Earlier this week, I posted about my new White Paper about what to look for when buying IP/SIP phones for your business. The post also explained the back story for the research, which was sponsored by VTech.
The White Paper is getting a lot of attention, which is good for me, and hopefully good for VTech. As explained earlier, I also wrote two articles complementing the paper, and one of them has recently been published. Titled "Five Considerations for Buying SIP Phones", the article is running now in CIO Review, and explores key buying factors that were touched on in the paper. Here's the link to the article, and if you like it, I hope you share it on social meda. That won't just make me happy, but VTech and the publisher too!
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Key Considerations for Choosing SIP Phones - my new White Paper
I've been on a steady run of projects, and the past while, one has been with VTech. You may know them as a leading brand for cordless phones in the consumer space, but they also have a full product line for businesses. They're not as well known as the more established vendors, but feel they have some differentiators to change that. To that end, they engaged me for some thought leadership deliverables.
The main piece is a white paper, and that's what I'm blogging about here. I also produced articles for two different publications; one I'll be blogging about shortly and the other one will run next month. After conducting my research, it was clear to me that VTech has a good story, but more importantly, that businesses are not well informed when it comes to making buying decisions around IP or SIP-based phones.
My deliverables have focused mainly on the latter, and the white paper can be downloaded here from VTech's Business Phones website. The paper has been written primarily for SMBs, and my intention is to provide a foundation for understanding how best to derive value from IP phones, especially when adopting a hosted VoIP service. I hope you find it helpful, and welcome your feedback or comments.
The main piece is a white paper, and that's what I'm blogging about here. I also produced articles for two different publications; one I'll be blogging about shortly and the other one will run next month. After conducting my research, it was clear to me that VTech has a good story, but more importantly, that businesses are not well informed when it comes to making buying decisions around IP or SIP-based phones.
My deliverables have focused mainly on the latter, and the white paper can be downloaded here from VTech's Business Phones website. The paper has been written primarily for SMBs, and my intention is to provide a foundation for understanding how best to derive value from IP phones, especially when adopting a hosted VoIP service. I hope you find it helpful, and welcome your feedback or comments.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Why BYOD Matters and Success Strategies for UC - my next Webinar
Just doing another posting for my upcoming Ziff Davis B2B webinar on BYOD and UC. It's next Tuesday at 2pm ET, and it's been getting really strong response so far. There is no easy answer for BYOD, and it's not easy to avoid the challenges that come when employees bring their smart devices to work and expect to use them like any other endpoint.
As far as I know, there isn't a cap on registration, so it shouldn't be a problem to particpate. All the details are here on the landing page, and I hope you can join us on the 24th.
As far as I know, there isn't a cap on registration, so it shouldn't be a problem to particpate. All the details are here on the landing page, and I hope you can join us on the 24th.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Yorktel case study - the right way to sell video
Video is a great collaboration tool, and I've written about it often. Unlike telephony, it's not a one-size-fits-all application, and there are many natural barriers to adoption. Cost has long been one of them, but that is definitely going away, but the same cannot be said for things like network complexity and vendor interoperability.
In most cases, video is not out-of-the-box, and that's where companies like Yorktel come into play. Don't let the name fool you - they're solely focused on helping businesses deploy video effectively, and they know very well how to address these barriers to adoption. Complexity is to be expected with today's technologies, but in the right hands this shouldn't be a deal-breaker, and that's good news for SMBs, who typically have limited IT capabilities.
I've been briefing with Yorktel on a regular basis, most recently at the ITExpo event, and it was great to hear about their continued success. While I'm not doing this toot their horn, I'd like to share a case study they recently produced for their website. The focus is on a healthcare client, and it does a great job laying out the full process, starting with the discovery phase to identify the problems. From there, a solution is developed based on a comprehensive review of needs and objectives. This is key, and the case study shows how this process truly adds value.
At the end of the day, we're really talking about solutions selling rather providing a collection of point products to address specific technology problems. This approach is very much in line with what I often write about in terms of focusing on the business needs instead of what IT wants - or thinks they want.
