1. The way of business solutions
June 2016www.insightssuccess.com
Is Unied Communications
Worth the Effort?
Dave Casey
Peak Up Time
The Power of
Converged Solutions
Thomas Beck
Teo Technologies
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
Assured Motion for
any Vehicle
David Bruemmer
5D Robotics
Didier Jaubert
CEO
Arkadin:Arkadin:
EditorʼsDeskEditorʼsDesk
CollaborationofUCwithCloudCollaborationofUCwithCloud
Unified Communications
Impacting Business
Communications
Unified Communications
Impacting Business
Communications
Chalk TalkChalk Talk
Need of an HourNeed of an Hour
Successful
Implementation
of Unified
Communications
Successful
Implementation
of Unified
Communications
FuturistaFuturista
Unified Communications
along with
BYOD Priority on
The Technology Roadmap
Unified Communications
along with
BYOD Priority on
The Technology Roadmap
Industry EvolutionIndustry Evolution
Unified Communications
to Revolutionize the
Public Sector
Unified Communications
to Revolutionize the
Public Sector
LEADING PROVIDER OF UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS
SERVICES FOR THE DIGITAL WORKPLACE
LEADING PROVIDER OF UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS
SERVICES FOR THE DIGITAL WORKPLACE
2.
3.
4. he focal point of all enterprises today is integrating their real-time
Tcommunication 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.
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.
Editorial
Archana Ghule
Unied
Communications
Will Continue
To Rule
The Marketplace
5.
6. sales@insightssuccess.com
Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal
Art Design Director Rashmi Borkar
Picture Editor
Amol Kamble
Archana GhuleManaging Editor
Co-designer Alex Noel
Visualiser David King
Business Development Manager Mike Thomas,
Database Management Steve
Technology Consultant Vishal More
Circulation Manager Robert
Research Analyst Jennifer
Business Development Executive
John,
David, Peter,
Robort,
Ariana LawrenceSenior Editor
Co-Editors
Sonal Burghate
Sugandha Sharma
David Smith
Charlie Gupta
Mary D’Souza
Stephanie Andrews
,6
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Marketing Manager Chris
Nick Adams
7.
8. Didier Jaubert
CEO
C
o
v
e
r
s
t
o
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y
C
o
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s
t
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Dave Casey
Regional Vice President
Peak Up Time
Is Unied Communications
Worth the Effort?
Is Unied Communications
Worth the Effort?
Thomas Beck
Director of Marketing Business
Development, Teo Technologies
The Power of
Converged Solutions
The Power of
Converged Solutions
C O N T E N
Unied Communications
to Revolutionize the
Public Sector
Industry Evolution
Unied Communications
to Revolutionize the
Public Sector
Industry Evolution46
30
Successful
Implementation
of Unied
Communications
Chalk Talk
Successful
Implementation
of Unied
Communications
Chalk Talk38
08
10
Collaboration
of UC with Cloud
Editor’s Desk
Collaboration
of UC with Cloud
Editor’s Desk17
Unied Communications
Impacting Business
Communications
Need of an Hour
Unied Communications
Impacting Business
Communications
Need of an Hour24
FuturistaFuturista
42 Unied Communications
along with BYOD
Priority On The Technology
Roadmap
Unied Communications
along with BYOD
Priority On The Technology
Roadmap
9. Premiere Global Services, Inc.
Theodore P. Schrafft
CEO
SOFTEL Communications, Inc.
John Cognata
Co-founder Business
Development Executive
Wildix Unied
Communications Solution
Stefano Osler
CEO
8x8 Inc.
Vik Verma
CEO
AireSpring, Inc.
Avi Lonstein
Co-founder CEO
Blueface
Alan Foy
CEO
Philipp Beck
Founder CEO
Luware AG
Yorktel
Ron Gaboury
CEO
T P A G E
20
22
26
28
44
32
36
40
10. For 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
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
The Power of
Converged Solutions
08 | June 2016 |
CXO Standpoint
11. 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.
The Application Monopoly Game via
MA
Through aggressive merger and
acquisition (MA) 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
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
unified 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 unified
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.
Thomas Beck
Director of Marketing
Business Development
Teo Technologies
CXO Standpoint
09| June 2016 |
13. The 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 (UCC) 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
Arkadin:
LeadingProviderof
Unified
Communications
Servicesforthe
DigitalWorkplace
14. “ 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 long-
term 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
15. 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
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.
