MetaSwitch Customer Forum - Day 1

Am in Orlando this week at MetaSwitch's Customer Forum. Today's focus was a mix of hands-on sessions and market-focused panels. Everything I've seen so far has been very well done, and they've certainly attracted a strong turnout. The session I moderated on enhanced services was packed, so there's definitely interest in these topics.

Most of the attendees are customers - typically Tier 2/3 CLECs. They all have similar challenges, and it's a great way to build community. There's also a small exhibitor showcase, but that's not until tomorrow.

Most interesting thing so far was the lunchtime keynote by Bill Blessing of Embarq. It's always tough to get people's attention during lunch, but on top of that, lunch was outside, and Bill only spoke - no slides. It actually came off very well, and he covered a lot of ground related to the realities carriers face transitioning to IP. Some of his messaging wasn't exactly pro-VoIP, so I came away with mixed feelings, but after all, big carriers are in a different boat, so they have needs too.

I'll leave it at that for now, and will pass on a few photos taken with my Nokia N93.

Morning sessions on Unified Messaging and hosted PBX




Bill Blessing speaking at lunch. No, we're not deep in bayou country, but it sure looks that way. DisneyWorld is around the corner, after all, so settings like this aren't so hard to believe around here.




Hotel views - looking out from my balcony, and the atrium inside














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