BroadSoft Connections - Redefining Business Communications

The schedule didn't work for me to attend this year's BroadSoft Connections, but I was able to follow parts of the conference via streaming video. What I managed to see was very good, and this is one company that doesn't stand still. Of course, now that they're public, they definitely can't do that - way too many people are watching!

Anyhow, the innovation keeps coming, and with the launch of BroadCloud, they're keeping pace with this next evolution in communications - the shift to the cloud and hosted "infrastructure". They've come a long way from being an app server vendor, and made a great choice in having Toronto-based Don Tapscott do a keynote about the value of collaboration and how digital technologies are transforming virtually every type of industry and institution. He was his usual thought-provoking self, and gave the audience a lot to think about - and by association, how BroadSoft can help them stay on the right side of the innovation and value-creation curve.

I've distilled my thoughts into my latest Focus Brief, and it's running now on Focus.com. SMBs in particular can do well by BroadSoft, and your comments on the same are welcome - I'd especially like to hear from anyone attending Connections in person!

What Service Providers can learn from Newspapers, Part 2

Following up on last week's Service Provider Views column on TMCnet, this is Part 2 of my take on what service providers can learn from newspapers.

I find the parallels between these businesses really interesting, and given what Toronto's Globe & Mail has done with its latest re-design, I just wonder what's taking telcos so long to reinvent themselves. You can read Part 2 here, and as always, I'd love to hear your< thoughts.

Focus.com Webinar - When it's Time for IP Telephony

I'm presenting on another Focus.com webinar on November 3. This one is sponsored by Panasonic, and is titled "Top 5 Signs an SMB is Ready for an IP Phone System".

That's pretty self-explanatory, and I'm looking forward to sharing my perspectives on this webinar. I'm just doing a shout-out now for the webinar, and I hope you can join us. You can get all the details here, including how to register.

Interactive Intelligence - Making the Cloud Work

Followers of my blog will know that I was at the Partner Conference for Interactive Intelligence last week. I've already shared some thoughts about it there, as well as on the UCStrategies portal.

I have two updates for you - one about the IP comms market, and one for fun. On the market side, I've just published an analysis of Interactive Intelligence, with a focus on CaaS - their cloud-based offering - and why this puts them ahead of the curve. The writeup takes the form of a Focus Brief, which is my monthly research contribution as an Adviser with Focus.com. You can read it here, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

On the fun side, you may know that our ad hoc group - Dead Circuits Revival - didn't win the Battle of the Bands last week. All things considered, though, I think we came off pretty well, and we've got a plan for how to win this thing next year. I just got some photos from our performance, and the video will be coming soon. Once I have that, I'll post these items for the record, and maybe you can judge for yourself!

GridWeek - Day 2 Photos

It's been a pretty full day here at GridWeek, starting with a 7am breakfast with SmartSynch and the top wireless operators in the market. The rest of the day featured sessions focused on the consumer, along with a number of meetings and briefings. I've summarized my thoughts about the first two days - and that will run tomorrow on our smart grid portal. I've also been tweeting as time allows, and hopefully you've been picking some of those up. I know a lot of people have done that, as I have a whole bunch of new people following my tweets now.

SmartSynch's Campbell McCool hosting the breakfast


Group shot of all the wireless players with SmartSynch. More detail about this on my recap artcle. Photo courtesy of Edelman's Joey Marquart (can you tell who has a better camera?).


Morning roundtable - Consumer Engagement


Afternoon consumer panel: Recipe for Success


Afternoon media roundtable - public vs. private networks - very lively discussion!

GridWeek - Day 1 Photos

Day 1 of GridWeek is wrapping up shortly, and before the reception, this is a good time to post some photos. I'll be writing up my thoughts in another post, but just wanted to say that the turnout here is strong, and the caliber of both speakers and attendees is very high. This is definitely an A-list crowd, with a very international scope, which is no surprise being located in Washington D.C.

I've attended about half the sessions, and spent most of my other time meeting various smart grid companies. There's been a pretty active Twitter board here, and they're posting that in real time everywhere here. If you want to follow this thread, the hashtag is #gridweek - what else could it be, really?

For now, I'll leave you with some photos, and I should have some more tomorrow.


GridWeek organizer Anto Budiardjo


Opening keynote from Hon. Gary Locke, U.S. Dept. of Commerce


Collaboration roundtable, moderated by Anto


Renewable energy grid integration panel


Got here early afternoon yesterday, and with the weather so perfect, I just had to do a walkabout. Turns out the Department of Energy is literally right around the corner from my hotel. Small world.


It didn't take long to come across this contrast that reminds you about the gap between the haves and have-nots in America. I couldn't resist the lure of the Washington Monument, and found myself simply walking towards it once it came into view. Well, lying in front of me was this homeless man sleeping on the grass, and it has to be worrisome to anyone seeing this steps away from the most powerful icons of what we all believe in as Americans. Ugh. Whatever you have folks, be thankful!

What Service Providers can Learn From Newspapers

I recently posted about the redesign of the Globe and Mail, and how it's a great example of a newspaper trying to reinvent itself in the Internet generation. Lots of parallels popped up for me with telcos, and it's the subject of my latest Service Provider Views column on TMCnet. It's running now, and I'll have a Part 2 follow up coming next week. Enjoy.