The Power of Is Unied Communications Converged Solutions Worth the Effort? Dave Casey Peak Up Time
Thomas Beck Teo Technologies
www.insightssuccess.com
Assured Motion for any Vehicle David Bruemmer 5D Robotics
The
Fastest Fastest Growing Growing 10 Unied Unied Communications Communications Solution Solution Provider Provider Companies Companies
June 2016
The way of business solutions Chalk Talk Unified Unified Communications Communications Impacting Impacting Business Business Communications Communications
Editorʼs Desk Collaboration of UC with Cloud Collaboration of UC with Cloud
Futurista Industry Industry Evolution Evolution Unified Communications to Revolutionize the Public Sector
Unified Unified Communications Communications along along with with (BYOD) (BYOD) Priority Priority on on The The Technology Technology Roadmap Roadmap
Need of an Hour Didier Jaubert CEO
Successful Successful Implementation Implementation of of Unified Unified Communications Communications
Arkadin: LEADING PROVIDER OF UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES FOR THE DIGITAL WORKPLACE
Editorial
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he focal point of all enterprises today is integrating their real-time communication tools like, text messaging, video conferencing, voice messaging, and other mobility features in their products to leverage the improvement in communication technology. The business communication has become faster and on the other hand, the business productivity is getting increased just because of Unified Communication. Enterprises are practicing the usage of on-premises infrastructure for integrating business communication. Cloud-based Unified Communication and collaboration is getting popularity among the enterprises, because of its benefits like cost reduction, improved scalability, and enhanced efficiency.
Unied Communications Will Continue To Rule The Marketplace
According to the experts, steady growth of hosted products will be a benefit factor of Unified Communications market trends, which is expected to surpass USD 49 billion by 2023. It is eliminating the infrastructure cost and offers a centralized management system wherein services are provided by means of the cloud. The flexibility and cost-effectiveness of Cloud Computing have been increasingly adopted by service providers. Enterprises with cloud-based UC applications are allowed to eliminate capital spending and adopt an operational cost model for which enterprises will have to pay on the basis of the required capacity. Furthermore, the increase in cloud technology has come out making the enterprises being able to offer solutions at par with the on-site solutions. The urge for real-time communication has resulted in vendors emphasizing on providing Web RTC solutions, which are expected to give faster video streaming and group chats in client devices. Additionally, the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) indicates the connection of personal devices including tablets, notebooks, PCs and smartphones to an organization’s vertical’s network. It is helping the employees to gain admission to the network through their own devices, providing a number of operational as well as financial benefits. There are several chief drivers of Unified Communications, especially for developed economies, like improvements in communications bandwidth, rise of third-platform services, and increased need for collaboration. The noteworthy technological developments in the field of Unified Communications like VoIP, VoLTE and session initiation protocol have increased the customer experience by providing improvement in quality of service.
Archana Ghule
Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Senior Editor Ariana Lawrence Managing Editor Archana Ghule Co-Editors David Smith Mary D’Souza Stephanie Andrews Sonal Burghate Sugandha Sharma Charlie Gupta Visualiser David King Art & Design Director Rashmi Borkar Co-designer Alex Noel Picture Editor Mayur Khapekar Art Editor Amol Kamble Business Development Manager Mike Thomas, Nick Adams Marketing Manager Chris Business Development Executive David, Peter, John, Robort, Research Analyst Jennifer Circulation Manager Robert Database Management Steve Technology Consultant Vishal More sales@insightssuccess.com
June, 2016 Corporate Ofces: Insights Success Media and Technology LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017,United States Phone - (614)-602-1754, (302)-319-9947 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: Visit www.insightssuccess.com 6
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Editor’s Desk
Collaboration of UC with Cloud
Chalk Talk
Successful Implementation of Unied Communications
Need of an Hour Unied Communications Impacting Business Communications
30 Is Unied Communications Worth the Effort? 46 Industry Evolution Unied Communications to Revolutionize the Public Sector Dave Casey Regional Vice President Peak Up Time
Futurista 42 Unied Communications along with BYOD Priority On The Technology Roadmap
The Power of Converged Solutions
Thomas Beck Director of Marketing & Business Development, Teo Technologies
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44 32 John Cognata Co-founder & Business Development Executive SOFTEL Communications, Inc. Ron Gaboury CEO Yorktel
40 Theodore P. Schrafft CEO Premiere Global Services, Inc.
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Vik Verma
Stefano Osler
CEO 8x8 Inc.
CEO Wildix Uniď€ ed Communications Solution
28 Avi Lonstein Co-founder & CEO AireSpring, Inc.
Alan Foy CEO Blueface
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Philipp Beck Founder & CEO Luware AG
CXO Standpoint
The Power of Converged Solutions
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or years experts and analysts have predicted, pushed, and prodded businesses to a future of unified communications. Their claim was that in a world where all of our technologies and tools to communicate were truly integrated, there would be a transformative improvement in efficiency and work life balance. However, our world today feels less unified than ever before. It seems as if every day (or even every hour) brings a new stand-alone business application designed to supercharge productivity. The problem is that very few of these apps truly work together, and very few business users
08 | June 2016 |
derive the same benefit from each. Thus, we have actually created a new world of “dis-unification.” Where there is pain, there is promise. Within our current situation there does lie the potential that inter application APIs can be leveraged so that different apps can work together, each user can choose the app of their choice, and in the end everything will be unified again. This IS a technical possibility. However, in reality the competing business interests of different application developers stands in the way of seamless and reliable integrations. Often times even apps that could be integrated
CXO Standpoint
have their interface capabilities turned off or removed for business reasons. Further adding to this complexity, many company acquisitions can lead to capabilities being disabled in the best business interests of the new owners. Where to Turn? There are many paths businesses can take in light of these realities. Some choose to grin and bear the current situation. Some choose to build solutions of their own. Some attempt to select a handful of key suppliers to partner with, and build a tightly coupled ecosystem they hope will stand the test of time. And still others keep looking for the perfect solution that might not exist yet, that could be just around the corner, not realizing that by choosing inaction they run the very real risk of falling behind.
Thomas Beck Director of Marketing
The Application Monopoly Game via M&A Through aggressive merger and acquisition (M&A) activities, many organizations are looking to rope together impressive collections of complementary applications. These apps are intended to attract businesses looking to garner a wide assortment of functionality from a single vender, or at least from a smaller collection of vendors. A troubling component of this approach though, is that many of the vendors with the largest application collections also have the least business interest in allowing competing applications to integrate well. What about Telco? Most business application developers are lacking the capabilities (and the understanding) to integrate complex PSTN services into more advanced applications. Even traditional phone
& Business Development Teo Technologies
service companies struggle here, and appear to have little or no path to the future for deploying more advanced capabilities via their dated and bloated infrastructures. They rely on two primary vendors, Metaswitch and Broadsoft, who both have critical billing system integration capabilities with the legacy carriers, but lack more advanced applications. So, where are businesses to turn for truly integrated uniďŹ ed communications solutions? Never Give Up While the needs are complex, and the more well-known vendors to choose from are lacking in key ways, all hope is not lost. There is a new breed of solution provider, one that possesses the pedigree of PSTN service integration, and also the next gen
application integration capabilities that traditional providers lack. These new solution providers are able to deliver truly integrated uniďŹ ed communications, call center, contact center, and analytics solutions in a single platform, providing not only a huge array of capabilities, readily customizable for each customer, but also built to integrate with other vendors’ solutions.These solution providers have engineered and designed for the demands of the modern business, and they are the ones to watch. While they may not be household names today, they are the forward-thinking partners that innovative organizations turn to when taking their next strategic leap in their business success.
09| June 2016 |
Cover Story
Didier Jaubert CEO
Cover Story
Arkadin: Leading Provider of Unified Communications Services for the Digital Workplace
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he need for digital workplace transformation is widely accepted. Trends driven by the cloud, social communities and increasing mobility are resulting in dramatic changes in how people work, and will only intensify as millennials rise to the top of corporate workplaces. With digital communications technologies, businesses of any size are better positioned to share ideas, interact with customers and unleash the full potential of their people through more efficient and effective collaboration.
Digital has always been high on the agenda at Arkadin, but it’s taking on even greater importance as the driving force behind the company’s growth strategy. An NTT Communications company, Arkadin is one of the largest and fastest growing Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C) service providers in the world. It has operations in 33 countries with 56 offices spread throughout the Americas, EMEA & CEMEA, Asia Pacific and China, serving over 50,000 customers that span the largest global enterprises to standalone businesses.
