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Top Voices of IP Communications

By Greg Galitzine

October 2006, Volume 9/ Number 10

 

Jim Machi, Intel (News - Alert)
Jim Machi is senior director of product management for the Communications Infrastructure Group at Intel, responsible for developing marketing strategy and driving product planning and realization for all media and signaling products including those targeted for the enterprise and service provider market segments. Machi has been with Dialogic (News - Alert) Corporation and then Intel since 1998 where he was director of product management, working to develop the company�s IP telephony roadmap and strategy and then as director of product management for the entire product line. Machi was a regular monthly columnist for Internet Telephony magazine from 1999 to 2003. Machi recalled a conversation he had with his mother: �My mother recently said to me �You can make phone calls using your computer, and I can do all this using the TV or laptop connection?� Wow, when my mother �gets� that something new is happening that�s a bellwether that it has entered mainstream consciousness.� Machi echoes the sentiment that IP Communications is more than just cheap calling. �While the first IP applications were all about rate arbitrage, we all knew that these apps essentially just made phone calls cheaper than alternatives. It couldn�t sustain an entire industry like we have today. Only new applications beyond what could be done with the PSTN could do that. So the significance comes down to enabling voice, data, and video applications, and combinations of these that we cannot dream of today, all on the same network.�

Donald E. Brown, M.D., Interactive Intelligence (News - Alert), Inc.
Donald E. Brown, M.D. co-founded Interactive Intelligence in October 1994 and has served as Chief Executive Officer since April 1995 and President since inception. Dr. Brown also serves as Chairman of the Board. In March 1988, Dr. Brown co-founded Software Artistry, Inc., a developer of customer support software that became a public company in March 1995 and was subsequently acquired by IBM (News - Alert) Corporation in January 1998. Dr. Brown�s first software company was acquired by Electronic Data Systems (News - Alert), Inc. in September 1987. For Dr. Brown, IP Communications is all about the software. �VoIP completes the transition of communications from hardware to software. Not too long ago, having sophisticated communications capabilities meant lots of proprietary hardware � PBXs, ACDs, IVRs, call loggers, etc. �In the mid-90�s,� according to Brown, �startups began to create server-based communications systems that implemented significant functionality in software. VoIP now allows the creation of 100 percent software solutions that do everything the old hardware-based systems could and much more � at a fraction of the cost and complexity. And this software foundation now opens up application possibilities that weren�t even imaginable pre-VoIP.�



Jeff Ford, Inter-Tel (News - Alert)
Jeff Ford believes that one of the key benefits of IP communications is the ability to move business communications beyond voice. As Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer of Inter-Tel Incorporated and President of Inter-Tel Integrated Systems, Ford has the opportunity to make his vision a reality for businesses every day. He began his career with Inter-Tel in 1983, while still in his senior year at Arizona State University. From 1989 through 1996, he led the software development of Inter-Tel�s flagship Axxess and Eclipse product lines, and beginning in 1996, Mr. Ford led Inter-Tel�s entry into convergent technology with patented VoIP technology. Mr. Ford�s work progressed through engineering management and, in 1997 he was named Chief Technology Officer. In 1998, he was additionally named president of Inter-Tel Integrated Systems, Inter-Tel�s development, production and wholesale distribution arm. According to Ford, �IP communications has become significant for businesses for delivering rich multi-media communications with voice, video, IM/chat, and document sharing that has been discussed since the mid-80�s. With IP communications, businesses are no longer limited to just voice as a means to communicate, and can leverage these new features to improve workflow, enhance productivity and streamline communications with their associates and customers.�

Karl Stahl, CEO and President, Intertex (News - Alert) Data AB
Karl Erik St�hl is President of Intertex Data AB, Chairman of Ingate Systems (News - Alert) AB, and founder of these companies. They are well known for their development of the world�s first SIP capable firewalls, including a SIP proxy and registrar dynamically controlling the firewall. These Swedish companies have 20 years experience of telecommunications and development of high-quality communication and security products, combining real-time programming with analogue and digital hardware design skills. According to St�hl, �For us using live IP communication � presence, IM, voice and video integrated with telephony � it is addictive, both for private and professional usage.� �However, to reach its full potential,� he says, �live IP communication must follow standards and have global connectivity, the same factors that made e-mail a success and something we cannot be without. The future and real success must be based on standards, global connectivity, and full Internet access.�

