VoIP, Video and Collaboration - Andy Abramson's Take

Andy Abramson's VoIP Watch blog has long been one of the best out there, and we've been helping each other as long as I've been an analyst. He's got both wide and deep perspectives, and is as well connected as anyone I know in this space. You can - and should - also follow Andy on Twitter: @andyabramson.

The other day he pinged me about a news roundup post of his from the weekend which focuses on current VoIP, video and collaboration items worth following. It's a great recap, along with Andy's personal views on where things are going - and more often than not, he's right. The post may be a couple of days old, but it's still  very timely, and you really should give it a read. 

He's considering doing this on a more regular basis, and I think that's a great idea. After you read this, I'm sure you'll agree, and by all means, let him know - he'd love to hear from you. There's a lot going on in these rapidly converging spaces, and Andy has it covered pretty well.  If there's anything else you'd like to see covered this way, let both of us know, and maybe we can take this to another level.

Innovating with UC - Outcomes, Processes and Subscribers

I don't blog about everything I write, and my column on ADTRAN's UC blog is one example of that. I've been writing a regular series of posts there for some time, and I use it as a forum to explore various facets of UC from the IT perspective. I don't focus on the technical aspects, but there is no shortage of other factors that drive success deploying UC across an organization.

Most recently I've been writing about the role of innovation, and how IT can think differently about the needs of end users to encourage and accelerate adoption. End users don't think about UC as a solution, but they do use the applications on a daily basis. My view is that there are several ways take an innovative approach and get them thinking differently, not just about the value of UC, but also about how IT can be their best friend in helping them derive that value.

So, for a change, I'm doing a shout-out here to let you know I've been on this tangent for a while. My latest post is running now on their site, and it's about why outcomes are more important than processes for UC to have value. As a teaser, there's a nod there to Apple and a throwback reference to the early days of the PC. If you like my thinking, I hope you mine my older posts, leave a comment, and track what's coming next.

Quiet, but busy

I wish I could say blogging has been light because I'm on the beach, reading novels and getting back to playing piano, but it's not the case. Dang.

Just been busy, plain and simple. Quite consumed with one large project that will keep me going through early Fall, and finishing up a couple of white papers this week. Of course, this is the slow season for conferences, so travel has been light, but that will change soon enough. I've got several conferences in my calendar for the Fall, and am sure others will add to that after Labor Day.

I probably won't be blogging much for another week or so, and just wanted to pop my head up let readers know what's keeping me busy. Until then, I hope you're following my posts on the Adtran UC blog, my regular contributions on UCStrategies, my monthly column in IP Telephony magazine, and my occasional tweets. Back to work!

Vertical Communications - East Coast Analyst Day Recap, and a New Market Opp

Don't get too many trips where I fly to the U.S. for half a day, but that's what I did on Tuesday. In theory, it's very efficient - leave early, do your business and be home the same night. Sure makes for light packing, but just like when packets get dropped with VoIP, things happen - more on that later...

I'm seeing a common theme these days among second tier or lower vendors in this space, and what I heard at Vertical's event was no different. Analysts, of course, are in a different boat than customers or channels - we're influencers, not buyers. The Vertical team gave us a pretty good overview of their portfolio, which has 3 core offerings - Wave IP, MBX IP and SBX IP. In short, Wave is their future-forward UC offering, while MBX and SBX are hybrid key systems to get laggards started on the path to VoIP.

Vertical is a classic SMB play - their sweet spot is multi-site businesses, and the more the better. Their product line certainly covers the core needs of this market - it's very telecom-centric, with some collaboration capability. We didn't hear about video or social media, but they address needs that provide plenty of value for SMBs - IM, presence, mobility, soft phone, voice mail, conferencing, call recording and even some core contact center features. It really is an all-in-one solution, and on that basis, I can see the appeal for sure.

There's a  lot of legacy in their DNA - mainly from Comdial and Vodavi - so they have a solid solution to get businesses on the path to VoIP and UC. The messages here are different than what you hear from the Tier 1s when they talk about the enterprise market. I found it a clear reminder that a lot of the business world is still very much entrenched in legacy, so you have to dial things down to a level they can relate to. That's why I don't think it matters much that Vertical isn't talking about video or business process improvement - these aren't value drivers yet for SMBs. Actually, what SMBs really value is good value and simplicity, and that's what Vertical seems to be doing well. They talked a lot about their singular licensing model being a differentiator, and I can see that having appeal for SMBs when considering how to make all these applications work together.

As you know, I'm not a technical analyst, but based on the presentations and demos, it's fair to say that their technology does the job well enough. Actually, probably better than others, especially if you consider their large customer base, growth track record and portfolio of over 200 patents. Also, as their name implies, they  have a strong focus on vertical markets - especially retail, but others, such as education, medical, financial and government.

