VoIP News

One place, one complete solution…that’s the future of VoIP.

I do not typically write too much about VoIP Supply (because I am biased), but our recent partnership with Bandwidth.com who will be powering our new voice and data services division has been getting some visibility from some of the thought leaders in the space (Andy, Dameon, among others) so I thought it would be fitting to reassert the point that these gentlemen have made about our recent announcement.

VoIP should be easy.

With our new services division, any customer, whether they are a business, a service provider or reseller can now get both their voice and data services from one place.

Due to our longevity in this space, our scale and our expertise, we are creating a new classification of service provider; one that can deliver every solution you need, regardless of what type of customer you are. Sure it is a daunting task, but we have been building (and continue to do so) towards this for years and over the next six months will be coming out with a number of announcements that will further allow us to deliver, “everything you need for VoIP.” Stay tuned!

I had the privilege of getting a “first look’ at Fonality’s HUD 3 presence based call management soft client today at the trixbox live event in LA. I can’t say much about it right now except for the fact that it is very impressive. The Fonality team, lead by CEO/Product Manager/Janitor Chris Lyman have added some incredibly useful elements to HUD. If you are in the market for a piece of software to help your call center or for that matter your company, I suggest you wait a few weeks until it is formerly released. I guarantee you it is worth the wait.

If you didn’t, I’m sorry, because this is shaping up to be one heck of an event (hopefully you are one of the three hundred or so folks who will be there).

I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with the trixbox team as the put the final touches on their first ever live meet-up of trixbox community members. This isn’t just a networking event or an educational seminar; trixbox live is about making money.

Designed from the ground up to show the community how to sell trixbox, trixbox live features presentations from Kerry Garrison, Andrew Gillis, Chris Sherwood, Larry Augustin, Brad Pitt and Fonality CEO Chris Lyman. This jammed packed seven hour event put the focus solely on the biggest pain point for most value added resellers - how to sell and support the solutions they are offering their customers. This is something that very few vendors do in the open source telephony space, yet it is one of those “sure things” that almost guarantee success. After all, nothing happens until something gets sold.

Look for more on this tomorrow as I get a few blog posts up in between meetings, in hopes of giving you a flavor for the event.

For most, PSTN connectivity hardware is a yawn.

That’s why the recent acquisition of Paraxip, a company that focuses on IP telephony connectivity cards in the Windows space, has not gotten as much press as us hardware folks might have imagined. You see, Paraxip has developed proprietary, patent-pending software technology to solve complex enterprise network interconnection problems. The suite of products from Paraxip departs from its competitors in its use of an all-software approach, as opposed to an appliance model. The solution can thus be integrated and deployed more cost effectively and easily by OEM customers.

This means a hardware company focused on open source telephony, purchased a software company focused on the enterprise and call center  space.

Forget the obvious synergies here. Let’s talk about what this says about the Windows VoIP marketplace and the overall VoIP marketplace. For the last few years, Asterisk and it’s many varieties have dominated the IP telephony scene and companies like Sangoma have prospered because of it (just look at how their stock price has increased). However over the last six months, more and more focus has been placed on Microsoft’s push into VoIP and what that means for the market as a whole.

I know the folks over at Sangoma very well. They are incredibly smart business people and if they are willing to make an investment like this, into a space that while complimentary, is the complete opposite to their current business, then I would say that the dawn of Windows centric VoIP  becoming a major force is very closely upon us. Whether this is a good thing for the industry at large remains to be seen, but to Sangoma, it must be, otherwise they wouldn’t have shelled out 4.8 million.

Score one for the good guys.

Alec Saunders, CEO of iotum and the guy who helped me gain industry wide exposure, will be launching the much anticipated Calliflower conference calling service based on his wildly popular Free Conference Calls Facebook application on Wednesday.

The Calliflower conference call service is slick.

Featuring a well designed web interface that acts as an interactive dashboard that makes organizing and participating in multi-party calls simple and engaging, Calliflower  extends beyond traditional calling by providing unique, comprehensive and easy-to-use tools at no extra cost. Some of these tools include:

• Caller visualization: See names, pictures and caller status in real time as everyone joins, participates and leaves the call. Callers are identified as they join the call, with their names and (if desired) pictures. The status of their lines (mike open, closed, hand raised to ask a question) is also visible to everyone.
• Intuitive conference controls: Participants can access conference controls, the live wall and more from a simple Web interface.
• Interactive chat: Participants can engage in a group chat before, after and during the call to share information without interrupting the flow of conversation. From sharing a link or an image to asking a relevant question, the multiparty IM opens a second channel for participants to have richer and more engaging calls.
• Call archives: Handouts, agendas and links to files can remain accessible to the right people, long after the call is over.
• Invitations and reminders: Receive call invitations and reminders by e-mail or SMS with all the information moderators and participants need.
• Easy calendar integration: Manage call invitations, updates and RSVPs with an attached iCal that integrates with any major calendar solution.
• PINless connectivity: The participating caller’s phone number becomes the personal PIN, which seamlessly connects callers to every call from anywhere.
• MP3 recordings: Moderators can record any call from the Web interface or from the phone. Recordings are available to every participant as MP3 files seconds after the conference is over or the recording is stopped.

I have had the opportunity to use this system, via Facebook numerous times. There is not really anything like it on the market and it was the only Facebook application I proactively used.  As someone who is on conference calls all day long, this is certainly a service that would improve the overall productivity of these calls. The only thing that can make this better would be the ability to private label or co-brand for more extensive corporate use.

So, if you are looking for “conference calls 2.0″, take a look at Calliflower when it launches on Wednesday.

This is good news for the industry. According to Information Week, legislators passed the New and Emerging Technologies 911 Improvement Act (H.R. 3403). The act states that 911 networks operators must give VoIP providers customers access to 911 services.

It is pretty hard to think that the traditional teleco’s were actually blocking access to these networks; ones designed to help those in need of assistance.

The New and Emerging Technologies 911 Improvement Act also has a plan for a national IP-enabled emergency network for citizen-activated emergencies. It is refreshing to the see the ultimate dinosaur, the federal government, getting involved to make sure other dinosaurs don’t go extinct, but evolve with the times.