George Heinrichs, Intrado (News - Alert) Inc.
George Heinrichs is cofounder and president of Intrado, a global provider of emergency communications infrastructure and services. A recognized emergency services expert, Mr. Heinrichs has played a key role in the evolution of the nation�s 9-1-1 network and continues to influence 9-1-1 public policy. Heinrichs believes that �IP is transforming the way our society communicates. In our world of emergency communications IP will save lives.� Continuing on that theme, Heinrichs says, �The advantages of IP are particularly relevant to the emergency response community. (Remember that the very first phone call was a call for help!) IP is already playing a pivotal role in the evolution of emergency communications. IP-centered approaches allow expansion of the current 9-1-1 operations paradigm to include the delivery of previously unavailable situational and contextually relevant information to first responders. IP also streamlines how emergency response resources receive and distribute information related to emergency calls, first by expanding the type and scope of helpful information available to first responders, and then by dramatically improving the timely delivery of that information.�

Alec Saunders, CEO, iotum
Alec Saunders is a visionary technology evangelist with 15 years of leadership in technology marketing and product management. During nine years at Microsoft (News - Alert) Corporation Alec launched Internet Explorer, and the Microsoft Plus! Windows companion. As Microsoft�s Director of Marketing for Home Networks, Alec also launched Universal Plug and Play and recruited more than 300 vendors to the UPnP industry working group. Before Iotum, Alec was Marketing VP for Versatel Networks (News - Alert). Alec was also Marketing VP at QNX Software Systems where he spearheaded the creation and launch of the critically acclaimed QNX Momentics development suite. Alec takes an interesting approach to defining the significance of IP Communications. �IP Communications, in and of itself, is fundamentally uninteresting. There. I said it. Heresy, right? But really, who cares whether the packets on your network are encoded using IP or some other scheme? �A packet is a packet is a packet,� he explains. �The dawn of IP communications has ushered in a period where networks and applications are converging, all around the IP standard. It�s forced us all to confront very basic questions � do I need that many phone numbers, e-mail addresses, IM handles? Why should there be so many bills for so many services? Why isn�t my voice mail accessible from my e-mail box? �So, just as commodity PC�s ushered in an era of personal computing, driven by the applications that you and I wanted to use on the PC, and not the ones placed on the computer by the tyrants in the IT department, commodity networks are going to usher in an era of personal communications services. We�ll pick and choose applications and services that we want to use, from the providers that we want to buy from. We won�t have 10 e-mail addresses, three voice mail boxes, five phone numbers, and eight bills. And you know what? Ma Bell will be powerless to stop us. �And that�s what IP Communications is all about. Me.�

Arun Sobti, IP Unity
Arun Sobti, Chairman and CEO of IP Unity, has over 30 years of technical and management leadership in the communications infrastructure industry, Arun brought with him to IP Unity a wealth of expertise in shaping, building, and managing companies. His visionary leadership, complemented by his energy and drive, has earned him a well-deserved reputation as an innovator who gets results. Prior to joining IP Unity, Arun was Senior Vice President of ADC and President of ADC�s Broadband Access and Transport Group. Under his leadership, ADC�s portfolio of many prior acquisitions and internal business units were consolidated into a single group, restructured and transformed to address the market needs for this decade. Pairgain Technologies and BroadBand Access are still the largest two acquisitions made by ADC as part of this transformation. Before ADC, Arun was at Motorola (News - Alert) for 24 years, where he ran a number of their global businesses. Prior to leaving, he led Motorola�s efforts towards participation in the third generation of wireless.

