com
[email protected]



William “Bill” Simpson
As reported in the Peterborugh Examiner…

SIMPSON, Mr. William “Bill“ – Our Husband, Dad, Uncle, Friend and Mentor, passed away on an unusually mild December 5th morning, at about 6:30 a.m.

Bill was best known as a gifted communicator, motivator and quite probably, the most talented sales person anyone ever knew. Along the way, he trained hundreds of sales people, allowing them to elevate their skills well beyond their expectations of themselves. Today, the industry has many successful companies, run by successful people, with whom Bill extended his unique and unparalleled educational approach to selling. He began most speeches with his customary “unaccustomed as I am to public speaking“, which was as far from the truth as imaginable.  Listeners were always riveted by the command of his words and his unequalled strength of character.

His background in the Canadian Telecommunications industry was nothing short of legendary. After 20 years with Executone LM Ericcson, Bill co-founded the Canadian Telecommunications Group, which was the first, and became the foremost competitor to Bell Canada as deregulation arrived in Ontario in August of 1979. In 1984, Bill went on to create a new company, and ultimately, a new industry, bent on targeting the “reusability“ of telecom/telephone equipment. The Simpson Telecom group, became well known in Canada and the US, well before the onset of such entities as the internet made it easier to gain notoriety and market acceptance. The company still thrives today.

Bill had a quiet calm which was comforting and disarming at the same time. Integrity, responsibility and accountability became the collective moniker for Bill. Whether it was tending to the many different backyard spices of flora and fauna with his wife of forty-five years, Marilynn, golfing with family or friends, placing an astute wager on a little known Pony about to win its’ first race, you would always find a smiling face, and engaging voice and just “the nicest guy ever“.  Bill lived life on his terms and left on his terms as well. He will be missed and remembered by all, like no other before him.
Bill is survived by his wife and companion Marilynn, sons Steve (Maddie) and Dave (Kellie), daughter Tracy and the other light of his life granddaughter Carly as well as his sister Doreen (Don) . Bill was predeceased by his mother Lillian, and brothers Donny and Bobby.
There will be a Celebration of Bill’s Life held at the NISBETT FUNERAL HOME AND CHAPEL, 600 Monaghan RD., S., Peterborough (705)745-3211 on Friday, December 9, 2011 from 1 – 3 p.m. in the Nisbett Reception Centre.

In memory of Bill, donations to a charity of choice would be appreciated. An on-line book of condolence may be signed at www.nisbettfuneralhome.com.
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AscdiNatd

AscdiNatd Directory Space Goes On Sale 
Space inside the AscdiNatd Guide is now available at a special rate for orders placed before December 15. To date, Midland Information Systems, Macquarie Equipment Finance, Williams Telecom, CXtec, CESS-DK, Solid Systems, UNIX Surplus, Meridian Leasing, Basis Bay have placed space. Excellent positions remain available: $995.00 for a 1/2 page advert, prime location, in the 2012 Directory. “Seriously, this is a NO BRAINER!” said Joe Marion. “Think of all those you will reach over the entire year!” Contact Ruth at [email protected] or 201-567-6338 for more details!

AscdiNatd Reseller World 
Beginning in January, the Natd World will become AscdiNatd Reseller World. The World will be the official voice of the AscdiNatd. The eBulletin will also be your bulletin, as a member or as a vendor member, to reach out to the community and tell your story. If you have news, please make us your first choice for press releases and other statements. If you are a vendor member, please contact us to explore opportunities to market products and services inside the bulletin. Contact Doug at [email protected] or 360-260-9708 for more details!

Promotional Opportunity Event Packages  
NOW available at the AscdiNatd Conference in Clearwater on March 7 – 9, 2012. Click here for details: 
Visit http://www.ascdimeetings.com/clearwatersponsorships20127.pdf .