Arkadin’s suite of UC solutions is from
Microsoft Skype for Business and
Cisco Jabber combined with WebEx.
Delivered in the Cloud for fast
international deployment with a high
ROI, the services are integrated with
Arkadin’s stable, crystal clear audio
conferencing combined with a
comprehensive suite of wraparound
services (live assistance, training,
reporting, etc.).
The center of their UC strategy is
Arkadin Total Connect, a Microsoft
Skype for Business hosted service.
Integrated into Arkadin ‘as a Service’,
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
rd
traditional PBX and 3 party
conferencing services.
Businesses benefit from the
convenience of a single all-in-one
solution, which offers substantial cost
savings from on premise UC
deployments, coupled with Arkadin’s
premium quality integrations,
networking expertise and customer
support.
Didier Jaubert explains: “We are one of
only a few service providers operating
on a global scale capable of completing
Microsoft’s offer as a fully integrated
platform for meetings and voice. It’s a
winning ‘best of both worlds’ strategy
that puts us in complete alignment with
Microsoft from a feature, server and
geographic perspective.”
“Last Autumn Arkadin was recognised
with NTT Communications in
Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Unified
Communications as a Service,
Worldwide. We feel this recognition is
a testament to the strength of our
combined global UCaaS offering,”
added Mr. Jaubert.
‘Three Strategic Pillars’ for Growth
Strategy
Arkadin has an ambitious growth
agenda based on capturing a sizable
share of the fast growing UCC
market. The strategy is centered on
three strategic pillars: Best UCC
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
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.
We will also continue our partnerships
with leading technology companies,
including MICROSOFT, ON24,
ADOBE, VIDYO, CISCO, BLUE
JEANS NETWORK and IBM for best-
in-class Cloud solutions that are
feature rich, intuitive and integrated
with our premium audio conferencing
for an exceptional user experience.
Each of our partners has a different set
of capabilities which enables us to be a
true one-stop shop for UCC
services.”
In addition to the best technology
partners, Arkadin will align with the
most strategic organisations and
services for developing high growth
go-to-market strategies. At the top of
Cover
Story
[
We have 15 years’ experience in delivering Cloud-based UCC
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
[“ “
16. 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
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
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
in a high growth market with the right mix of market
leading UCC 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!”
Cover
Story
Unified
Communications
Unified
Communications
17.
18. ccording to a research, the global Unified Communications market size is assumed to reach USD 75.81 billion by
A2020. 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 (UCC) 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.
Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS)
Expected to Drive Growth
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
19. The 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 rapidly-
advancing communications
technology.
UC on Cloud Boosting Productivity
When it comes to assemble the
productivity systems and applications
of a company, Cloud-based UC models
are the right choices. Let it be the
conference line, data backup, call
routing stations, or email provider UC
on cloud help put all four and many
more at one place, making it easy to
achieve at the higher level of a
company. Business owners do not have
to worry about any missed detail as
everything will be safe on the cloud.
No More Updatations
Company’s UC channels exist in the
virtual realm through apps, computer
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
downloading an app upgrade or a
newer version of your existing
computer software, instead spending
time and money purchasing the latest
hardware update.
Ease of Communication
The communication with business
partners, employees, stakeholders, and
customers from across the country and
around the world can be communicated
freely by Cloud-based UC. Services
that provide businesses with
individualized phone extensions and
email sorting, help companies connect
customers with the right business
representative instantly and easily,
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.
Collaboration
of UC with Cloud
Editors Desk
17 | June 2016 |
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21. Management BriefCompany Name
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.
www.airespring.com
Arkadin
www.arkadin.com
Avi Lonstein
Co-founder CEO
Didier Jaubert
CEO
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.
Blueface is an Irish provider of Voice over IP telephony
services delivering cutting edge, innovative solutions which
enable their customers’ businesses.
Blueface
www.blueface.com
Alan Foy
CEO
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.
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 is a leading global provider of UCC, cloud, and
video managed services for large enterprise and federal
government customers.
Premiere Global Services, Inc.
www.pgi.com
Theodore P. Schrafft
CEO
SOFTEL Communications, Inc.
www.softel.com
John Cognata
Co-founder Business
Development Executive
SOFTEL Communications is a proven choice for enterprises
organizations, looking to harness business opportunity through
unified communications and collaboration technology.