Michael Khalilian, IMS Forum (News - Alert)
Michael Khalilian is Co-founder, Chairman, and President of the IP Multimedia Subsystem (News - Alert) (IMS) Forum. He also serves as Chief Technologist/Advisor and Board Member to service providers including such companies as eLEC/VoX, Kancharla (News - Alert), and American Cable Services. Previously, Khalilian held the positions of CTO/Board member at Volo Communications (VoIP Inc. (News - Alert)), Chief Technologist/Advisor to NTT Business Groups and Senior Director of Technology, Architecture, Applications and Business Development with Time Warner Communications� business groups. Khalilian built and managed business and technology groups including telephony, VoIP, broadband cable, data networks, and multimedia. Khalilian was one of the founding members of the �IP Multimedia Carrier Coalition,� �International Softswitch Consortium,� (ISC) and the �International Packet Communications (News - Alert) Consortium� (IPCC) which evolved into the IMS Forum. Now the Chairman and President of the IMS Forum, he is also an appointed member of the Telecom Executive Council for the United States. According to Khalilian, �We are witnessing the dawn of a new era of communications driven by bundled services, new applications, business and entertainment multimedia content delivery. As such, it has become quite clear that the future of telecommunications service delivery is in convergence with Broadband and IMS. Service Providers and vendors of such can embrace this convergence or miss the opportunity. Consumers are the ones driving the telecommunication convergence with their acceptance of new services utilizing IP value propositions.�

Don Gant, Iwatsu Voice Networks
Don Gant is currently VP Channel Marketing and Business Development for Iwatsu Voice Networks and is responsible for positioning Iwatsu�s communications products for sale to the channel and developing relationships with other technology companies for solutions that add value to Iwatsu�s core IP competencies. Don spent 12 years with Xerox in sales and product marketing before joining Fujitsu in major accounts sales. Gant believes that, �IP Communications will be viewed historically as a turning point in how people communicate by making it easier to stay in contact, easier to do business, and by the overall improvement in the quality of life of those using the technology. IP Communications will be ranked with the personal computer as having a positive impact on the way we do business and live our lives. Daily, millions of workers save precious natural resources by telecommuting while being seamlessly connected to their work resources. The bottom line is that IP communications will shrink the world even further, making it easier to connect with people, products and services regardless of where they are.�

James Crowe, Level 3
Mr. Crowe is the chief executive officer of Level 3 Communications (News - Alert), Inc., an international communications and information services company. Founded in 1997, Level 3 constructed a 20,000-mile fiber-optic network designed to fully leverage Internet technology; today, the network serves as one of the largest Internet backbones in the world. Prior to founding Level 3, Mr. Crowe was chief executive officer of MFS Communications, which he built into the largest competitive local exchange carrier operating in the United States and Europe. In 1996, MFS was acquired by WorldCom for $14.3 billion. Crowe shared his thoughts on the significance of IP communications. �Simply put, IP-based technology is where the communications industry is heading. Level 3 has long believed that most forms of communications will migrate to IP-based technologies, and that belief is coming to fruition. �IP is a superior technology and offers better features and economics than traditional telephone systems. IP is the underlying technology of the Internet and nearly every company is on a migration path to IP technology,� he says.

Patricia F. Russo, Lucent Technologies (News - Alert)
Patricia F. Russo is chairman and chief executive officer of Lucent Technologies. As one of the founding executives of the company, she helped launch Lucent in 1996 and has spent more than 20 years of her career managing some of Lucent�s and AT&T�s largest divisions and most critical corporate functions. As Lucent�s CEO since January 2002, she has led the company through one of the most challenging periods in the telecom industry�s history and helped return the company to sustained profitability. Respected as a thought leader in the industry, Ms. Russo was appointed by President George W. Bush as vice chair of the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, a position she held from April 2003 until May 2006. She currently is a member of the Network Reliability Interoperability Council. Russo believes in the personal nature of IP Communications. �Sure, IP has made communications faster and more reliable, which has led to new opportunities for service providers and content providers alike. However, its true significance is far more compelling � and personal. It�s about letting end users define what they want their communications experience to be. IP is about delivering a rich, customized user experience, wherever the user may be.�

Stef H. van Aarle, Lucent Technologies
Stef van Aarle wears two hats for Lucent Technologies. He was recently appointed to concurrently serve as Chief Operating Officer (COO) Europe of Lucent Technologies Global Sales and Services Organization (GSSO) and continues as Vice President of Services Marketing and Strategy for Lucent. Stef has been instrumental in building Lucent�s multibillion-dollar Services business and in helping to transform Lucent Technologies into a solutions-led company. In his role as the Vice President of Services Marketing and Strategy, van Aarle oversees the marketing strategy, including all outbound and inbound marketing functions used to develop and promote services solutions around the world Stef believes we are at the earliest stages of the transition to IP Communications. �We haven�t scratched the surface on the significance of IP Communication,� he says. �Companies today focus on IP�s ability to reduce costs and increase productivity. These are key factors driving enterprises to embrace all-IP networks, but they also miss part of the broader picture. The ultimate promise of IP is a much more personal one... we expect access to our networks, our applications, our content in a way that follows us easily and flexibly. With IP we have a chance to reach that simplistic goal � a personalized world that makes our complex lives easier.�

Anoop Gupta, Microsoft
As corporate vice president of the Unified Communications Group (UCG), Anoop Gupta leads Microsoft�s client-server-service efforts to provide business communications solutions (e-mail, IM, VoIP, unified messaging, audio/video/ Web conferencing) and platform components. His team is responsible for Microsoft Exchange Server, Speech Server, Office Communications Server, Office Communicator products, Live Meeting and Exchange Hosted Services businesses. Before leading the Unified Communications Group, Gupta was technology assistant to Bill Gates (News - Alert), Microsoft�s chairman. In that role, Gupta helped define the company�s strategy for real-time collaboration. Gupta shared his vision for IP Communications and the role it can play in keeping people connected. �In today�s global, 24x7, always-connected, often mobile work environment, people struggle to manage different types of communication, each with a different address and different messaging system,� he explained. �These silos of communication make it difficult for workers, teams and organizations to communicate and collaborate effectively. We believe very strongly that we�re at a pivotal point in the area of business communications and there are significant opportunities ahead in the area of unified communications where all modes of communications, including voice, are coming together.�

Michel Nadeau, Minacom (News - Alert)
Michel Nadeau founded Minacom in 1996 after a fast growing engineering management carreer at Teleglobe and two years of consulting as a telecom expert in network testing and management. A member of the CTO, ITU, SCTE, and OIQ, Michel holds a degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics & Telecom from �cole Polytechnique de Montr�al. He was recognized by Commerce magazine as part of the Top 40 under 40 list and was given the Young Engineer Achievement Award from the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers in 2000. Nadeau has a truly global take on how IP Communications will serve humanity. �Communication is one of the most deep inner needs of mankind,� he says, �in both fast growing and developing economies. As the phone and the Internet brought us closer, VoIP is blending both together into our everyday lives, fostering a powerful revolution in new services we will quickly take for granted. These services will be media rich, immediate, available and interactive. Today�s �mouse/keyboard-centric� Web software will evolve into a wide range of voice-enabled, communication-based applications � adding the power of human natural interaction to all levels of business, community and leisure activities. �IP communications enables true global communication as a cost-effective alternative to telephone monopolies, diminishing the impact of the digital-divide, and making phone service accessible worldwide to people starving to communicate.�

Terry Matthews, Mitel (News - Alert)
Terry Matthews is Chairman of Mitel, a provider of next generation IP communications solutions and a market leader for voice, video, and data convergence. Prior to launching Mitel, Terry served as CEO and Chairman of Newbridge Networks Corporation, a company he founded in 1986. He was instrumental in maintaining the dynamism and vision of Newbridge from its formation and built the company into a leader in the worldwide data networking industry. When France-based Alcatel (News - Alert) acquired Newbridge in May 2000, the company employed more than 6,500 people worldwide and recorded FY 1999 revenue of $1.8 billion. Before the creation of Newbridge, Terry co-founded Mitel Corporation in 1972. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by several universities, including the University of Wales, Glamorgan and Swansea, and Carleton University in Ottawa. In 1994, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. In the 2001 Queen�s Birthday Honours, he was awarded a knighthood.

