Randy SMith
4601 S Crysler
Independence, mo 64055 - 35833
358-2638
Randy SMith
4601 S Crysler
Independence, mo 64055 - 35833
358-2638
A year or two ago there were rumors that German intelligence figured out how to un-encode.
And if that's not bad enough THeRegister is reporting that NSA is offering $1.2 billion US to get into Skype and ebay may be ready to offer up a backdoor.
Allan Sulkin - founder and president of enterprise communications systems and applications consultancy - TEQConsult Group, blogged that third quarter shipment reports are in from the leading enterprise communications systems suppliers and according to Sulkin:
"The two market leaders, Cisco and Avaya, reported double digit growth in North America and globally for the quarter. Though Avaya narrowed the gap between itself and Cisco during the first half of the year, a very strong third quarter by Cisco will keep the system supplier in first position for North American system for the year unless something unforeseen happens this quarter.
"The two competitors are in very close battle for the global leadership position, though, and the difference between them is looking like it will be less than 1% share. The race next year will not be as close when Avaya has the added benefit of Nortel shipments (which are declining at an accelerated rate)." Read more
Logitec needed to find new products somewhere. If they can't engineer them, they have to buy them.
Great review, we small business would like to use Skype in our small business communication environment, a standlone Skype PBX maybe more comptable for SMBs.
Am not a fan of consolidation in the networking industry, as I believe customer needs are much better served by those networking vendors whom operate as independent companies. So naturally, I'm none too pleased that HP is buying 3Com.
However, Dave Donatelli - HP executive vice president and general manager of enterprise servers and networking, spoke during an interesting webcast this week with regard to his motivations and rationale for purchasing 3Com.
In all of the content that follows below, I've combined Donatelli's visual presentation to the words and thoughts he expressed during this week's webcast, which discussed HP's reasons for buying 3Com:
"Out of the terms of the merger agreement, 3Com stockholders receive $7.90 for each share of 3Com common stock that they hold at the closing of the merger. The transaction is to be financed with existing cash. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of domestic and foreign regulatory approvals and the approval of 3Com stockholders. The transaction is expected to close in the first calendar half of 2010." Read more
Personally, I'm now convinced that owners of the companies Cisco acquires are highly informed about the future direction of Cisco stock.
And why do I believe that?
Well, it's my opinion that when the owners of a company Cisco is acquiring accept only cash, their demonstrating they have little faith in Cisco's stock appreciating.
I mean, investment bankers are advising the owners of these acquired companies, and heck, investment bankers are usually very "plugged in" as to the merits of when to buy and when to sell Cisco stock.
For example, when Cisco used its common stock to buy Linksys and Pure Digital, the owners of the selling companies did very well by accepting Cisco stock for their shares.
Thus the creation of my thesis:
Purchase Cisco stock when Cisco's using its common stock to make acquisitions.
Consider selling Cisco stock when Cisco's using its cash to make acquisitions! Read more
TechEd's focus on Exchange 2010 this week is all about the efficiency gains through improved productivity, lower power consumption (thanks to Windows Server 2008 R2) and decreased storage costs of Exchange 2010. Thank the economy for the focus on efficiency gains. Upgrades like Exchange 2010 will get close budget scrutiny in 2010/2011 and for the remainder of this year. Read more
Mike Volpi kept his word to his Skype investment group, he got the Father of SIP - Jonathan Rosenberg, to jump ship.
Skype announced Roseberg jumped ship from Cisco the day after our blog story published emails that disclosed Rosenberg had an interest in discussing Skype with Volpi.
Rosenberg is now Skype's Chief Technology Strategist - responsible for Skype's overall architecture and technology strategy. Read more
Although the ISR G2 announcement from Cisco seems like more of the same, but faster and stronger, there are significant improvements related to voice and video that are worth mentioning. Here is a table that shows them:
At least Cisco is warning Unified Communications customers about it NOT successfully offering support for Microsoft Windows 7:
"Cisco will have no liability for any delay in delivery, or failure to deliver, any or all of the planned Windows 7 support features set forth herein. Therefore, any such delay or failure will not in any way grant to Cisco customers the right to return, refund, adjust, or exchange any previously purchased Cisco products or products that customers may purchase under their Cisco purchase contracts."