Wildix Unified
Communications Solution
www.wildix.com
Yorktel
www.yorktel.com
Ron Gaboury
CEO
8x8, Inc.
www.8x8.com
Vik Verma
CEO
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
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.
Mike Frayne
CEO
VISIONOSS LIMITED
www.voss-solutions.com
P i is the world’s largest dedicated provider of collaboration
software and services.
G
22. Trusted Provider of Secure and
Reliable Enterprise
Communications
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
operate as one unified entity while
delivering the highest quality of
service in the industry.
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.
A
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
20 | June 2016 |
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
8x8: Great Communications
No Compromises
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
23. | June 2016 | 21
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
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.
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
services.
Future Vista of 8x8
While reflecting on the future vista of
8x8 Vik says, “We are at a tipping
point in the industry with many mid-
size and large companies now seeking
out cloud communications solutions.
traditional on-premises PBX and
contact center hardware and software-
based systems with a flexible and
scalable Software as a Service (SaaS)
alternative, encompassing cloud
business telephony, collaboration,
contact center, and conferencing
services.
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.
“
“
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
24. 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
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
AireSpring’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
22 | June 2016 |
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
AireSpring: Simplifying the Complexities
of Integrating Cloud
Communications Solutions
Avi Lonstein
Co-founder CEO
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.
25. | June 2016 | 23
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
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The
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
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The
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 high-
quality 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.”
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
list that extends all the way to the
CEO. The AireSpring Advantage also
offers the largest available coverage on
a reliable and diversified network and
the assurance that, because all services
are delivered by a single vendor, there
is none of the usual finger-pointing in
the event of a network outage.
Avi Lonstein, a Telecom
Entrepreneur
As a President of ADDTEL, he was
directly responsible for growing the
company from a start-up operation to
one of the country’s most successful
nationwide long distance resellers.
Under Mr. Lonstein’s direction,
ADDTEL was recognized as one of
the telecom industry’s most innovative
and well-managed companies, and
experienced substantial growth during
his tenure.
Mr. Lonstein’s next entrepreneurial
venture was AireSpring which he co-
founded in 2001. Mr. Lonstein and his
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.
AireSpring’s managed network
services enable companies to reduce
their CAPEX expense and lower their
operating costs. AireSpring’s managed
services help customers defray those
costs, and reduce their financial
burden. By letting AireSpring take on
the network operations, customers are
able to have a stable monthly cost
while enjoying all the benefits of the
latest technology.
Unique “White Glove” Service
Approach
One of the only companies to offer a
“white glove” service approach in
delivering UC solutions, AireSpring’s
business VoIP customers are given
professional on-site installation and
testing of phones, switches and
routers. In addition to their nationwide
network, they also have partnerships
with all major carriers which enables
them to configure their network
switches to prioritize AireSpring’s
customers’ voice traffic, reducing
latency and delivering clear call
26. Phones, 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
initiated the urge of BYOD in the
companies. This is the reason business
communication has shifted its way
towards the new ways of
communication.
Web-based communication tools has
entered the scenario
The traditional PBX systems and
hardware-based video conferencing
setups have been replaced by mobile
devices and web-based communication
services, making business
communication a simple and more
effective process. The
untrustworthiness of BYOD approach
has led the acceptance of VoIP and
cloud-based email servers while it
comes to business communication.
WebRTC becoming
‘Communications Favorite’
Proving to be the combination of all-
mobile, web-based, and unified
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
communications in apps and websites
with no need of plug-ins, hardware or
proprietary technology. An easy, cost-
effective method to deploying unified
communications, WebRTC is the most
preferred business communication
platform nowadays.
‘Internet of Things joining the
conversation’
Machines have been adding to the
benefits of the business for a long time,
but this is the age when truly machines
will be ‘the whole and sole’ of the
business because of the entrance of the
Internet of Things in to it. The addition
of connected devices to the business
communications landscape via the
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.
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.
Unified Communications
Impacting Business
Communications
24 | June 2016 |
Chalk Talk
27.
28. 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
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
The 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
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
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The
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
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.
Blueface: Making Communication
Simple
Alan Foy
CEO
26 | June 2016 |
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The
integration between their phone calls
and their sales and marketing process.
Blueface as a Team
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 pan-
European 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.
platform upon release in the short
term.
Key Features of Blueface
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
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
technologies coupled with a reliable
value proposition.
Leader behind Blueface
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.
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
“
“
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
30. add-ons for all interactions.
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.
productive day by day.