Cover Story “ Global yet Local Service Strategy” Arkadin’s approach to client relations is based on ensuring its clients succeed with positive collaboration experiences that deliver high ROI. Service is in Arkadin’s DNA and everything they do starts with the charter of delivering outstanding customer care. Arkadin’s global yet local service strategy sets them apart in the industry, providing the best of both worlds: unmatched global coverage delivered by local teams who speak their clients’ languages and understand their cultures. Regional sales and support employees take time to understand customers’ unique needs and challenges whether they are a large global conglomerate or an SMB so that they can together implement the right communications tools for each individual situation. Arkadin’s service strategy is truly end-to-end and multilayered, encompassing live assistance 24/7 in 19 languages, plus onsite and virtual user training programs. Arkadin offers sophisticated reporting tools and professional services complete with project managers, technical presales and service relationship managers for
more complex collaboration and UC deployments. Didier Jaubert, Champion of Digital Workplace Transformation Arkadin CEO Didier Jaubert is championing a bold longterm strategy for becoming a digital workplace leader. Capturing a sizable share of the global UC market is integral to that plan. Since joining Arkadin in 2013 as Chief Partnership Officer responsible for the company’s extensive worldwide ecosystem, Mr. Jaubert has been instrumental in driving innovative go-to-market programs that have enabled sustained, profitable growth. Over the past five years, Arkadin has achieved a healthy 21% compound annual growth rate, making it the fastest growing Cloud collaboration provider in the industry. Earlier this year, Mr. Jaubert was promoted to Chief Executive Officer, with full operational management responsibility for Arkadin, the business entity that controls Arkadin’s worldwide subsidiaries. Mr. Jaubert brought 30 years of commercial and general management experience with IT and Telco multinationals to
Cover Story Arkadin, including roles at Orange Business Services, where he was recognised for expertise in outsourcing and system integration, and at IBM where he held various management positions in Sales and Global Services in France and the U.S. He has an engineering degree from the École Centrale Paris and an Economics degree from Paris University. “Successful Collaboration Experiences to Energise Teamwork” Arkadin’s collection of market leading digital meeting space and Unified Communications solutions enables
Businesses benefit from the convenience of a single all-in-one solution, which offers substantial cost
“
‘Three Strategic Pillars’ for Growth Strategy Arkadin has an ambitious growth agenda based on capturing a sizable share of the fast growing UC&C market. The strategy is centered on three strategic pillars: Best UC&C Solutions in the Cloud, Expansion and Profitable Long-Term Growth and Premium Customer Experience. According to Mr. Jaubert, Arkadin will maintain the two-pronged product strategy that has fueled its strong growth: “There is no future without
We have 15 years’ experience in delivering Cloud-based UC&C solutions that t our clients’ needs for exible, cost-effective and intuitive digital meeting spaces. Nothing distracts us from our mission, which is to provide positive collaboration experiences backed up by unparalleled customer care, every time
“
[
Arkadin Total Connect offers voice, contact center and conferencing to Office 365, all under a ‘single pane of glass,’ which frees up IT teams to focus on other strategic projects. The voice enabled Office 365 deployments seamlessly integrate with Exchange Online (within Office 365) for unified messaging that drives efficiencies whilst reducing costs associated with traditional PBX and 3rd party conferencing services.
savings from on premise UC deployments, coupled with Arkadin’s premium quality integrations, networking expertise and customer support.
[
great products. We will enhance our own branded Arkadin Anytime audio conferencing and Arkadin Anywhere web conferencing. All solutions will be supported with the most digitally advanced cloud collaboration platform. Didier Jaubert explains: “We are one of We will also continue our partnerships only a few service providers operating with leading technology companies, Arkadin’s suite of UC solutions is from on a global scale capable of completing including MICROSOFT, ON24, ADOBE, VIDYO, CISCO, BLUE Microsoft’s offer as a fully integrated Microsoft Skype for Business and platform for meetings and voice. It’s a JEANS NETWORK and IBM for bestCisco Jabber combined with WebEx. winning ‘best of both worlds’ strategy in-class Cloud solutions that are Delivered in the Cloud for fast that puts us in complete alignment with feature rich, intuitive and integrated international deployment with a high with our premium audio conferencing Microsoft from a feature, server and ROI, the services are integrated with for an exceptional user experience. geographic perspective.” Arkadin’s stable, crystal clear audio Each of our partners has a different set conferencing combined with a “Last Autumn Arkadin was recognised of capabilities which enables us to be a comprehensive suite of wraparound true one-stop shop for UC&C with NTT Communications in services (live assistance, training, Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Unified services.” reporting, etc.). Communications as a Service, Worldwide. We feel this recognition is In addition to the best technology The center of their UC strategy is a testament to the strength of our partners, Arkadin will align with the Arkadin Total Connect, a Microsoft combined global UCaaS offering,” most strategic organisations and Skype for Business hosted service. services for developing high growth Integrated into Arkadin ‘as a Service’, added Mr. Jaubert. go-to-market strategies. At the top of
enjoyable collaboration experiences that are essential to success in a digitally connected global workplace. These services are delivered in the Cloud and backed by a cutting edge infrastructure for premium service quality.
Cover Story the list are NTT Communications and fellow NTT Group subsidiary Dimension Data, as well as strategic telecoms, agents, resellers and system integrators, all combining to create a powerful go-to-market ecosystem. Mr. Jaubert adds, “We’ll also pursue acquisitions of organisations with stellar track records, advanced technologies and trusted reputations for expanding our global footprint and market share. Last year we expanded into Colombia with the market leader in the region through our purchase of T-Uno. We also acquired AT Conference to strengthen our collaboration product portfolio in North America. Our 2014 acquisition of implement.com, a key
inextricably linked and applied across all aspects of our business. To ensure premium client experiences, we have customer success teams in all global regions. A newly created Customer Lifecycle Program has enabled us to harness the latest digital technologies to dramatically increase new user adoption levels. It’s all about delivering a complete 365 degree experience in order to build a true partnership and long-term loyalty.” Eyes Towards The Future… While talking about future prospects, Mr. Jaubert says Arkadin’s opportunities for greater growth and leadership in UC are unlimited and just beginning to be realised: “We are
Unified Communications Microsoft partner with a stellar track record in enabling service providers to leverage hosted voice and Microsoft technologies, has allowed us to extend our UC as a Service offerings so that businesses can harness the full power of UC for greater workplace productivity.” The most important pillar and the real driver behind Arkadin’s growth strategy, according to Mr. Jaubert, is being able to offer customers easy to use and intuitive services coupled with unparalleled customer care. Mr. Jaubert explains that this is being achieved through a strong service culture which runs through the whole Arkadin organisation: “Our cultural and business values are
in a high growth market with the right mix of market leading UC&C technologies, the right channels to expand our global footprint, at the right time. Together with NTT Communications, we offer our clients the most sophisticated infrastructure, networking and telecommunications capabilities so essential for succeeding in today’s digitally transformed landscape. Finally, we have a first rate executive bench supported by a global team of collaborators who are highly entrepreneurial and passionate about Arkadin’s success. It’s a winning formula!”
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Fastest Fastest Growing Growing 10 Unied Unied Communications Communications Solution Solution Provider Provider Companies Companies
Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS) Expected to Drive Growth
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ccording to a research, the global Unified Communications market size is assumed to reach USD 75.81 billion by 2020. Unified Communications industry includes variety of communication models such as messaging, transaction, and information system along with collaboration and interactive systems. The global unified communication market will be driven by the availability of wireless connectivity and high-speed internet. The various services of Unified Communications can be like, on-premise, on-cloud, or hosted systems. The On-premise systems are weak to grab attention of the enterprises than cloud-based/hosted unified communication systems as they need well-trained employees and sufficient maintenance. On the other hand they prefer Cloud-based systems, which are faster, needs low maintenance, and give uninterrupted scaling abilities at lower costs. The fast growth of cloud computing is expected to uplift the market for cloud or hosted systems. The ability of Unified communication systems to help in the improvement of efficiency and productivity, enterprises are on the verge to accept it. Unified Communications enable enterprises to have connected employees and excellent operational agility and finally delivering better customer-experience. The usefulness and high need of the Unified Communications has made us shortlist the 10 Fastest Growing Unified Communications Solution Provider Companies. These are the companies who are providing the best Unified Communication services while at the same time setting the industry standards. Our cover story for this magazine, Arkadin is one of the largest and fastest growing Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C) service providers in the world. Digital has always been high on the agenda at Arkadin, but it's taking on even greater importance as the driving force behind the company’s growth strategy. An NTT Communications company, it has operations in 33 countries with 56 offices spread throughout the Americas, EMEA & CEMEA, Asia Pacific and China, serving over 50,000 customers that span the largest global enterprises to standalone businesses. So, here in this issue we are presenting you some of the quality Unified Communications solution provider to best suite your needs.
Editors Desk
Collaboration of UC with Cloud
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he dependency on the chat, video, file sharing, collaboration and conferencing have compelled companies to become more dependent on the Unified Communications (UC). Companies are taking all the advantage of new capabilities and applications in the cloud while leveraging their existing on-site platforms. Nowadays, more and more companies prefer a hybrid UC consumption model, a mix of on-premises and cloud solutions, which enables company’s flexibility, on the other hand a migration path to the cloud-based services. To keep up with the constant speeding competition, companies need to keep pace with the rapidlyadvancing communications technology.
software, and the cloud, so there will be no need to dwell upon IT matters or technological updates anymore. All the problems including bugs, malfunctions, etc. will be taken care of by the company hosting your UC. There is a benefit of purchasing or UC on Cloud Boosting Productivity downloading an app upgrade or a newer version of your existing When it comes to assemble the computer software, instead spending productivity systems and applications time and money purchasing the latest of a company, Cloud-based UC models hardware update. are the right choices. Let it be the conference line, data backup, call Ease of Communication routing stations, or email provider UC on cloud help put all four and many The communication with business more at one place, making it easy to partners, employees, stakeholders, and achieve at the higher level of a customers from across the country and company. Business owners do not have around the world can be communicated to worry about any missed detail as freely by Cloud-based UC. Services everything will be safe on the cloud. that provide businesses with individualized phone extensions and No More Updatations email sorting, help companies connect customers with the right business Company’s UC channels exist in the representative instantly and easily, virtual realm through apps, computer
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making the business appear better organized and more professional. While it comes to getting a better customer or client base worldwide, cloud-based UC is the most beneficial. Option of Tracking and Graphing Data The UC provider you have chosen is often capable of tracking and graphing your incoming data, just because of the availability of all channels and productivity applications at one place. With the help of unified analytics, your UC provider can show you what geographical sources are responsible for most emails or phone calls, what demographics are quickest to schedule services with your company, and more. With the use of UC, any business let it be small or large, can make it look bigger, more organized, and highly professional.
