By Paula Bernier, Executive Editor, TMC
The younger set has been raised on a regular diet of electronic games, including on tablets and smartphones gaming consoles and computers. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that a 2011 MTV study revealed members of Gen Y, which make up 25 percent of today's workforce today, think a "game-like metaphor" can be applied to virtually every aspect of their lives.
By Paula Bernier, Executive Editor, TMC
Earlier this week at ITEXPO Miami's SDN Precon, a panel of experts attempted to tackle some key questions around the software-defined network, including what it is, why it's important and where it's going.
The panelists seemed to agree SDN is an architecture that separates the control and data planes of the network.
By Amanda Ciccatelli, TMCnet Web Editor
When Skip Chilcott first joined Microsoft Corporation through an acquisition about eight years ago, the first thing issued to him was a tablet with touch capabilities equivalent to Microsoft Lync. Thereafter, things started to slowly change, but Lync didn't find success overnight.
By Tony Rizzo, TMCnet Senior Editor
ILS Technology, a company that has been in the machine to machine (M2M) game for some time, provides a key "ready to use and off the shelf" cloud-based M2M platform that allows enterprise IT systems to easily connect to any device and/or machines that a business must monitor in real-time and through primarily wireless environments. ILS M2M solutions are simple to create, and removes the need for complex programming. In addition, ILS is able to easily handle extremely high levels of big data transfer through its cloud capabilities.
By Tony Rizzo, TMCnet Senior Editor
John Sculley, formerly of Apple, formerly of PepsiCO, and now a startup investor, mentor and occasional acquirer through his InflexionPoint Acquisition Corp. with a current focus on the healthcare industry, delivered a keynote fireside chat immediately following what is arguably (or perhaps not all that arguably) the most exciting event we hold at ITEXPO, that being StartupCamp, now in its seventh year.
By Paula Bernier, Executive Editor, TMC
We're living in the age of acceleration, and things will still move faster going forward -- pushed ahead by the low entry costs that the cloud enables, ever-increasing wireless broadband speeds, and the rise of HTML5 and WebRTC, among other factors.
By Peter Bernstein, Senior Editor
ANPI, whose historical focus has been in the providing voice, data and tandem access services to wireless service providers, CLECs, ILECs and interexchange carriers nationwide, is now looking to extend its expertise to helping SMBs use SIP and hosted solutions to drive business results and leverage the full benefits of next-generation networking capabilities.
By Rich Steeves, TMCnet Web Editor
They say that two heads are better than one and that three is a lucky number. It stands to reason, then, that a coalition of three dynamic communications technology companies can serve to bring dynamic services to customers. The first keynote address at ITEXPO Miami 2013 highlighted a federation created by three companies well positioned in the IP communications space: Taqua, BroadSoft and IntelePeer.
By Steve Anderson, Contributing TMCnet Writer
With ITEXPO currently underway in sunny Miami, plenty of news is emerging, with one of the biggest today being the new BlackBerry 10. BlackBerry's newest operating system is said to put Research In Motion's beleaguered smartphone product on par with the iOS and Android offerings.
By Rachel Ramsey, TMCnet Web Editor
ITEXPO is a bi-annual event that brings together technology and communications to buyers, sellers, resellers, manufacturers and company executives for a packed week of networking, exhibiting and discussing top trends. It's happening this week in Miami, offering panel sessions, workshops and keynote presentations in addition to a busy exhibition floor.
By Doug Mohney, Contributing Editor
Today, there are lots of HD voice "islands" among service providers and large enterprises, with calls moving around within the boundaries of entities. Moving SIP outside of those boundaries nearly always forces calls over to the PSTN due to security considerations, with IPX (IP Exchange) and federation efforts just starting to gain more traction over the past year.
By Rachel Ramsey, TMCnet Web Editor
The past decade has been a great time to be a consumer. Smartphones, tablets, smart home appliances and many other innovations have improved the user experience and made convenience a key part of our day-to-day lives.
Technology trends have also affected service providers and the enterprise, but unlike the consumer, their time to reach their maximum potential is now.
By Rich Steeves, TMCnet Web Editor
The company works to crowdsource a pool of translators, then routes the calls to those translators through an Android or iPhone app or via a toll-free number. But VerbalizeIt also has an API that can be coded into existing applications, like Skype or Twilio. This API expands the target market. The company already has relationships with travel and education companies to help people manage communications during their travels.
By Amanda Ciccatelli, TMCnet Web Editor
In Latin America today, the mobile market is continuously growing. In fact, 92 percent who don't currently have a smartphone are planning to buy one. More specifically, 38 percent of those would like to buy a smartphone in the next six months, and 25 percent of those are likely to buy one by 2014.
By Amanda Ciccatelli, TMCnet Web Editor
When you go to work each day, how productive are you? If you work in sales, for instance, you may do a lot of administrative tasks that don't involve actually going out and selling. These are important tasks that have to get done, but they may be taking time away from selling.
By Tony Rizzo, TMCnet Senior Editor
The major telecommunications players have long been among the largest of global businesses. From Telefonica to Verizon to AT&T, these communications service providers have long earned substantial revenue. As the Internet during the late 90s and on to today and the explosion of mobility and wireless technology of the last five years continue to drive where consumers now look for anytime and anywhere services, there remains a "lurking" sense among the major carriers that they are in danger of becoming disenfranchised. What does this mean?
By Amanda Ciccatelli, TMCnet Web Editor
Back in 1999, Genband was launched during the .com bust, but the company came out alive thanks to its long-term investors. In 2004, Genband was a one product company with no revenue and 80 people, but found an opportunity to accelerate its market by using new and innovative technology.