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
Native 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
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
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.
Luware AG:
Promising - Swiss and Simple
Philipp Beck
Founder CEO
28 | June 2016 |
31. | June 2016 | 29
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The
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.
PresenceAssistant, simplifies the
routing of incoming calls, thus adding
a feature known as target-oriented
presence to Skype for Business / Lync
various presence statuses.
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
Skype for business worldwide, Luware
started focusing since 2014 mainly on
the international market. First wins in
Germany, Belgium, UK and Kuwait in
2015 paved the way for strong
international growth.”
Going forward, with its headquarters
based in Switzerland, Luware will
focus on strongly deliver local in-
county services in those regions 2015
and beyond. The most recent
development includes offices in UK,
Dubai, Spain and New York.
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.
In conjunction with Microsoft
products, the solutions from Luware
allow customer service representatives
and internal services alike to handle all
concerns individually, personally and
quickly.
Beyond Traditional Solutions
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
Philipp Beck, Passionate Persona
behind Luware
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 Co-
Browsing. With the help of latest
technologies such as WebRTC, CRM
integrations, recording solutions and
“
“
Solutions from
Luware provides
more than just
communications,
we make
customers
experience true
cooperation
32. CXO Standpoint
Pick up any periodical; monitor any blog and you will
hear tale of the power of Unified Communications
and how organizations galore are basking in a
connected world. But is this fact or fiction?
For decades, business has progressively sought quicker,
more direct and effective ways to communicate both
internally and externally. Not to show my age, but I grew
up in the world of receptionists, large mail rooms, and pink
message slips. We just knew we were cutting edge. This
gave way to fax machines, WordPerfect on our desktops,
and DID (Direct Inward Dial) where incoming calls were
automatically routed direct to my desk phone, bypassing the
receptionist and my admin. Great to start with; quickly a
security hole where all sorts of folks were ringing me up
direct. Yuck! Not a fan of too much communication.
Fast forward to 2016, where the mantra is a Unified,
Global, Universal world where we are all peers
communicating via phone, email, text, mobile, video, social
media, and groupware (Slack,Yammer). We even use text-
to-speech and speech-to-text as we are too lazy to listen to
our voicemails. Are we gaining ground or has the noise
level risen to where little is accomplished while we are
bombarded with information? My friend Heather Clancy
opines on the social aspect in her Fortune column today:
Is Unied Communications
Worth the Effort?
Is Unied Communications
Worth the Effort?
30 | June 2016 |
33. CXO Standpoint
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.
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….
There are myriad UC systems available
today with varied capability and
market acceptance. Two characteristics
define the winners; simplicity in
function, and tight integration to
application platforms.
The best technology, poorly delivered
and overly complicated, will be swiftly
be rejected by the user community.
There is a reason iPhones triumph over
technically superior and far less
expensive competing devices. Simple.
Intuitive. Bulletproof.
Saw this first hand on a UC rollout
several years ago. At the time
Blackberry and Nokia ruled the
corporate mobile market with Motorola
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
other. That is when I predicted Apple
would win. (And I was smart enough
to purchase a few shares).
Application integration is where a
properly implemented UC system can
leverage the incredible sums spent on
Enterprise ERP, CRM, and integrated
databases. Information is delivered
directly to stakeholders at their desk,
on the road, at home, and unfortunately
even on vacation. The flip side is
delivering a flawless presentation to
your best client via desktop sharing
from your tablet whilst standing on the
sidelines at the youth soccer game.
With your boss and team conferenced
in. We have seen corporations win
“Best Place to Work” rankings due to
Dave Casey
Regional Vice President
Peak Up Time
| June 2016 | 31
34. 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
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.
Today’s incredibly dynamic and
complex, UCC 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
Fastest Growing
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The
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
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The
PGi: World’s Most Dedicated
Provider of Collaboration
Software and Services
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
32 | June 2016 |
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The
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.
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.
Leadership Dedicated to Bringing
the Best Collaboration Experience
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.
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.
Services. PGi drives additional
productivity and value for businesses
through adoption and real-time service
support of collaboration solutions.
Beyond products and applications, the
services part of their business is also
becoming more critical as PGi helps
customers manage the complexity of
enterprise collaboration. The more
value we can bring to our customers
by driving adoption and utilization
means clients realize the value of
collaboration and can document a
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
We are dedicated to
bringing the best
virtual collaboration
experience to each
and every business
professional around
the world through
our product
innovation, our
global network and
our extraordinary
customer care
“
“
36. Assured Motion for
any Vehicle
PS has been a boon for the
Gworld 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.