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Fastest Fastest Growing Growing 10 Unied Unied Communications Communications Solution Solution Provider Provider Companies Companies
Company Name
Management
Brief
8x8, Inc. www.8x8.com
Vik Verma CEO
8x8 is the trusted provider of secure and reliable Enterprise Communications as a Service (ECaaS) offerings to more than 45,000 businesses operating in over 100 countries across six continents.
AireSpring, Inc.
Avi Lonstein
www.airespring.com
Co-founder & CEO
Arkadin
Didier Jaubert
www.arkadin.com
CEO
Blueface www.blueface.com
Alan Foy CEO
Blueface is an Irish provider of Voice over IP telephony services delivering cutting edge, innovative solutions which enable their customers’ businesses.
Luware AG www.luware.com
Philipp Beck Founder & CEO
Luware is a leading provider of customized service platforms based on Microsoft Unified Communications (UC) technologies.
Premiere Global Services, Inc. www.pgi.com
Theodore P. Schrafft CEO
PG i is the world’s largest dedicated provider of collaboration software and services.
AireSpring provides fully managed and connected end-to-end, next-generation UC solutions for multi-location enterprise customers.
Arkadin is one of the largest and fastest growing providers of Unified Communications and Collaboration Services in the world.
SOFTEL Communications is a proven choice for enterprises & organizations, looking to harness business opportunity through Development Executive unified communications and collaboration technology. John Cognata
SOFTEL Communications, Inc. Co-founder & Business www.softel.com
Wildix Unified Communications Solution www.wildix.com
Stefano Osler CEO
Wildix offers a complete solution of Unified Communications, including Hardware and Software. It produces its own certified hardware: PBXs, VoIP phones, DECT systems, media gateways, switches, headsets.
Yorktel www.yorktel.com
Ron Gaboury CEO
Yorktel is a leading global provider of UC&C, cloud, and video managed services for large enterprise and federal government customers.
VISIONOSS LIMITED www.voss-solutions.com
Mike Frayne CEO
VOSS is a software company that offers a BCOM (business communications operations management) solution to automate and simplify the challenge of managing today’s increasingly sophisticated communications environments.
The
Fastest Fastest Growing Growing 10 Unied Unied Communications Communications Solution Solution Provider Provider Companies Companies
Named as 1 of 40 “technology pioneers” by the World Economic Forum in 2003, Vik Verma, CEO of 8x8, in his 26 year career, has taken complex technology and created products and services that deliver value to customers worldwide. He began his 26-year executive career with startup Savi Technology, where he was one of its first employees.
Vik Verma CEO
8x8: Great Communications No Compromises
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truly global, hyper-scalable cloud unified communications and contact center platform, 8x8 is powering the communications infrastructure worldwide for businesses of all sizes. Whether it is an SMB operating out of one location or a large multinational enterprise, 8x8’s multi-tenant services platform, housed in nine international data centers, enables businesses to
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operate as one unified entity while delivering the highest quality of service in the industry.
Trusted Provider of Secure and Reliable Enterprise Communications
8x8’s distributed platform uses innovative, patented geo-routing algorithms to route communications quickly and efficiently to the closest available data center no matter where the user is currently located, resulting in crystal clear connections.
8x8 is the trusted provider of secure and reliable Enterprise Communications as a Service (ECaaS) offerings to more than 45,000 businesses operating in over 100 countries across six continents. 8x8’s out-of-the-box cloud solutions replace
The
Fastest Fastest Growing Growing 10 Unied Unied Communications Communications Solution Solution Provider Provider Companies Companies
8x8’s innovative ECaaS solution brings all unified communications and contact center services together into one integrated cloud platform, delivering continuous communications experiences from desktop to mobile. This enables companies of all sizes to solve critical business needs and modernize their infrastructure with world-class business communications, contact center solutions, conferencing, collaboration and advanced analytics. Vik Verma- The Technocrat of 8x8 Vik joined the company as a design engineer straight out of Stanford and then quickly rose through the ranks, first as VP of Engineering and then COO. As COO, he played a leading role in negotiating the sale of Savi to Texas Instruments. Subsequently promoted to CEO, Vik in partnership with leading VCs from Silicon Valley and Asia led the management buyout of the company. Later, Vik re-engineered the business, quadrupled its size, executed a joint venture with Hutchison Whampoa and sold it to Lockheed Martin. At Lockheed Martin, as President of Strategic Venture Development, he focused on turning the company’s military technologies and programs into global commercial ventures ranging from seabed mining to nanomaterials.
At 8x8, Vik is leading the team that has pioneered business communications’ move to the cloud with the company’s ground-breaking cloud unified communications and contact center technologies and
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The key differentiator for 8x8, is that we are the only vendor in the market today that delivers a truly enterprise-grade, integrated and global cloud communications platform across unied communications and contact center
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traditional on-premises PBX and contact center hardware and softwarebased systems with a flexible and scalable Software as a Service (SaaS) alternative, encompassing cloud business telephony, collaboration, contact center, and conferencing services.
services. Future Vista of 8x8
Key to growth will be to continue to educate business leaders on the many benefits of cloud communications such as enhanced features/functionality, increased flexibility and speed of deployment. 8x8 is supporting this transition with its integrated cloud communications platform that delivers one continuous experience across all devices and business workflows no matter the size of your business.” 8x8’s momentum is a testament to the current market dynamics. The company is seeing accelerated adoption of cloud communications by mid-market and enterprise customers, who now represent over 50% of 8x8's total service revenue. The market opportunity ahead is tremendous – with less than 5% of mid-sized and enterprise companies worldwide having migrated to the cloud, according to Gartner. 8x8 is paving the way for businesses making the transition to cloud communications. They have built a high growth, profitable business by developing and delivering the industry’s most comprehensive suite of secure, reliable and integrated global cloud communications solutions. 8x8 is continuing to innovate and enhance the business value of their solutions with deeper analytics and line of business applications and integrate additional collaboration tools within their platform to provide customers with the most comprehensive and seamless global communications experience available.
While reflecting on the future vista of 8x8 Vik says, “We are at a tipping point in the industry with many midsize and large companies now seeking out cloud communications solutions.
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Fastest Fastest Growing Growing 10 Unied Unied Communications Communications Solution Solution Provider Provider Companies Companies
Avi Lonstein, Co-founder and CEO of AireSpring has been a telecom entrepreneur for over 25 years. In 1989, Mr. Lonstein co-founded ADDTEL Communications. Avi Lonstein Co-founder & CEO
AireSpring: Simplifying the Complexities of Integrating Cloud Communications Solutions
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ireSpring’s Managed Connectivity is a revolutionary way to simplify the complexities of integrating cloud communications solutions into IP networks. Companies need converged voice, video, and data solutions that they can count on but often don’t have the time or resources to manage, monitor, or troubleshoot a complex multi-vendor solution. AireSpring has the answer with end-to-end managed
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connectivity fully integrated with an award-winning cloud communications suite to equip clients business with fast, secure, and reliable services. Seamless integration is much more difficult with disparate technologies. AireSpring addresses this problem by delivering services over their own managed network with end-to-end QoS. Their special relationship with other carriers enables them to ensure
switches and routers are properly configured to give their customers voice traffic priority over the network. End-To-End, Next-Generation UC Solutions AireSpring offers fully managed and connected end-to-end, next-generation UC solutions for multi-location enterprise customers, including AireContact Cloud Contact Center SaaS application, AirePBX Business
The
Fastest Fastest Growing Growing 10 Unied Unied Communications Communications Solution Solution Provider Provider Companies Companies
VoIP, SIP Trunking, MPLS networks, and Business Internet. AireSpring primarily differentiates itself through their managed connectivity services, as many companies find it increasingly resource intensive and have neither the technical teams, nor the CAPEX budget, to manage and maintain their own networks. By delivering cloud communications services over AireSpring’s network, companies avoid the inherent unreliability of the public “best effort” internet, as AireSpring is able to ensure and control the priority of customers’ voice traffic on the network. Also, AireSpring provides professional execution and service from design, to implementation and turn up, to network monitoring and customer support, which helps alleviate pain throughout the process.
quality or Quality of Service (QoS). The design, installation, operation, monitoring, repair, and maintenance are all handled with the same high level of professionalism. AireSpring’s enterprise-grade cloud phone system, AirePBX provides a true unified communications capabilities through a host of advanced features that let users communicate and collaborate from anywhere.