Are you "rolling the dice" by deploying Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) while purchasing the following Cisco UC products? Read more
Recent release of Vonage Mobile® application on the Iphone and Blackberry has caused a lot of excitement among bloggers, Iphone and Blackberry users and the news media. What is little known to everybody is that with the installation of a small hardware on the Vonage World® line, Vonage Mobile® becomes unnecessary. Everybody was waiting for a Vonage World® version that would work on their cell phones. What we got was just a cheaper calling card that works only on an expensive smart phone - the Iphone or the Blackberry. Read more
The New York Times is reporting that Skype's cofounders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis will become significant owners of the investment group buying a 65% interest in Skype from eBay for approximately $1.9 billion in cash (which values Skype at $2.75 billion).
Simultaneously, it now appears Mike Volpi is being kicked to the curb by the very same investment group he organized to purchase Skype from eBay!
In a fascinating development, copies of Mike Volpi's email messages that appeared within legal litigation exhibits (page 6), reveal he had absolutely no problem stepping on the toes of his former employer, Cisco Systems (which is quite interesting because Volpi was considered by many to be the most likely Cisco executive to succeed John Chambers as Cisco's CEO). Read more
The background is blue and the text is brown. It acts the same on Firefox and Safari.
There are few products on the VoIP marketplace that aim to solve a major problem: Completing the difficult transition from TDM (or legacy) telephony to Voice Over IP. After spending a few months with the Portico TVA from Citel, I'm convinced that the TVA is one of those essential products.
With the continued economic uncertainty, companies and organizations need cost effective methods to continue their transition from TDM to VoIP. Now, with the Portico TVA, organizations can utilize their existing digital handsets to connect to SIP-based soft switches or IP centrex systems.
While I agree this is an appropriate solution, I don't see how it's different than what's offered today. With just about any ISP, you can select a speed level of service matching your bandwidth needs - unless I just happen to live in a utopian area of our country! The problem isn't in applying this concept, it's that the ISPs seem to try to drive people to the higher-cost level and therefore discount the higher tier and penalize the lower tier in order to narrow the cost gap between them. Read more
Cisco CEO John Chambers was recently named one of America's Best Leaders, today however, The New York Times in a scathing article (at least in my opinion), is questioning whether Cisco shareholders will ever see a return on their investment.
According to the Times story:
Breakingviews.com correspondent - Robert Cyran criticized the eternal ebullience of Chambers:
"Mr. Chambers, who once claimed Cisco could increase sales by 50 percent a year over the long run. They’ve since grown 7 percent annually."
Cyran then lashed out at Chambers' management reorganization:
"Cisco has 59 standing boards and councils. This seems like a recipe for endless meetings, management confusion and reduced accountability."
Read more
this has really made the job a lot more easier. Predictive dialer services gives you more efficient, accurate and scalable results in the market. this site can pride you with that:
Predictive Dialer Services
Today George Morton - Dual CCIE #18532 Routing and Switching/Security, provided his analysis of Cisco's new worldwide CCIE count:
"I'm always surprised when Cisco announces the CCIE numbers. There's no rhyme nor reason that I can understand as to when they publish the numbers. The interesting thing is that this report shows about one month of activity and the big news is China.
"Since the last report about 32 days ago, China has had a decrease in its total number of CCIEs. Now it's important to remember if 5 pass and 6 are decertified then the net new CCIE number for the report is -1. In this monthly report the net new CCIE number for China is -9. With China leading the way for so many years this is a major shift." Read more
After the debacle called the Blackberry Storm, you have to wonder if Verizon is really ready to take another run at the iPhone. From one viewpoint the Google Android powered Droid phone must a very capable contender, given how the recent Droid video ads pick at iPhone weak points. Hard to say the Droid will dethrone the iPhone, but it certainly has the potential of keeping Verizon customers tempted to switch to AT&T in order to get an iPhone. Read more
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