Don Smith, Mitel
Don Smith brings more than 30 years of international business experience in identifying new technology markets and coupling vision with execution to his position as Chief Executive Officer of Mitel. Since assuming this role in 2001, Don has led Mitel�s highly successful venture of bringing next-generation IP Communications solutions to the global marketplace. According to Smith, �It is not often that a real opportunity comes along for dramatically transforming the way you do business � making it more cohesive, more effective, more productive and more profitable. But such an opportunity is now within reach, and it�s really just a matter of picking up your phone. �It could be argued that IP telecommunications is transforming organizations in much the same way that the advent of the world wide web and the development of wireless communications dramatically change the way people do business. Organizations and end-users are empowered. They suddenly have more control over their telecommunications. The technology invites them to devise their own solutions and integrate them into existing processes to improve the efficiency of their business.�

Edward J. Zander, Motorola
Edward J. Zander is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Motorola, Inc. Since beginning at Motorola in January 2004, he has brought Motorola not only a wealth of experience, but a keen understanding of the emerging challenges and opportunities in the communications space. He has successfully reorganized the company, overseen the introduction of several exciting new products and sharpened Motorola�s focus on innovation and operational efficiency. Zander entered his position with over 25 years of experience in the technology industry. Prior to joining Motorola, Zander was a managing director of Silver Lake Partners; he served as president and chief operating officer of Sun Microsystems (News - Alert) until June 2002; before joining Sun in 1987, he held senior management positions at Apollo Computer and Data General. An active member of the civic and business communities, Zander serves on the board of directors of several professional, educational and non-profit organizations. Local business organizations include The Economics Club of Chicago, The Executive Club of Chicago and the Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago.

Jay Krauser, NEC (News - Alert) Unified Solutions, Inc.
Jay Krauser is General Manager, Product Management Division of NEC Unified Solutions, Inc. In this role, Jay works with other NEC divisions and subsidiaries on the development of next-generation enterprise communications solutions, including NEC�s PBX (News - Alert), Key Telephone and IP Telephony platforms. Jay has held various engineering and product management positions within NEC, most recently as Assistant General Manager of Product Management and Product Marketing for the Marketing and Sales Support Division of NEC America�s Corporate Networks Group. During his 18 years of industry experience, Mr. Krauser has held various telecommunications management positions as an end-user with large NEC call centers and has worked within large interconnect companies. According to Krauser, �We�re at an important inflection point where enterprises can capitalize on IP Communications to leverage the dynamic advancements in hardware, software and applications. Offering unparalleled flexibility and portability, IP acts as a conduit to increase productivity through real-time collaboration tools, on-demand conferencing and true presence management.�

David Michaud, Netcentrex (News - Alert) Americas
As Chief Executive Officer of Netcentrex Americas, Michaud leads the overall market strategy and operations for the Americas. Recently he led sales and marketing initiatives for startups in the IP networking business, including Carrius and NexTone Communications. In 1997 he founded and became Chairman and CEO of Taqua Systems, a telecommunications switch developer sold to Tekelec (News - Alert) for $85 million in March 2004. From 1992 to 1995 Mr. Michaud served as head of sales and marketing at Excel Communications where the company grew six-fold in three years, becoming the leader in the programmable switch market and providing a foundation for the eventual $1.7 billion acquisition by Lucent Technologies. Michaud is bullish on mobility. �IP has revolutionized wireline communications and I believe that IP will also reshape the wireless market,� he says. �VoIP has become a carrier-class technology, as shown by leading operators Verizon (News - Alert) in the U.S. and France Telecom (News - Alert) in Europe, who have each deployed more than 1.5 million VoIP subscribers. �Service providers who can take advantage of the combination of IP with mobility will be the winners in terms of customer loyalty and new revenue from personalized services.�

Mark D. Foster, Neustar
Mark Foster sees the industry as having just left the starting blocks. �As explosive as the growth of IP has been in the past +10 years, after the next 10, we�ll look back and realize we only got started. E-mail and Web have since become essential services, however, we�re only now seeing the next wave emerge: ubiquitous real-time communications, such as VoIP, multimedia messaging, presence and location-enabled services, rich media (IPTV (News - Alert)), massive online gaming, and collaboration. All delivered with strong end-to-end quality, security, policy, identity management, privacy, and business model agility across heterogeneous networks. Open standards (SIP, ENUM, identity management) and neutral interworking services amongst networks will unlock this value.� Foster has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Neustar since November 1999. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Foster was an independent consultant working full-time in a similar capacity from 1996 until November 1999 for CIS. From 1994 through 1995, as an independent consultant to a group of communications industry companies, Mr. Foster was the lead inventor of local number portability, conducted the first industry field trial of local number portability in the Seattle area, and was heavily involved in the industry technical, policy and regulatory discussions leading to the adoption of local number portability.

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