One of the differentiating factors which sets AireSpring Managed Connectivity apart from other solutions is the unique value of the AireSpring Advantage. AireSpring’s award-winning voice and data products come with provider stability and reliability that comes with being a long-time industry leader, debt-free and profitable. AireSpring’s premier support includes a single point of contact, free AireCare 24/7 account management portal, and an escalation AireSpring’s managed network list that extends all the way to the services enable companies to reduce their CAPEX expense and lower their CEO. The AireSpring Advantage also operating costs. AireSpring’s managed offers the largest available coverage on a reliable and diversified network and services help customers defray those the assurance that, because all services costs, and reduce their financial burden. By letting AireSpring take on are delivered by a single vendor, there the network operations, customers are is none of the usual finger-pointing in the event of a network outage. able to have a stable monthly cost while enjoying all the benefits of the Avi Lonstein, a Telecom latest technology. Entrepreneur As a President of ADDTEL, he was Unique “White Glove” Service directly responsible for growing the Approach company from a start-up operation to One of the only companies to offer a one of the country’s most successful “white glove” service approach in delivering UC solutions, AireSpring’s nationwide long distance resellers. Under Mr. Lonstein’s direction, business VoIP customers are given ADDTEL was recognized as one of professional on-site installation and the telecom industry’s most innovative testing of phones, switches and routers. In addition to their nationwide and well-managed companies, and experienced substantial growth during network, they also have partnerships his tenure. with all major carriers which enables them to configure their network Mr. Lonstein’s next entrepreneurial switches to prioritize AireSpring’s venture was AireSpring which he cocustomers’ voice traffic, reducing founded in 2001. Mr. Lonstein and his latency and delivering clear call
team foresaw the massive changes in telecom technology, and rapidly built AireSpring’s own next-generation IP network to become a full-fledged VoIP carrier, offering a range of SIP Trunking and telephony services. Mr. Lonstein later spearheaded development of the company’s own nationwide MPLS network and created an innovative Mesh MPLS product that has won several awards. As Chief Executive Officer for AireSpring, Mr. Lonstein is responsible for the company’s operations, strategy, and transformation into a nationwide provider of managed services for IP communications, intelligent networking and cloud computing applications and services. He continues to lead AireSpring as the company expands its portfolio of award-winning services and applications to keep it on the cutting edge. Mr. Lonstein says, “AireSpring’s success is based on our philosophy, whereupon we try to offer products that customers need, and add value through personalized service and highquality engineering implementations. We see our pool of experts, and the manpower that they represent, as being our biggest key differentiator and our most valuable asset. Satisfying our customers is the end to our means; there is no higher priority.” Reflecting on the future of AireSpring Mr. Lonstein says, “We are focused on providing our customers with the latest technology, and as such we are continually reviewing and evolving our product set. We have many upcoming projects, plans, and products that are in the pipeline for the future. We plan to be here for at least another 15 years.”
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Chalk Talk
Unified Communications Impacting Business Communications
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hones, faxes, emails, and letters are no more the only means of business communication. The condition is totally different than it was just a decade ago. With the introduction and the increasing use of mobile technology, cloud services, and 4G LTE cellular networks, which easily supports streaming video, business communication has changed its communication way thoroughly. The revolution in communication has begun, and there is a lot more yet come to come. Here are some Unified Communications trends ruling the industry. Desk phones replaced by BYOD A big trend setter of business communication nowadays is the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) approach of the companies. The use of smartphones by employees and especially the ease of using them and the flexibility of these devices have
communications trends is WebRTC, which is becoming the business communications favorite. It is an open standard for peer-to-peer unified communications that enables businesses to easily embed rich Web-based communication tools has communications in apps and websites with no need of plug-ins, hardware or entered the scenario proprietary technology. An easy, costThe traditional PBX systems and effective method to deploying unified hardware-based video conferencing communications, WebRTC is the most setups have been replaced by mobile devices and web-based communication preferred business communication platform nowadays. services, making business communication a simple and more ‘Internet of Things joining the effective process. The untrustworthiness of BYOD approach conversation’ Machines have been adding to the has led the acceptance of VoIP and benefits of the business for a long time, cloud-based email servers while it but this is the age when truly machines comes to business communication. will be ‘the whole and sole’ of the business because of the entrance of the WebRTC becoming Internet of Things in to it. The addition ‘Communications Favorite’ of connected devices to the business Proving to be the combination of allcommunications landscape via the mobile, web-based, and unified Internet of Things has become the latest business communication trend. IoT is helping companies to transmit real-time business data employees are using throughout a work day and as systems develop, there will not be just a one-way communications with machines, but more interactive business communication that involve these devices. initiated the urge of BYOD in the companies. This is the reason business communication has shifted its way towards the new ways of communication.
Though these are the four leading trends of Unified Communications as of now, on the other side they are supposed be the leading trends for several more years.
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The
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The company has experienced substantial growth under the dynamic leadership of Alan Foy, Group CEO at Blueface. Alan holds a Bachelors in Business Studies, a Masters of Arts and Masters of Letters from University of Dublin, Trinity College. He is responsible for the strategic direction and overall management of Blueface.
Alan Foy CEO
Blueface: Making Communication Simple
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he concept of Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) has been around for some time, however there are various interpretations and variations. UCaaS seeks to create a single system to handle all communications media which a person might use including phone, video, chat etc. Many systems which have attempted this simplification have ironically resulted
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in something unwieldy. This has been changing recently as new developments in technology and interface design have impacted the usability and efficacy of such systems. One such pioneer in the field is Blueface. Blueface is a leading Unified Communications-as-a-Service Provider to Business, Enterprises and
Carriers. It is a technology driven, Irish-owned Cloud Telecoms provider. Founded in 2004, Blueface has operations in Ireland, Italy and the UK. Offering targeted solutions for small to medium sized business customers and customized Managed Communications services to large corporates, Blueface is focused on delivering real costs savings through the use of ground-breaking
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technologies coupled with a reliable value proposition.
platform upon release in the short term. Key Features of Blueface
Leader behind Blueface
Core Strategy of Blueface Blueface’s strategy is built on a core commitment to delivering cutting edge, innovative solutions which empower their customers’ businesses while providing extensive cost savings. Stunning innovation with revolutionary pricing, and carrier grade reliability is at the very heart of Blueface’ DNA. Blueface has a very sophisticated deployment model which ensures that deployment of service post-sale is rapid and efficient. Pre-qualification of the proposed site ensures that the deployment is both suited to the end use and capable of installation. Blueface deployments revolve around zero-touch hardware configuration and a suite of sophisticated online tools for user management. Blueface CRM will provides additional functionality, integrating seamlessly with the UC
Blueface as a Team A key element of Blueface’s service is the close integration of mobile and fixed voice, along with the integration of various other channels. Their user interface has been developed over the
“
As an MVNO, we provide fully integrated xed and mobile voice services which includes shared voicemail box, short-code extension to mobile dialing and call recording
“
Alan works closely with the management team on a day-to-day basis to execute Blueface’s growth strategy and lead the company’s expansion into new markets. Prior to Blueface, Alan was an executive with NCB Group (now Investec) on the wealth management side of the business and worked with Coyle Hamilton (now Willis) in the area of business transformation. Alan was President of the Trinity Business Alumni, the Chairman of the Ireland Funds Young Leaders committee and Board Member of the Ireland Funds.
integration between their phone calls and their sales and marketing process.
past twelve years, constantly evolving from user feedback with the latest UX/UI features which enables the end user to self-manage - it gives control of the most sophisticated elements but in a very simple way on any device. Blueface is also rolling out their own CRM that gives SME’s out of the box
Like any company, Blueface owes its success to their people, who make it happen each and every day. They are fortunate enough to have a team of talented, hardworking and most importantly, genuinely nice people. They have established a culture where high performance is expected, and delivered. People at Blueface are at the heart of everything. Future Perspective Blueface’ in-house engineering team has spent almost 100,000 development hours on the company’s new platform. They have already rolled out white label service across 12 countries, to major mobile carriers and ISPs, and the latest version has already been selected by an MNO and a panEuropean ISP. They expect demand to remain high as businesses continue to demand advanced cloud services. Simultaneously, Blueface will also be launching into the United States, France, Germany and Spain to complement their existing operations in Ireland, Italy and the U.K. Their new voice platform is making this possible so the second half of 2016 is shaping up to be an important and exciting time for Blueface. A little bit further down the road, it will be time to organize the official launch of their CRM and some other interesting and innovative projects which they want to bring to the market.
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Philipp Beck, Founder and CEO of Luware, is a leading provider of service platforms based on Microsoft Unified Communication technologies. His portfolio includes solutions for contact centers, team-ACD or single-user workstations over multiple channels.
Philipp Beck Founder & CEO
Luware AG: Promising - Swiss and Simple
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ative interfaces between Telephony, IM, Webchat, Mail, Video Conferencing, Application/Desktop Sharing as well as interfaces for popular social media such as Facebook and Twitter build the foundation for full Skype for Business Integration and extension. Every aspect of the Interaction between customer and employees is covered with the popular add-ons of Luware and empowers Businesses to be more
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productive day by day.
add-ons for all interactions.
With the use of latest and most innovative technologies such as WebRTC, Luware is having clean and most performant integration capabilities. By using Skype for Business as base application and framework for the add-ons, Luware simplifies the user experience tremendously while providing only one client enriched with the respective
With the help of Microsoft UC technologies, Luware supports companies in adapting the communications between their staff and the customers to present-day demands, thus meeting the constantly rising expectations of the customers and ensuring work flexibility for their staff members.