Clearly, one-size-fits-all doesn't work for video, and when you look at the details of what they came up with for this particular vertical market - healthcare - it's not hard to see why the customer went with Yorktel. If everyone sold video this way, it would be far more pervasive, so if you're struggling to get your customers down this path, I think you'll enjoy their case study.
In most cases, video is not out-of-the-box, and that's where companies like Yorktel come into play. Don't let the name fool you - they're solely focused on helping businesses deploy video effectively, and they know very well how to address these barriers to adoption. Complexity is to be expected with today's technologies, but in the right hands this shouldn't be a deal-breaker, and that's good news for SMBs, who typically have limited IT capabilities.
I've been briefing with Yorktel on a regular basis, most recently at the ITExpo event, and it was great to hear about their continued success. While I'm not doing this toot their horn, I'd like to share a case study they recently produced for their website. The focus is on a healthcare client, and it does a great job laying out the full process, starting with the discovery phase to identify the problems. From there, a solution is developed based on a comprehensive review of needs and objectives. This is key, and the case study shows how this process truly adds value.
At the end of the day, we're really talking about solutions selling rather providing a collection of point products to address specific technology problems. This approach is very much in line with what I often write about in terms of focusing on the business needs instead of what IT wants - or thinks they want.
Clearly, one-size-fits-all doesn't work for video, and when you look at the details of what they came up with for this particular vertical market - healthcare - it's not hard to see why the customer went with Yorktel. If everyone sold video this way, it would be far more pervasive, so if you're struggling to get your customers down this path, I think you'll enjoy their case study.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Cisco Canada's New HQ - Hard Hat Tour
Last Friday, I was part of group of analysts/media invited for a hard hat tour of Cisco Canada's new HQ here in Toronto. Their current offices don't lack for anything - and have a great view - but this isn't about moving into a new space. This is about the future of work and what it takes to create the right environment to support it.
Cisco doesn't do things in half measures, and when it comes to building a foundation for the future, they're doing this figuratively and literally. Some businesses move to save money or to find a more suitable space or a better location. These are all good reasons, but pretty superficial when it comes to the big picture. Cisco isn't interested in just moving to a better space - they're interesting in creating a better space - one that suits their vision of how the workplace is evolving.
Of course, this is about showcasing Cisco's technology, and if you buy into this vision, you'll have a very cool workspace. Technology can sure do wonderful things, but to get those results, it needs to be properly supported. To that end, the hard hat tour was to show us what goes into a smart building, and what can happen when factoring the end result into the construction plans.
We got a taste of that by hearing not just from Cisco, but from the property managers and construction teams. This really is a special type of partnership, and it's a rare opportunity for a tenant to have this much input in the design and construction process. I found this really fascinating, especially since I straddle both worlds of coumunications technology and smart grid/energy. There's a lot to take away from getting this sneak preview of the finished product, and I'll explore that in future posts.
Needless to say, you might wonder if the investment in this design/build plan - along with all the technology to make an office function - will become the driving force for businesses and making employees more dispensible in terms of fitting into this new model of working. This is a pretty expensive roadmap, and I hope that doesn't translate in lower pay for employees who are increasingly contract-based. That's a gloomy topic for another day, and for now I'll stick to the story.
On that upbeat note, I want to you keep my photos in mind, as this shows you what these spaces look like today. Cisco is scheduled to move in this May, and I'm looking forward to updating what the finished product looks like.
If you follow my work, you'll know this is very much an Internet of Things story, and Cisco is at the forefront of showing how this will transform everything we do. In this case, they're showing us how IoT/IoE will transform the workplace, and we heard a lot about how Cisco's employees will be working this spring. In short, there are no offices - just open spaces to foster all forms of collaboration and social interaction. It's all about video, mobility and persistent engagement, and I have no doubt this is the shape of things to come.
I should also note that there are actually two Cisco intiatives happening here. One is the office move, but that's actually the side story. The main event is their "IoE Innovation Hub", which is elsewhere in the building. This was announced a few months back, and is just one of four Cisco will have world-wide, and the only one in North America. Lucky us!