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Aastra

Aastra BluStar launch marks a new era in enterprise communications
The Aastra BluStar video conference and collaboration solution, which was announced at Enterprise Connect earlier this year, is now available. The award-winning Aastra BluStar marks a new era in enterprise communications, reinforcing Aastra’s position as a key global player in the unified communications market. The Aastra BluStar 8000i media phone provides businesses with a powerful and simple to use collaboration device, combining true HD video conferencing with unified communications and business applications. With its 13 inch color touch screen, four voice tracking microphones, and three high fidelity speakers, the Aastra BluStar 8000i provides broadcast quality video and audio, resulting in a totally “natural collaboration” experience. The BluStar desktop media phone enhances productivity by helping teams to work better together with multi-way video conferencing. At the touch of a button, and without the need to book meeting rooms, teams can conference to share documents from their computers, review and discuss project developments, and collaborate quickly and seamlessly, significantly enhancing productivity and reactivity.
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Avaya

Streamcore solutions now rated Avaya compliant
Streamcore announced that its StreamGroomer products are compliant with unified communications (UC) products from Avaya, a global provider of business collaboration systems, software and services. Streamcore solutions provide enterprises with innovative monitoring, supervision, reporting and advanced performance control for real-time communications such as VoIP and room-based or desktop videoconferencing. Streamcore products can improve network performance and ensure the success of UC implementations. The company’s StreamGroomers have been compliance-tested by Avaya for compatibility with Avaya Aura Communication Manager R6.0.1 and Avaya Aura Session Manager R6.1, 96xx SIP Deskphones, Avaya Desktop Video Device and Avaya one-X Communicator. Streamcore is a Gold 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 an enterprise’s investment in its network. As a Gold member of the program, Streamcore was eligible to submit products for testing by the Avaya Solution Interoperability and Test Lab to verify compliance.
Visit www.streamcore.com and www.avaya.com/devconnect.
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Cisco

Cisco introduces CloudVerse, an end-to-end framework to build, manage and connect clouds
Cisco introduces Cisco CloudVerse, a framework that combines the foundational elements needed to enable organizations to build, manage and connect public, private and hybrid clouds. Cisco CloudVerse combines these key cloud elements — Unified Data Center, Cloud Intelligent Network, and Cloud Applications and Services — enabling businesses to realize all of the benefits of clouds: improved agility, better economics, enhanced security and a dynamic, assured experience. The Cisco Cloud Index, issued recently, forecasts how dramatically clouds are transforming business IT and consumer services. The study predicts that over 50 percent of computing workloads in data centers will be cloud-based by 2014, and that global cloud traffic will grow over 12 times by 2015, to 1.6 zettabytes per year — the equivalent of over four days of business-class video for every person on earth. The study suggests that the explosive growth in clouds requires advanced capabilities that allow the data center and network to work together to support end-to-end cloud application delivery. A large number of enterprises, service providers, and governments are announcing that they are adopting Cisco CloudVerse as the foundation of their cloud strategies, including Fujitsu, LinkedIn, Qualcomm, Telecom Italia, Telefónica S.A. and Telstra, among others.
Visit www.cisco.com.
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Cloud

Cloud infrastructure equipment to exceed $33B in 2011
Synergy Research Group announces the publication of its Cloud Market Share Report, which provides quarterly market shares, sizing, and forecasts for the Public and Private Cloud equipment markets. The foundation of Synergy’s segmentation includes the networking, computing, and storage platforms deployed for Private Cloud, Public Cloud (VPN), and Public Cloud (non-VPN).Synergy’s report shows the Cloud Equipment market for the first half of 2011 exceeded $17B in sales. The fastest growing segment includes Private Cloud platforms, which is growing at over 30% annual growth. Synergy defines a Private Cloud platform as a virtualized data center, which resides behind an organization’s firewall. Synergy believes this growth will continue as larger Enterprises realize the economies of scale and other cost benefits associated with the virtualization of their data centers. Today, Public Cloud platforms represent the biggest share of Cloud Equipment spending, representing 56% in the first half of 2011. Synergy believes Public Cloud deployments could potentially experience exponential growth in the coming years as IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS gain wider usage by both consumers and businesses.
Visit www.srgresearch.com.
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Conferences

Computerworld announces 2012 Premier 100 Honorees
IDG’s Computerworld, the IT media brand dedicated to providing peer perspective, IT leadership and business results, announces the 2012 Premier 100 IT Leaders honorees as well as highlights for the Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference. The awards program spotlights 100 leaders, from both the technology and business sides of companies, for their exceptional technology leadership, innovative solutions to business challenges and effective management of IT strategies. The Premier 100 honorees and their achievements will be highlighted in the February 27, 2012 issue of Computerworld, on Computerworld.com and recognized during the Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference, being held March 11-13, 2012, at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix, Arizona. In addition to honoring the 2012 Premier 100 recipients and learning from their success stories, the Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference agenda is packed with leading IT executives sharing strategies and best practices designed to help IT decision-makers find innovative solutions to their IT challenges.
Visit www.Premier100.com.
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Contact center