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Philipp Beck, just after his electrical engineering studies at the Hochschule Rapperswil, where he pasted with distinction, he worked at the Institute for Networked Solution and deal with Microsoft UC environment. Since 2007, Philipp holds the title Microsoft Certified Master for OCS, which he later confirmed with the title Microsoft Certified Master Lync 2010 and Microsoft Certified Solution Master Communications for Lync 2013. Philip says, “We at Luware work with the principle, that happy employees is the key to sustainable corporate success.” He adds, “At Luware we work closely with our clients to deliver solutions which meet the needs of today's customers and employees alike. With an emphasize on innovation and ease of use, combined with quality and simplicity our solutions are breaking new grounds in customer service while at the same time improving agent/employee productivity, supporting the requirements of the modern work place through improved communication, collaboration and mobility. Luware AG is a leading provider of customized custom service platforms based on Microsoft Unified Communications (UC) technologies.” Luware - A Leading Provider of Customized Service Platforms Luware is a leading provider of customized service platforms based on Microsoft Unified Communications (UC) technologies. It offers solutions for contact centers, team-ACD or single-user workstations for the following channels: Chat, Voice, Video, Mail, Social Media and CoBrowsing. With the help of latest technologies such as WebRTC, CRM integrations, recording solutions and
other add-ons, Luware offers a full range of all additional functions for Skype for Business and Lync. The unmatched experience and expertise of Luware includes business processes in customer service, Microsoft UC technology, product development, project management and software engineering.
customer request, directly to the Microsoft UC client of the Contact Center Agent. Chat, Voice, Video, Email and even Faxes can be handled without leaving the Client. TeamManager, provides advanced features to the Response Groups of Skype for Business / Lync such as Team Contacts, Team Presence, Reporting, and different Routing Options for Chat, Voice and Video.
In conjunction with Microsoft products, the solutions from Luware allow customer service representatives PresenceAssistant, simplifies the routing of incoming calls, thus adding a feature known as target-oriented presence to Skype for Business / Lync various presence statuses.
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Solutions from Luware provides more than just communications, we make customers experience true cooperation
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Philipp Beck, Passionate Persona behind Luware
RTC LAUNCHER is a web application using the open standard of WebRTC among others, thus enabling end-to-end connectivity between web browsers and Skype for Business / Lync. SwitchBoard is a completely in Skype for Business Integrated Application that provides one-click functionality such as call transfer, calendar integration and email templates for callback requests.
Future Panorama While talking about the future panorama Philipp says, “Due to the growing user adoption of Lync and and internal services alike to handle all Skype for business worldwide, Luware concerns individually, personally and started focusing since 2014 mainly on the international market. First wins in quickly. Germany, Belgium, UK and Kuwait in 2015 paved the way for strong Beyond Traditional Solutions international growth.” Luware provide solutions that are more than just communications; they make the customers experience true cooperation: LUCS, The Contact Center Solution that integrates native into Skype for Business or Lync. This enables channel independent routing of any
Going forward, with its headquarters based in Switzerland, Luware will focus on strongly deliver local incounty services in those regions 2015 and beyond. The most recent development includes offices in UK, Dubai, Spain and New York.
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CXO Standpoint
Is Unied Communications Worth the Effort?
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ick up any periodical; monitor any blog and you will receptionist and my admin. Great to start with; quickly a security hole where all sorts of folks were ringing me up hear tale of the power of Unified Communications direct. Yuck! Not a fan of too much communication. and how organizations galore are basking in a connected world. But is this fact or fiction? Fast forward to 2016, where the mantra is a Unified, Global, Universal world where we are all peers For decades, business has progressively sought quicker, communicating via phone, email, text, mobile, video, social more direct and effective ways to communicate both media, and groupware (Slack,Yammer). We even use textinternally and externally. Not to show my age, but I grew up in the world of receptionists, large mail rooms, and pink to-speech and speech-to-text as we are too lazy to listen to our voicemails. Are we gaining ground or has the noise message slips. We just knew we were cutting edge. This level risen to where little is accomplished while we are gave way to fax machines, WordPerfect on our desktops, bombarded with information? My friend Heather Clancy and DID (Direct Inward Dial) where incoming calls were automatically routed direct to my desk phone, bypassing the opines on the social aspect in her Fortune column today:
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CXO Standpoint
At Peak, we tend to act in an advisory role with clients and strive to match their defined business processes with the available technology. A key component is providing just the right amount of unified connectivity for each role or usage model. For example, a call center agent needs telephony, text, and perhaps point to point video to serve the client, but should not receive incoming personal calls, extraneous emails, or be ordering shoes on Zappos at their desk. Access control is still a valid term. I recently rented a car using a kiosk at the rental call center. Great experience! While others formed a line in front of a harried counterperson, I had a quick video call with a pleasant an efficient agent in a far city and was behind the wheel in a snap. We had a data, video, and audio conversation. My paperwork was delivered to my phone while I strolled to the car. I brought up a QR code which was quickly scanned as I reached the gate. Effective use of technology….
Dave Casey Regional Vice President Peak Up Time
close behind. As we trained users in the use of their mobile client app, the universal question from executives (not sales or engineering) was “When can I use my iPhone to connect?” Each had a company phone (Blackberry) in one pocket, and a personal iPhone in the There are myriad UC systems available other. That is when I predicted Apple would win. (And I was smart enough today with varied capability and market acceptance. Two characteristics to purchase a few shares). define the winners; simplicity in Application integration is where a function, and tight integration to properly implemented UC system can application platforms. leverage the incredible sums spent on Enterprise ERP, CRM, and integrated The best technology, poorly delivered and overly complicated, will be swiftly databases. Information is delivered directly to stakeholders at their desk, be rejected by the user community. There is a reason iPhones triumph over on the road, at home, and unfortunately even on vacation. The flip side is technically superior and far less delivering a flawless presentation to expensive competing devices. Simple. your best client via desktop sharing Intuitive. Bulletproof. from your tablet whilst standing on the sidelines at the youth soccer game. Saw this first hand on a UC rollout With your boss and team conferenced several years ago. At the time in. We have seen corporations win Blackberry and Nokia ruled the corporate mobile market with Motorola “Best Place to Work” rankings due to
employees’ appreciation of technology to enable them to work anywhere. So UC is worth the effort when properly designed and implemented. It may require some open minded analysis as the company’s current providers often may not be the best choice for a UC rollout. And some folks will have to think ahead…. At Peak UpTime, our goal is to help you elevate the IT conversation to address business challenges. We identify innovative IT solutions to help you effectively serve your clients, and leverage technology to keep your teams operating efficiently. Celebrating our 30th anniversary in business in 2013, Peak has experienced growth and change in IT technology, but never wavered in its passion for serving our clients. Our history of serving clients and their corresponding reference, our strong financial position and capable, skilled team make Peak your natural choice to support your IT infrastructure.
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Theodore P. Schrafft, CEO of PGi is leading the group since the company’s private equity acquisition in December of 2015. Ted served as President since July 2006 and oversees the entire operations of PGi. He has more than 35 years of experience in the technology and business communications industries.
Theodore P. Schrafft CEO
PGi: World’s Most Dedicated Provider of Collaboration Software and Services
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oday’s incredibly dynamic and complex, UC&C marketplace is dominated by a few large, well-known vendors, collaboration providers and small start-ups. Clients are seeking more choices; they want help making collaborative decisions that work for their users. The risk and investment required to get it right in today’s intricate and rapidly-moving market, making it more important for
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customers to leverage specialists like PGi. PGi: Conferencing Solutions for Every Business PGi is the world’s most dedicated provider of collaboration software and services. For more than 25 years, PGi’s dedicated portfolio of products has served the end-to-end collaboration needs of enterprises.
Accessible anywhere, anytime and on any device, PGi’s award-winning collaboration solutions drive productivity and teamwork for approximately 50,000 customers around the world. Noteworthy innovations of PGi: Smart Calendar App. PGi launched iMeet Agenday nearly two years ago
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as one calendar app that unifies personal and professional calendars and makes it super simple to join a meeting in one click. iMeet Agenday presents all of your meetings and appointments in one easy-to-read format and then connects to conference calls and web meetings with a single touch. iMeet Agenday users can also check out LinkedIn profiles of meeting guests and get updated weather and driving directions. Webcasting. iMeetLive is a PGi product that makes it easy to create professional-quality webcasts and webinars for up to 10,000 people. The secure, cloud-based iMeetLive webcasting platform provides marketing and corporate communications teams with fully managed or self-service webinars for lead generation, town halls and other events.
Microsoft Outlook. Equipped with custom company branding and key dial-in numbers and passcodes, the enhanced Outlook plug-in improves the user experience of scheduling and joining meetings and allows one-click entry for guests joining via a mobile device.
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We are dedicated to bringing the best
virtual collaboration experience to each and every business professional around the world through
our product Services. PGi drives additional productivity and value for businesses innovation, our through adoption and real-time service support of collaboration solutions. global network and Beyond products and applications, the services part of their business is also our extraordinary becoming more critical as PGi helps customers manage the complexity of customer care enterprise collaboration. The more value we can bring to our customers by driving adoption and utilization means clients realize the value of Leadership Dedicated to Bringing collaboration and can document a the Best Collaboration Experience return on investment.