Much like the Tesla stores or Apple stores you see in malls, this space will be used to demonstrate what's possible with today's technology to transform work. I'm sure it will help sell a lot of Cisco technology, but the bigger payoff will be making all this high-end technology real for everyone to see and touch - not just businesses, but their employees, designers, developers, construction companies, urban planners, energy providers, etc.
Cisco doesn't do things in half measures, and when it comes to building a foundation for the future, they're doing this figuratively and literally. Some businesses move to save money or to find a more suitable space or a better location. These are all good reasons, but pretty superficial when it comes to the big picture. Cisco isn't interested in just moving to a better space - they're interesting in creating a better space - one that suits their vision of how the workplace is evolving.
Of course, this is about showcasing Cisco's technology, and if you buy into this vision, you'll have a very cool workspace. Technology can sure do wonderful things, but to get those results, it needs to be properly supported. To that end, the hard hat tour was to show us what goes into a smart building, and what can happen when factoring the end result into the construction plans.
We got a taste of that by hearing not just from Cisco, but from the property managers and construction teams. This really is a special type of partnership, and it's a rare opportunity for a tenant to have this much input in the design and construction process. I found this really fascinating, especially since I straddle both worlds of coumunications technology and smart grid/energy. There's a lot to take away from getting this sneak preview of the finished product, and I'll explore that in future posts.
Needless to say, you might wonder if the investment in this design/build plan - along with all the technology to make an office function - will become the driving force for businesses and making employees more dispensible in terms of fitting into this new model of working. This is a pretty expensive roadmap, and I hope that doesn't translate in lower pay for employees who are increasingly contract-based. That's a gloomy topic for another day, and for now I'll stick to the story.
On that upbeat note, I want to you keep my photos in mind, as this shows you what these spaces look like today. Cisco is scheduled to move in this May, and I'm looking forward to updating what the finished product looks like.
If you follow my work, you'll know this is very much an Internet of Things story, and Cisco is at the forefront of showing how this will transform everything we do. In this case, they're showing us how IoT/IoE will transform the workplace, and we heard a lot about how Cisco's employees will be working this spring. In short, there are no offices - just open spaces to foster all forms of collaboration and social interaction. It's all about video, mobility and persistent engagement, and I have no doubt this is the shape of things to come.
I should also note that there are actually two Cisco intiatives happening here. One is the office move, but that's actually the side story. The main event is their "IoE Innovation Hub", which is elsewhere in the building. This was announced a few months back, and is just one of four Cisco will have world-wide, and the only one in North America. Lucky us!
Much like the Tesla stores or Apple stores you see in malls, this space will be used to demonstrate what's possible with today's technology to transform work. I'm sure it will help sell a lot of Cisco technology, but the bigger payoff will be making all this high-end technology real for everyone to see and touch - not just businesses, but their employees, designers, developers, construction companies, urban planners, energy providers, etc.
Cisco Canada president, Bernadette Wightman
I kinda like this raw, industrial look - maybe just for five minutes, then it feels cold and drafty!
PoE LED lighting - doesn't give off heat, and centrally managed from the network
Don't be fooled - this isn't your new office. It's really just a quiet space where anyone can work. Leave your baby and pet pictures at home - all you need is a smart device and you are where you work. We're not all wired this way - at least yet - but I'm sure there's app coming to retrain us for IoE.
Cut-outs between the floors to bring in more light and make the environment more open and social
Thursday, February 12, 2015
VoIP and Voice Quality - UCStrategies Podcast
It's easy to trash-talk VoIP, especially when it comes to voice quality, but if this was the absolute truth, VoIP would have died out a long time ago. We at UCStrategies know better, and I was glad to see this proposed as a podcast topic.
Kudos to UC Expert Phil Edholm for leading the discussion, and we had a lively debate earlier this week during our podcast recording. I have long contended that the underlying technology is perfectly fine - the real problems come from not properly supporting VoIP in the network, as well as a basic lack of understanding about how VoIP behaves in a data network. Throwing more bandwidth at VoIP isn't the answer, and my views were echoed by the group, so it's not just me waving the flag.