Zultys unveils MXIE SuperView
Zultys introduced MXIE SuperView, the ultimate contact center management tool that provides unprecedented real-time visibility into agent productivity, queued and active calls, call wait time, threshold alerts, and more — all from a single screen. Fully integrated into the MXIE Unified Communications (UC) client, SuperView is a critical tool for supervisors who want to optimize their call center performance. Flexible, scalable and easy to use, Zultys’ contact center solutions fulfill a range of customer service and contact center needs, from high-capacity customer service operations across multiple locations to a company’s day-to-day call and front-office demands. Several functionalities already provide call center supervisors with a comprehensive amount of data for effectively managing their call groups. With the addition of SuperView, a single window provides a contact center-wide view of agent and call activity, making it the most comprehensive call center management tool available. SuperView is part of the Integrated Contact Center option for MX30/MX250, and is fully integrated into the Zultys MXIE UC client; no third-party applications are needed.
Visit www.zultys.com.
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Mitel

Mitel announces strategic initiatives: strengthens channel program
Mitel announces a series of strategic initiatives that significantly strengthen its North American channel program. The announcement includes the addition of several new U.S.-based channel management executives and the creation of the Authorized Partner Service Program (APSP), which selectively shifts local service support for some of the Mitel product portfolio to its channel partners. Renato Mariani, newly appointed Vice President of Field Marketing for North America, explained that the Authorized Partner Service Program will have a direct impact on the way the company does business, and will result in greater integration with its channel.  “Enterprise class direct sales and support, going forward, will be primarily through channel partners where possible. Support for existing enterprise customers will shift to qualified channel partners when and where possible, contingent on the consent of the customers, of course. This strategic realignment will minimize, if not thoroughly resolve, long-standing channel conflicts between Mitel’s direct sales organization and channel partners, to the benefit of both. That clearly is important to us and our partners, who will grow stronger as a result. Much more importantly, end users of Mitel systems will benefit from localized support through improved response times when hands-on support is required for physical moves, adds and changes or maintenance.” To implement this strategy, Mitel has brought on seasoned channel professionals from Avaya, Alcatel-Lucent, Nortel, NEC, Polycom and other companies that have experience managing billions of dollars in profitable sales in the business communications market.
Visit www.mitel.com.
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People

Avaya appoints Gary B. Smith to Board of Directors
Avaya announced the appointment of Gary B. Smith to the Avaya Board of Directors. Mr. Smith is Avaya’s first non-affiliated Director since the Company became privately held in 2007. Smith is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of Ciena Corporation, the network specialist and a global leader in next-generation telecommunications infrastructure. Mr. Smith joined Ciena in 1997 to launch its international business, and led Worldwide Sales before becoming Chief Operating Officer in 1999 and CEO in 2001. Prior to Ciena, Smith served as Vice President for Sales and Marketing at Intelsat and held senior marketing roles at Cray Communications Group.  In 2011, Smith was appointed to the United States’ National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) and serves as the Lead Outside Director of Commvault Corporation. He is also a Commissioner of the Global Information Infrastructure Commission; a member and former Board Member of the American Electronics Association (now TechAmerica); and a Broadband Ambassador to the Internet Innovation Alliance. He received his M.B.A. from Ashridge Management College, United Kingdom.
Visit www.avaya.com.
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Unified communications

AGT strategy to change mobility, UC and Tele-presence
Applied Global Technologies (AGT) is announcing the release of its new website that includes mobile video conferencing and Unified Communications research vital to Video & UC Managers, IT Directors, and Department Heads. The explosion of growth in UC driven by the convergence of Tele-presence and mobile devices such as iPhones, iPads, and PC’s is forever changing the way that organizations use video conferencing. AGT has developed a variety of innovative UC technologies and Managed and Cloud based video conferencing services that will enable business, government and educational enterprises to prepare for tomorrow’s video communications. AGT delivers true video mobility across high definition video conference rooms, smart phones, tablets, and PC’s without a hassle to IT, and without the complexity and cost of special firewall devices and hardware.
Visit www.appliedglobal.com.
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