“
Productivity Apps. Their Modality Systems subsidiary has some unique productivity apps that are ‘add-ons’ for the Office 365/Skype for Business experience. As an example, they recently launched CustomInvite by Modality Systems to make it easy to create customized Skype for Business meeting invites directly from
With extensive expertise in operations management, sales and marketing, Mr. Schrafft previously served in various capacities with the company. He also served as President of PGi’s former Voice and Data Messaging business unit and as Vice President of Corporate Messaging.
The Collaborative Advantage Today, PGi are uniquely positioned with a new, strong capital partner, as well as a more balanced approach in their go-to-market strategy as they continue to evolve and succeed in this market. The good news is, collaboration is on everyone’s mind and there is no shortage of opportunity. “After 25 years in this space, PGi has established credibility and built a customer list that's second to none. We are well-positioned to be more agile and responsive than the other brands. Furthermore, we have the global reach, scale and credibility that our customers demand,” assures Mr. Schrafft. Team PGi PGi is synonymous with collaboration. Their products – and, by extension, their satisfied customer base – does not exist without the collaborative mindset exemplified by their team. The bright minds at PGi have streamlined the process of putting their heads together to take a concept from inception to reality with impeccable execution. Team PGi provides their customers with top-notch products that incorporate cutting-edge technology for a seamless user experience. Their focus on the customer with a constant eye on innovation is driving the company forward in 2016. Effulgent Days ahead At the highest level, team PGi is being more deliberate about listening to their customers in every way they can. In July 2016, PGi will celebrate its 25th year in business; they have built the company by listening to customers and anticipating their changing needs in the collaboration space.
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CXO Standpoint
Assured Motion for any Vehicle
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PS has been a boon for the world of transportation in general and for the robotics industry in particular. Despite this, robots have failed to permeate our world. They still lose track of where they are and as we see in the news both military and commercial drones fall out of the sky. After years of using robots to solve difficult, real world problems such as landmine detection, mapping out the hazardous chemicals and detecting radiation, 5D came to realize that reliable, useful behavior is dependent on accurate positioning. GPS lacks accuracy and doesn’t work indoors. For instance, GPS systems often still think you are on the highway, even after you take an exit. Vision and laser systems can be used to aid in localization and 5D has incorporated a great deal of those technologies to aid in navigation. Unfortunately, neither lasers nor cameras can see around corners and are easily disrupted by dust, rain, snow, and dynamic environments. This lack of reliability reduces value of mobile robots across the board and impacts hopes of more efficient, autonomous driving.
David Bruemmer CEO, Co-founder 5D Robotics.
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To address this problem, 5D created and patented a technology that provides reliable, centimeter level accuracy and reliable behavior in any environment. The 5D module
CXO Standpoint
embodies this technology, including an innovative Ultra-Wideband necessary to provide accurate position, orientation and behavior software for safety and autonomous navigation. The reliability and accuracy have been proven for landmine detection, squad support missions and hazmat environments for both ground vehicles and drones in the military. Now we are bringing the technology into a variety of commercial environments starting with heavy equipment and moving towards intelligent transportation. The technology can go onto people, robots, drones, automotive systems and anything else you might want to track. There are two complementary ways to use the 5D module. The first uses relative positioning to allow safe motion, obstacle avoidance, follow, wagon training and a host of vehicle to vehicle applications. In this relative
frame of reference the modules link to each other without any dependence on GPS or a global reference frame and no modules are necessary in the infrastructure. Like neurons in the brain, modules that support a particular function work together and specific clusters of modules can dedicate themselves to a particular function while still maintaining recursive awareness to a larger ecosystem. The second way to use the technology is as an absolute position reference where modules in the environment can be a GPS enhancement. In this model, applications designed around GPS can work as intended, but with much higher reliability and accuracy. With the 5D module it is possible to accurately judge follow distance and perform predictive braking. Within minutes, it is possible to add the modules to just about any
environment. We anticipate building modules into light fixtures, traffic lights and roadside equipment. We are already contracted to move the technology into a variety of heavy equipment applications for forklifts, scissor lifts and other equipment. The technology has the ability to impact construction, mining, logistics and energy sectors. In the burgeoning drone world, 5D has shown that we can replace or enhance existing GPS dependency, allowing drones to provide more accurate surveying, mapping and data collection for surveillance, security and inspection. One of the most exciting future opportunities is smart mobility applications. Beginning in closed environments like campuses and resorts, off-highway personal mobility systems can meet you wherever you need a lift and drive you on dedicated routes to your destination using existing paths. You never have to go somewhere to pick it up or drop it off. It just goes on to the next closest person who needs a lift. Across all these applications, the 5D modules provide a crosscutting, interoperable solution and help us create intelligent ecosystems where everything is safer and more efficient. The benefits extend not only to robotics, but also include big data analytics where the 5D modules provide the ability to collect and accurately position a variety of data. The precision of this data allows for both analysis and prediction at a level never before possible, allowing increased efficiency and awareness across countless applications.
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John Cognata, Co-Founder and Business Development Executive of SOFTEL Communications, explains why SOFTEL is a proven choice for enterprises and organizations looking to harness business opportunity though unified communications and collaboration technology. John’s passion is finding ways to combine innovation with technological solutions that solve business problems, creating distinctive (sometimes disruptive) value-driven solutions for network service providers, IT solution providers and their customer base.
John Cognata Co-founder & Business Development Executive
SOFTEL Communications: Helping Businesses to Evolve & Produce through Innovations & Collaborations
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. What kind of support and services related to Unified Communication does your company offer? “For more than 20 years, SOFTEL has been helping businesses think in creative, progressive ways about their technology investments. In 1993, our founders began the business in response to evolving enterprise communications modalities. Businessto-consumer and business-to-business interactions were, and continue to be, progressively disrupted-think voicemail, call centers, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), cellular phones, Internet, email, VoIP, smart phones, SMS, social media, web and 36 | June 2016 |
video collaboration, etc. So SOFTEL stepped onto the scene aiming to facilitate how people communicate in the midst of changing modalities. Our customers capitalize on this disruption because we help them align new communication norms with their existing business strategies. Effective communication is the foundation for all business transactions. SOFTEL is an expert at adapting the tools (systems and modalities) businesses use to communicate internally-and externally. As new technologies evolve, consumers compel businesses to adapt to ever-changing methods of transacting business. SOFTEL helps those same businesses optimize their
processes and/or create revenue opportunities. We do this by creating innovative or disruptive approaches to the way businesses use communications technologies, and the results are measurable business gains”. Q. What kind of different tools and applications does your company use to extend your UC service beyond the traditional voice, video, instant message and presence that comprise UC today? SOFTEL engage across many different sectors and we have found that “Unified Communications” means something different in each of them. As examples;
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Microsoft Skype for Business (SfB) is the fastest growing UC platform, according to leading industry analysts. SOFTEL is a key Microsoft partner, with Gold certification and competency in Microsoft Communications and Productivity platforms. Alongside platform implementation and ongoing support, SOFTEL provides core redevelopment using both the UCMA and UCWA developer toolsets. This is a key area of strength for SOFTEL, in developing Microsoft Skype for Business Cloud applications something very few other providers can achieve. This means that we can develop from the ground up, based on very specific enterprise customer needs. As for Cisco, SOFTEL is a key service partner with expertise in UC and Contact Center, including an evolving Cisco IoT practice. With strong experience in CISCO UCCE best practice implementations for leading multi-national enterprises that aim to streamline both operations and customer services. Using a “hybrid” approach to combining UC communications channels we architect, design, develop, test, implement and manage on premise and Cloud enterprise applications based on a customer’s business specifications and enterprise security protocols. In truth, there is no real extent to the versatility of the UC or Collaboration solutions that SOFTEL have provided for their customers and partners. Our applications and development toolsets reflect whatever is required to combine the customers channels and platforms of communication. Q. How your company is going beyond the conventional way and proving to be the unique one in the maturing competition? SOFTEL continues to provide new ways to enable Collaboration through Unified Communications solutions.
While our core area of focus is B2B communications, we see a growing need to provide Collaboration between B2C. In doing so we are innovating the Telemedicine, Gamification, Education/Training, and Social Media applications and enhancing communication channels in these market segments. As an example, in the areas of telemedicine and preventive maintenance; We are helping our service provider and IT solution provider customers develop and deliver new services through the innovative application of UC or Collaboration technology thereby creating additional revenue streams and generate better productivity for multiple parties. Q. With the introduction of a new technology every other day, what kind of changes you are experiencing? SOFTEL recognize that most customer service-oriented organizations are facing a dilemma in keeping up with the explosion of new technologies and new ways of communicating for consumers. Our aim is to provide the glue that keeps our clients solution upright, functional - and relevant. With each new wave of social or personal communication methods comes the opportunity to innovate, through that disruption. The end result is a more streamlined and unified method of interacting across each channel - new or old. Q. How your team has contributed to the success of your company? Experience, focus and an unwavering commitment towards our customers’ success! Our team reflects this in each role and task they are allocated; seasoned professionals who know what works and - more importantly what doesn’t. Through their teamwork at every level, they uphold the core of SOFTEL, frequently going the extra mile to make sure the job is done right. Here’s a few of our customer quotes, reflecting our core values;
“We chose expertise and experience over a big name. We appreciated the SOFTEL hands-on approach and their capacity to assimilate our complex business processes and propose appropriate solutions.” “The SOFTEL solution has been invaluable to our organization and has resulted in a reduction of about 70% of our security resets on the network side, and there is no telling what the translation is in productivity gains to the organization. This has helped us become among the pioneers in the journey towards true self-service and user empowerment.” Q. What are the future plans of your company? Our company, like many others, evolves with the available technologies. SOFTEL invests perpetual research effort and time in looking beyond the available sectors for Unified Communications, in the spirt of innovation to drive value for our customers. We look for opportunities that bring together UC as a Service, outside of where you might expect to find it. That’s because we recognize that UC isn’t just for human to human interactions - there’s a whole host of new business within collaborations for business, gamification, telemedicine, collaboration for the federation of resources, remote resource training, Virtual Reality, IoT and on-line bots & Artificial Intelligence (Content & Knowledge Management) - all of which continues to extend UC into all directions, across all sectors. Of course, we serve many different clients and customers in Contact Centers but that is’t where we see that UC ends. Wherever there is a need for innovation, expertise and experience in supporting excellence in communications and collaboration amongst humans or between humans and machines - that’s where you will find SOFTEL!