Everyone struggles with this issue, and I hope you check out our podcast. It's running now on our portal, and my comments come at the 34:16 mark. In addition, I highly recommend you review Phil's No Jitter piece that prefaces the topic. While it's highly theoretical, there's a lot of technical insight about the dynamics between TDM and IP traffic and how this impacts networks.
Kudos to UC Expert Phil Edholm for leading the discussion, and we had a lively debate earlier this week during our podcast recording. I have long contended that the underlying technology is perfectly fine - the real problems come from not properly supporting VoIP in the network, as well as a basic lack of understanding about how VoIP behaves in a data network. Throwing more bandwidth at VoIP isn't the answer, and my views were echoed by the group, so it's not just me waving the flag.
Everyone struggles with this issue, and I hope you check out our podcast. It's running now on our portal, and my comments come at the 34:16 mark. In addition, I highly recommend you review Phil's No Jitter piece that prefaces the topic. While it's highly theoretical, there's a lot of technical insight about the dynamics between TDM and IP traffic and how this impacts networks.
Friday, February 6, 2015
January Writing Roundup
Time flies, and am finally getting a window here to pull together my top posts for January. So, if you want to see what I was writing about last month, here's a digest of posts you may still find of interest.
VoIP at 20 and why the best is yet to come for UC, UCStrategies, January 29
Metaswitch Canada Tech Day Wrap-up, Guest post on the Metaswitch blog, January 28
Three Lessons Learned from Valley Business Solutions, ADTRAN blog, January 28
What to Expect at ETS15, wearing my smart grid hat, Zpryme ETS Insights, January 23
Three Ways the Changing Role of Telephony Impacts Remote Working, Toolbox.com, January 22
ETS15 - More than a Conference, again, wearing my smart grid hat, Zpryme ETS Insights, January 19
How Employees Benefit from Remote Working, Toolbox.com, January 15
How BYOE Drives Value for Unified Communications, new JAA white paper for ShoreTel, January 12
Optimizing Operations - Another Benefit of VoIP with Remote Working, Toolbox.com, January 9
What Omni-Channel Means for your Contact Center, TMC Contact Magazine, January 4
ITExpo Preview - the Road Ahead with J Arnold & Associates, interviewed by TMC for Unified Communications Magazine, December 31
VoIP at 20 and why the best is yet to come for UC, UCStrategies, January 29
Metaswitch Canada Tech Day Wrap-up, Guest post on the Metaswitch blog, January 28
Three Lessons Learned from Valley Business Solutions, ADTRAN blog, January 28
What to Expect at ETS15, wearing my smart grid hat, Zpryme ETS Insights, January 23
Three Ways the Changing Role of Telephony Impacts Remote Working, Toolbox.com, January 22
ETS15 - More than a Conference, again, wearing my smart grid hat, Zpryme ETS Insights, January 19
How Employees Benefit from Remote Working, Toolbox.com, January 15
How BYOE Drives Value for Unified Communications, new JAA white paper for ShoreTel, January 12
Optimizing Operations - Another Benefit of VoIP with Remote Working, Toolbox.com, January 9
What Omni-Channel Means for your Contact Center, TMC Contact Magazine, January 4
ITExpo Preview - the Road Ahead with J Arnold & Associates, interviewed by TMC for Unified Communications Magazine, December 31
Thursday, February 5, 2015
My Next Webinar - Why BYOD Matters with UC
New month, new webinar!
Just a heads-up that my next Ziff Davis B2B webinar is Tuesday, February 24 at 2pm ET. As per the title of this post, the topic is self-explanatory, and I'll be exploring how BYOD is impacting the value proposition for UC.
Mobility is driving everything these days, and UC is no exception, so if this is on your mind, I hope you'll join me for the webinar. Here's the landing page with details and the registration form.
Just a heads-up that my next Ziff Davis B2B webinar is Tuesday, February 24 at 2pm ET. As per the title of this post, the topic is self-explanatory, and I'll be exploring how BYOD is impacting the value proposition for UC.
Mobility is driving everything these days, and UC is no exception, so if this is on your mind, I hope you'll join me for the webinar. Here's the landing page with details and the registration form.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
RSS Feed