By Peter Bernstein, Senior Editor
One of the real values of coming to TMC's ITEXPO Miami is capturing the insights of industry experts and visionaries in real-time. The truth is you never know when someone or several of them are going to capture the essence of what is going on in our industry, and do so in a way that really get the juices flowing and social media humming. Such was the case for the featured panel of Day One's afternoon session, Battle for the Cloud: The Future of Cloud Computing.
By Rich Steeves, TMCnet Web Editor
When looking at the biggest trends in the technology and communications space today, it's hard to ignore the mobility trend. There are lots of benefits to the rising mobility tide, but there are also plenty of challenges. But savvy businesses can take note of these challenges and find a way to turn those challenges into opportunities. Experts from Gartner, Appcore, Cisco and Partnerpedia discussed this very topic during a panel at ITEXPO Miami 2013.
By Paula Bernier, Executive Editor, TMC
Some CIOs may see the cloud as more of a headache than a godsend, but Telefonica's Tim Marsden in his ITEXPO Miami keynote today said the cloud is here to stay and that its benefits far outweigh the challenges.
By Rachel Ramsey, TMCnet Web Editor
Enterprise solutions sessions are under way at ITEXPO Miami, kicking off with a panel discussion about enterprise session border controllers (ESBC). Jeff Dworkin, director of marketing at Sangoma, Alan Percy, senior director of Strategic Marketing for AudioCodes, Rob Popovic, director of Enterprise Marketing at Acme Packet, David Tipping, vice president and general manager of Sonus Networks and Dave Martin, vice president marketing at Edgewater Networks, joined together for the session titled, "Why Your Enterprise Network Needs an SBC" to discuss the pros, cons, challenges, deployment options and differentiators between SBCs in the enterprise market.
By Amanda Ciccatelli, TMCnet Web Editor
Did you know that sales of IP Communication are expected to grow significantly over the next few years? In fact, according to Gartner, 1/3 of North American enterprises use SIP trunking today, and that number is expected to grow to 40 percent by 2014.
By Allison Boccamazzo, TMCnet Web Editor
These phones promise the simplicity of having everything in one place, boasting a seamless integration from app to app and feature to feature. Heins assured that BlackBerry 10 will promise the hyper-connected social experience users crave and need in both their personal and professional lives. In other words, BlackBerry 10 will keep us moving in our rapidly evolving lives.
By Amanda Ciccatelli, TMCnet Web Editor
Cloud-based services and software help companies manage connected products and implement innovative M2M applications. It is widely known that the cloud reduces risks, speeds up time to market, brings down cost, and provides better security for virtually any business needs.
By Rich Steeves, TMCnet Web Editor
It seemed like hyperbole when representatives from Genesys said those words to me here at ITEXPO Miami 2013. But after a quick and complete demonstration, I'm convinced. Genesys Connect really does allow you to set up a cloud call center quickly, and the interface is so simple even a child could handle it.
By Peter Bernstein, Senior Editor
One of the great things about being at TMC's ITEXPO Miami is that even the water cooler conversations are scintillating. I had the opportunity of talking industry trends and market realities with Steven Johnson, president of VoIP infrastructure provider, Ingate Systems, and was delighted to have a lively and incredibly insightful back and forth about a range of topics including the state of the SIP and SIP trunking markets, unified communications (UC), session border controllers (SBCs), WebRTC and Microsoft Lync.
By Paula Bernier, Executive Editor, TMC
AudioCodes is at ITEXPO Miami this week promoting its recently launched One Voice for Lync program, and separately, its relationship with Voxbone.
The AudioCodes One Voice for Lync puts all of the company's voice-based UC hardware, as well as professional services and support, under one umbrella, explains Alan Percy, director of market development.
By Jamie Epstein, TMCnet Web Editor
As we have recently entered yet another year, things are a'changin' especially within the technology space. It's hard to go mere hours without hearing about some new product or solution that is now being hosted in the cloud, and no, I am not talking about those fluffy, white pillow-like things in the sky.
By Amanda Ciccatelli, TMCnet Web Editor
Application Performance Management (APM) is gaining momentum in the industry, in light of its effectiveness of quickly finding and tackling performance problems for Web applications and narrowing down bottlenecks in the IT infrastructure.
By Allison Boccamazzo, TMCnet Web Editor
If the business is the body, then the heart is fully comprised of its customers. I may not know much about anatomy, but I surely know that without a healthy, beating heart, you're out of luck. Just like we take medicine, eat well and exercise to keep our juices flowing, businesses need the right combination of tools and tricks to keep their customers happy. This is exactly the premise that the customer relationship management (CRM) industry is built upon.
By Tony Rizzo, TMCnet Senior Editor
Telefonica announced today its first ever, but highly anticipated U.S.-based Channel Partner Program at ITEXPO Miami 2013. The announcement is significant, and will provide Telefonica resellers and partners the opportunity to offer a significant array of new capabilities.
By Stefanie Mosca, TMCnet Managing Editor
For small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with limited resources, moving their current systems and communication platforms to the cloud can be intimidating.
By Rich Steeves, TMCnet Web Editor
The Battle of the Platforms at the M2M Evolution event was as exciting as promised. Nine innovative companies from the M2M space put their best feet forward to show off their platforms, technologies and solutions. But there could only be one overall winner, and this year, that winner, as decided by the three judges (Mike Sapien, principal analyst at Ovum; Carl Ford, cofounder of Crossfire Media; and James Brehm, senior strategist with Compass Intelligence) was...