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Need of an Hour
Successful Implementation Of Unified Communications
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nified Communications (UC) is referred as, “A whole new way to the business communication”. A perfect UC solution is the backbone of a successful business, just because of its ability to operate, work and communicate best. The successful implementation of UC depends on the investment of time and resources: strategic planning and engagement of the business. The most important part is the ‘strategic planning’, which needs to be observed, understand and incorporate, effectively. The basic is the understanding of the requirement of a perfect planning and following the process. First of all, a business needs to start identifying why exactly they want to incorporate Unified Communications, just to properly build a business case and measure success.
Technology Unified Communications is not a technological tool in isolation, but on the other hand, it is a strategic solution that benefits business efficiency and operations. An important aspect while instrumenting the UC solution is to understand the benefit and outcomes it is going to bring. A regular evaluation of the technology and correspondence with employees to help incorporate awareness, adoption and culture change is the key to a successful implementation of a Unified Communications Solution. A Perfect Strategy to be Implemented
A perfect strategy for UC is needed to be developed first, and then implemented. The fact that Unified Communications affects all parts of the Just because there are multiple business; there are some factors to be elements, which resides in unified considered, which include culture communications solutions rather than a change and technology adoption, single product, getting a tailored training, business processes and solution is essential and more objectives, technical requirements, achievable when knowing exactly what financials as well as stakeholders, is required. There are numerous governance and policy. challenges companies have to face, while implementing a perfect fit UC Changing Business Cultures plan, including changes to business processes, integration issues with other One of the utmost important things, software applications or systems while implementing UC is the already in use, security and knowledge of ongoing business compliance. culture, which will let the company For the best adoption of UC, there are determine the impact deployment and integration of the Unified a few points to think on: Communication’s solution, is having. It will help the company to transform Need of Regular Evaluation in the
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the culture which will be more collaborative and communicative. The change can be made by planned training and education to employees through the different levels of the Unified Communications solution deployment. More emphasis on Training and Employee Engagement Another key factor of a successful employment of a UC strategy is getting the employees, who are the actual users of the unified communications solution on board. The training and getting employees to understand the value offered by the technology to help in their workflow will help in better UC strategy implementation. This will eventually turn into getting employees involved and add up an engagement and integration into their workflow. Importance of Planning and Testing Regular planning, measurement and evaluation are very important, while ensuring maximum benefit from UC. This will turn out into a better response and resource allotment to challenges, technological requirements, employee adoption etc. which can arise in the process. These things have to be cared of while implementing the UC strategy to get most from it, which will be resulted in a UC adoption and use by employees as a regular part of their work and help with an increase in their level of productivity.
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Fastest Fastest Growing Growing 10 Unied Unied Communications Communications Solution Solution Provider Provider Companies Companies
Stefano Osler, CEO of Wildix got a degree in Computer Science. He started his professional activities, like working on software development and analysis in the field of human-machine interaction. In 1998, he founded his first company, Intellicode, which has grown over years and is now operational in the market.
Stefano Osler CEO
Wildix: Simplifying the Company’s Internal & External Communication while Optimizing Productivity
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rganizations that are looking to improve productivity and responsiveness while reducing their IT costs, Unified Communications is proving to be a significantly important investment. Hence, it is crucial to select an enterprise-class Unified Communications Solution provider,
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who will simplify and automate daily operations and increase the workplace productivity of system users. Wildix, founded in 2005, a state-of-the-art solutions provider, offers a complete solution of Unified Communications including Hardware and Software. Wildix produces its own certified hardware: PBXs, VoIP phones, DECT
Systems, Media Gateways, Switches, and Headsets. Also, Wildix offers warranty on its products and installation is carried out by Wildix certified installers. The distinguishing feature, however, is the Wildix Software, which includes the admin interface for system
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solution, introduced back in 2013, is the tool allowing the customer to interact with the company via the corporate website using live chat, call, video, desktop sharing and file transfer. Wildix WebRTC Kite solution received the prize as the best Unified Communication solution at the IP Convergence in Paris, and was invited Leadership Committed to Standards to participate at WebRTC Conference and Innovation In 2000, Stefano started to work on the development of a new communication system and dedicated himself to the project management activities. management and user interface for collaboration. Both components are web-based and accessible via the browser, without having to install any client or plug-in, which makes the system compatible with any OS (Windows, Macintosh, and Linux) or tablet.
In fact, new information and communication technologies have greatly changed the work lives over the past years. Many of Wildix employees constantly travel abroad to other offices of the company and participate in different events. Right now, they can work anyplace, anytime and use any device. Since the system is web-based and compatible with any platform, it makes no difference whether they are in the office, at home, on the move or abroad. Outcome of Culture of Innovation Wildix is the first company to have fully integrated WebRTC technology into a Unified Communications platform. Wildix WebRTC Kite
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Stefano assures, “Being a company that develops front edge communication systems, Wildix strongly believes in innovation. The product that we develop is the one that we daily use at work. Before any new tool or feature becomes available for our customers, usually it passes a usability test inside the company - our employees are the first one to try it out.”
The goal is to avoid the compatibility issues which often appearduring the installation phase when using the products of different brands
& Expo in Santa Chiara in California (2013) and World Conference in Paris dedicated to WebRTC (2013-2014). Wildix also offers a web-based videoconference solution based on WebRTC, which does not require any additional hardware. Wildix video conference is available for the users of the system, but also for the external users via the browser. It’s possible to record a videoconference (both audio
and video), to schedule a videoconference, to share a desktop, an application or a link. Approaching to the Radiant Future Wildix believes that the future of the UC is in the Cloud, this is why they have created an offer that includes Unified Communications services in the Cloud. Another strong point of Wildix is the integration of WebRTC. Wildix system has been the first one to fully integrate WebRTC into the UC system, including softphone, WP600ACG Android phone, WebRTC Kite and videoconference. Finally Wildix constantly works on integrations, to make its system compatible with different HW and SW solutions, such as CRM and ERP applications, video surveillance systems, professional headsets. Their aim is to fully integrate their communication solution with different tools, in order to simplify and automate daily operations and increase the workplace productivity of those who use their systems. In March 2017, Wildix will participate in the Enterprise Connect conference in Florida. The conference is designed with an objective to help maximize your investments in communications and collaboration systems, software, and services. “Surely our goal is to continue with the process of internationalization, considering new markets, such as the US and the UK; research and evaluate new technologies to be integrated into our UC system; work on the integration to ensure the compatibility of our communication system with different HW and SW solutions,” desists Stefano.
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Futurista
Unied Communications along with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Priority on The Technology Roadmap
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s per the predictions, 1.3 billion workers in the world are mobile workers. This is the reason; many companies are sought after empowering mobile workforce. Employees are using a single connected device for all their needs like email, information management, social media, corporate applications, web and video conferencing, and note taking, for a long time. This is the reason, which is making them use the multiple phones and devices, making the companies have multi-device
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connectivity to the enterprise systems. The productivity of an employee can be traced from anywhere, just because of the advancement of Bring your own device (BYOD) strategy. Also, it fetches them freedom of not getting bound by a workplace. The expectations and needs of these workers in the modern scenario of working are increasing the company’s choice of implementing enterprise-wide Unified Communications (UC). UC offers
Futurista
employees the access to real-time communications tools on any device, proving beneficial to the companies by letting employees collaborate anytime and anywhere. The Time Saving Ability for Real Productivity Gains According to a research, organizations with UC save an average of 32 minutes per employee per day, just because UC enables staff to reach one another on the first go. The real-time collaboration features offered by UC, like screen sharing, presence, instant messaging, SMS text messaging, and video conferencing makes the interaction between colleagues quicker and easier. This ease of communication and collaboration empowers the workforce which allows them to focus on organizations core business goals and avoid communication barriers like the need to return missed calls and manage multiple virtual voicemail boxes and email threads.