This takes me to the common theme mentioned earlier. I have no reason to doubt that Vertical's technology works fine and that they really understand how to help SMBs move along the TDM-IP migration path. The real challenge that all vendors serving SMBs face is marketing and sales. This is what really creates separation. Vertical understands the needs of SMBs perfectly well, but the big job is getting the market to see that. We heard plenty from COO Rick Dell about how hard they're working to build up the channels and to educate them on Vertical's value proposition. It's an endless job, of course, but it's the lifeblood of their business.

The SMB market is huge, and it sounds like Vertical has a good game plan here. My post here is one example of how engaging with the analyst community is part of that plan, so I'd say that's working pretty well. For me, the bottom line is that you have to bring the technology to the market - for most SMBs, their phones work just fine, but there's not a huge impetus to change. The market needs to be educated first, and you need to show them what's possible with VoIP and UC.  Based on Tuesday's event, Vertical knows how to do that, and if they stick to plan, they should continue to do well.

Oh - one more thing you should know that could bode well for them down the road. Vertical is privately-held, and Korea's LG is a major shareholder, as well as a development and distribution partner. I found that pretty interesting, and can't think of any parallels among Vertical's competitors. Clearly, this could open some avenues for global growth, and possible tie-ins for mobility offerings. Most of the aforementioned patents are Vertical's, but you can't rule out leveraging LG's R&D at some point, or even access to capital for expansion or acquisitions. Consolidation at this end of the vendor pool will no doubt happen at some point, and I'm sure that must be in Vertical's thinking.

As a quick coda, I mentioned this was supposed to be a tidy, one-day trip. Well, best intentions aside, the weather didn't cooperate, and I spent a lovely evening trying to sleep on the floor at the airport. My 6am flight the next day went off without a hitch, but Tuesday night was pretty chaotic. All I'll say is that there were many missed opportunities where the airline could have made this mess totally manageable with some simple communication. This isn't rocket science, but as a parting message to my hosts, the airline sector sure looks like a ripe vertical for the taking.

Next stop, Elizabeth, NJ - Vertical Communications

Been heads down working this week on projects, so not much time for blogging. Not traveling much lately, but I do have a short one early next week. Am not here on Monday, and Tuesday, I'll be attending the East Coast analyst event for Vertical Communications. They're doing some good things with hosted UC, and am looking forward to hearing more, especially their routes to market. Never been to Elizabeth, NJ, so my circle of travel will soon expand by a degree or two - whoo hoo!

New UC Report - Slacks, Jackets and Suits - Q&A with Blair Pleasant

Things have been busy in the UCStrategies camp, with the latest buzz being the release of a report produced by Blair Pleasant of COMMfusion, titled Unified Communications & Collaboration Market, 2011-2106.

I'm not alone in wanting to see some solid research quantifying the market opportunity as well as surveying the vast and ever-changing vendor landscape. Blair has done a great job with both, and to further explore what the research can tell us about the state of UC - or as Blair now says, UCC - we just did a lengthy Q&A, which I think you'll find of interest, especially if you want to know what slacks, jackets and suits have to do with UC!

The interview is running now on the UCStrategies site, and by means, please follow up with Blair with any questions of your own.

When Microsoft starts losing money... UCStrategies podcast

Sometimes the stars line up nicely, even when not by design, and that's certainly what happened this week with Microsoft and UCStrategies. This week's podcast topic was a review of how recent announcements and moves at MSFT following last week's WW Partner Conference here in Toronto would impact the UC space. There's lots to consider here, especially around Lync, Office 365, Surface and Skype implications. 


As usual, the podcast has a wide range of views, and while I didn't have any comments to add, I still want to socialize this here. We did this on Tuesday, which was 2 days ahead of Microsoft's quarterly results, and by now you would know this was their first money-losing quarter ever. EVER. I don't think any tech company has had a run like theirs, so this is a big deal, at least to me. With Google and Apple doing so well these days, MSFT can't afford any wrong moves, and they've had a few of those. Despite their dominance and resources, they're still on the outside looking in with mobility, and if they can't catch that wave, these other players will have little to fear as this trend continues.


I wrote earlier this week about RIM's challenges, and as big as they are here in Canada, they're pretty minor compared to what happens if Microsoft hits a wall and keeps losing money. Definitely a trend to follow closely, and to better understand what UC has to do with their fortunes, you really should check out our podcast, which was hosted by Jim Burton. It's running on the portal now, along with a transcript - and once you're done, poke around - there's lots more great content there.