desk phone and transfer it to their mobile or vice versa instantly. MegaPath UC includes desktop, smartphone and tablet clients for all major OS platforms, enabling a fullfeatured UC experience across devices. UC Makes the Cloud-Based Deployment Easy Organizations can constantly and inexpensively scale cloud-based communications services to best fit their need. Organizations using a virtual phone system with UC can easily ramp up new employees and perform self-service provisioning. The availability of buying UC in a subscription payment model, they get only what they need and avoid large up-front (capital) expenditures as well as continuous staffing costs to upgrade and maintain an on-premises system. UC and Integrated Voice Making Communication Faster
UC offers one easy-to-use interface including all like, office phone systems are often integrated with enhanced UC also helps the user in keeping their collaboration and unified messaging personal mobile number private, at the features such as screen sharing, same time allowing them to be in touch presence, instant messaging, SMS text messaging, and video conferencing. with colleagues and customers using All these communication and virtually any device. Additionally, the collaboration features of UC helps business phone calls made from the speed up virtually every aspect of the employees mobile number appear to business cycle like decision-making, originate from company’s Hosted customer support issue resolution, lead Voice number instead of employees generation, sales, etc. own mobile number. These business phone calls also use employees Hosted UC with integrated telephony allows Voice minutes plan. An employee can busy workers more freedom and have a facility to start a call on their
flexibility in the way they communicate and manage their communications, expanding productivity and collaboration. The features like calling and mobility like, Find Visual Voicemail (voicemail transcribed as email), Me/Follow Me (self-service call routing), Audio Conferencing and Call Recording enhances a mobile and productive work style, at the same time improving interactions with colleagues, partners, and customers. Need of an Hour The need of an hour is the Real-time communications and collaboration solutions for a business; let it be of any size. Let an organization have a single location or hundreds of locations with remote employees spread across the globe, they need UC solutions, just because of the benefits like, reduced total cost of ownership, reduced travel time, enables better collaboration, and the ability for all employees to connect faster and get more work done.
No Restriction on Using Devices
Thus, let it be company of any size, it is keeping Unified Communications and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) as a high priority on the Technology Roadmap.
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Fastest Fastest Growing Growing 10 Unied Unied Communications Communications Solution Solution Provider Provider Companies Companies
Ron Gaboury, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) was promoted from Chief Financial Officer to CEO in 2011. His leadership has been characterized by executive management, financial and technical acumen. From 2012 - 2014, Yorktel acquired three companies, First Connections, Expedite VCS and MultiSense, which facilitated global expansion into EMEA and its entry into Telehealth and other new markets.
Ron Gaboury CEO
Yorktel: Making Unified Communications & Collaboration Simple
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o address the objectives and needs of clients as well as employees, both inside and outside its network, an organization needs the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively. Adoption of unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) becomes more ubiquitous with smart devices supporting clientless UC applications, a greater density of commodity video
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and a trend toward cloud services or cloud/premise hybrids. For more than 30 years, Yorktel has removed complexity from video and UC&C, and executed its operational mandate to deliver products and services that increase usability and agility for today’s multi-national enterprise.
Beyond Traditional Services Yorktel’s Professional Services division offers an end-to-end suite of advisory services that help Fortune 1000 businesses and government agencies develop, deploy and maximize unified video communications and collaboration solutions. By employing best practices for video and an ITIL-based service design methodology, coupled with its
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Yorktel goes beyond traditional UC&C with Univago, a breakthrough video collaboration platform as-a-service. Introduced in 2015, Univago solves interoperability and quality of service (QoS) problems common to BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and remote collaboration, and with legacy equipment connections and upgrades. Developed in response to the glaring absence of an enterprise-grade, video collaboration platform that offers more than just a ‘bridge in the cloud,’ Univago supports a variety of deployment architectures and drastically reduces bandwidth consumption and bottlenecking that result from large-scale video usage forced to use the Internet. In addition, as a self-service, subscription-based offering, Univago is flexible and simple to adjust over time, allowing customers to control costs and scale with future growth, while eliminating the need for capital expenditures in hardware that will soon be obsolete.
including the aforementioned SIP and H.323 protocols, Microsoft Lync and Skype for Business, WebRTC and the public telephone network. Native support for disparate technologies makes the Enterprise Gateway a powerful yet simple solution.
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Our strategy is simple: offer services and solutions portfolio that aligns with the needs of our customers. The markets in which they compete grow more competitive each day, and it's essential that they have a trusted partner which not only provides technology, but also the tactical expertise, guidance and long-term support they need to remain agile, productive and efcient
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vendor-agnostic approach, Yorktel delivers communications strategies that support usage models for on premise or cloud, self-service or managed service, and integrate seamlessly with IT practices.
Recognizing a worldwide exodus from Capex-intensive Tech/Telecom Unique to Univago is Yorktel’s infrastructure, Ron successfully Enterprise Gateway, which positioned Yorktel at the forefront of eliminates interoperability issues that the cloud and managed services often plague users trying to connect revolution. In 2014, Frost & Sullivan between their Microsoft Lync/Skype ranked Yorktel as the 3rd largest for Business deployments and existing managed video conferencing services SIP or H.323 conference rooms and infrastructure. The Enterprise Gateway provider in North America. enables Univago to natively facilitate Yorktel has achieved numerous communication between existing milestones, industry honors and conference rooms and the most widely distinctions during Ron’s tenure as used telecommunications platforms, CEO, including, in January of 2016,
Ron was appointed Chairman of the Board for the New Jersey Tech Council, the state’s leading industry association. As a frequent speaker at events and years of active participation, Ron was selected to this post for his track record and insightful leadership. Education and thought leadership have become a hallmark of Yorktel communications and marketing. While labor-intensive, case studies, whitepapers, speaking engagements, and other efforts provide a valuable service to the market. Recent papers on the Next Generation Workplace, UC&C Productivity, Telehealth, and Webcasting provide insight on proven best practices, and guidance for a marketplace in constant flux. Team is the Strength To Yorktel, “collaboration” refers to more than products and services. As the company evolved over the past 30 years, what has not changed is their belief that each client relationship is a partnership. Companies with a “vendor” mindset focus only on sales and their own agendas. Their mentality is that they are an extension of their customer’s team; they approach each engagement with a conviction that success will be defined by long term gains in productivity, marketshare and other quantitative returns. Contrary to most, they know that the relationship doesn’t stop once the contract is signed. From the initial assessment and roadmap development, to deployment, user training and ongoing management, Yorktel provides the high-touch support to execute from end to end.
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Industry Evolution
UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS TO REVOLUTIONIZE THE PUBLIC SECTOR
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t has been a long time since the first IPbased PBX was launched. Still today, loads of organizations are challenged by different UCC technologies. This is the reason; IT decision-makers have to plan for comprehensive UCC strategies, and to invest in them essentially.
Bring your own device (BYOD) approach of the modern day organization and the exhausted budgets are compelling IT divisions to act. The recent advances in enterprise video technologies and services, and the over use of social media for business use are increasing the collaboration options to the employees at the same time, tension for organizations. Here is how large organizations are looking towards Unified Communications. Services for Any Need For an effective and efficient voice and Internet communications available on a single software platform Unified Communications is the most helpful. UC enables an array of services which can be added or removed as required, easily adapting to the needs of the institution and the requirements of a variable workload. Being a backbone to the Public Sector organizations, IT is helping the public to get in touch with their local representatives, and allowing collaboration between Public Sector staff. In lower running costs, simultaneously offering the option to use services on a Pay-As-You Go basis, UC is giving a chance to these
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organizations to become modernize. UC Contact Center for Managing Vast Amount of Calls With the help of modern VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), UC can create a local Contact Centre for public organizations at 80% lower costs than by running physical telephone networks. Using the available computer servers to create a virtual telephony network especially where calls are free to the user, this can be achieved. Having immense capacity, the system can manage thousands of calls at one go, allowing a higher rate of successful call resolutions and while affirming the loss of lost calls. One more striking benefit of UC is the single software platform that permits the user to see who is available at a glance from their displays, so employee can route calls to the most appropriate person instantly. UC will help the employees to deliver better customer service and add up to the morale of staff who will find it easier to successfully resolve enquiries. Good Replacement for the Expensive New Infrastructure UC services is having the ability to use the existing hardware and physical infrastructure of an organization to create an integrated, modern communications system. UC uses open software solutions to bring everything at one place. Variety of communication softwares like Email, text,
Industry Evolution
voice calls, video conferencing, Instant Messaging etc on a range of devices can be easily adapt to new technology and the changing needs of the organization, with the help of UC. The most important thing is there is no need to get rid of current equipment, because the only required thing is software installation. Gives Flexibility to the Workplace Offering a range of services that can be changed to suit the organization’s needs, help organizations to be flexible to avoid a waste of money and resources, helping them to achieve cost savings without compromising on service. This is a way with which the
UC user-friendly software platform is accessible from any electronic device, enabling more flexible working patterns for Public Sector staff. Just with the help of a single contact number and email address, employee can access calls, documents and messages on the go, from the office, or working from home. UC Offering Better Services to the Public UC Contact Centre services make it easy for the members of the public to get in touch with those who manage local services, with a single contact number for departments or individual members of employees. The all-time
availability of these services makes the employees accessible all the time, let them be anywhere during the working day so queries can be addressed without delay. Additionally, the integrated IT platform enables members of the organization to see the available employee, to answer queries, so that calls can be answered at the same time, without any need of call back sometime later. With the availability of greater call capacity and fewer calls lost, UC offers a better, more efficient service to the public. With these capabilities Unified Communications has the ability to revolutionize the public sector.
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