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
David Bruemmer
CEO, Co-founder
5D Robotics.
CXO Standpoint
34| June 2016 |
37. 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.
CXO Standpoint
| June 2016 | 35
38. 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;
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
Q. 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. Business-
to-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
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
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
36 | June 2016 |
39. | June 2016 | 37
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
“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!
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;
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 re-
development 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.
40. Unified 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.
Just because there are multiple
elements, which resides in unified
communications solutions rather than a
single product, getting a tailored
solution is essential and more
achievable when knowing exactly what
is required. There are numerous
challenges companies have to face,
while implementing a perfect fit UC
plan, including changes to business
processes, integration issues with other
software applications or systems
already in use, security and
compliance.
For the best adoption of UC, there are
a few points to think on:
Need of Regular Evaluation in the
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
business; there are some factors to be
considered, which include culture
change and technology adoption,
training, business processes and
objectives, technical requirements,
financials as well as stakeholders,
governance and policy.
Changing Business Cultures
One of the utmost important things,
while implementing UC is the
knowledge of ongoing business
culture, which will let the company
determine the impact deployment and
integration of the Unified
Communication’s solution, is having.
It will help the company to transform
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.
Successful
Implementation
Of Unified
Communications
Successful
Implementation
Of Unified
Communications
Need of an Hour
38 | June 2016 |
41.
42. 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
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
O
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,
Stefano Osler
CEO
Wildix: Simplifying the Company’s
Internal External Communication
while Optimizing Productivity
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
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.
40 | June 2016 |
43. | June 2016 |41
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
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.
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
to participate at WebRTC Conference
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
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.
Leadership Committed to Standards
and Innovation
In 2000, Stefano started to work on the
development of a new communication
system and dedicated himself to the
project management activities.
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.”
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
“
“
The goal is to
avoid the
compatibility
issues
which often
appearduring
the installation
phase when using
the products of
different brands
44. A
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
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
Unied Communications
along with Bring Your Own Device
(BYOD) Priority on
The Technology Roadmap
Futurista
42 | June 2016 |
45. 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.
No Restriction on Using Devices
UC also helps the user in keeping their
personal mobile number private, at the
same time allowing them to be in touch
with colleagues and customers using
virtually any device. Additionally, the
business phone calls made from the
employees mobile number appear to
originate from company’s Hosted
Voice number instead of employees
own mobile number. These business
phone calls also use employees Hosted
Voice minutes plan. An employee can
have a facility to start a call on their
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 full-
featured 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
collaboration and unified messaging
features such as screen sharing,
presence, instant messaging, SMS text
messaging, and video conferencing.
All these communication and
collaboration features of UC helps
speed up virtually every aspect of the
business cycle like decision-making,
customer support issue resolution, lead
generation, sales, etc.
UC with integrated telephony allows
busy workers more freedom and
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.
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.
| June 2016 |43
46. 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
and a trend toward cloud services or
cloud/premise hybrids.
For more than 30 years, Yorktel has
removed complexity from video and
UCC, and executed its operational
mandate to deliver products and
services that increase usability and
agility for today’s multi-national
enterprise.
To 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 (UCC) becomes more
ubiquitous with smart devices
supporting clientless UC applications,
a greater density of commodity video
44 | June 2016 |
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
Yorktel: Making Unified Communications
Collaboration Simple
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
47. | June 2016 | 45
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
Fastest Growing
Unied Communications
Solution Provider
Companies
10
The
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,
UCC 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.
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.
Recognizing a worldwide exodus from
Capex-intensive Tech/Telecom
infrastructure, Ron successfully
positioned Yorktel at the forefront of
the cloud and managed services
revolution. In 2014, Frost Sullivan
rd
ranked Yorktel as the 3 largest
managed video conferencing services
provider in North America.
Yorktel has achieved numerous
milestones, industry honors and
distinctions during Ron’s tenure as
CEO, including, in January of 2016,
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.
Yorktel goes beyond traditional UCC
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.
Unique to Univago is Yorktel’s
Enterprise Gateway, which
eliminates interoperability issues that
often plague users trying to connect
between their Microsoft Lync/Skype
for Business deployments and existing
SIP or H.323 conference rooms and
infrastructure. The Enterprise Gateway
enables Univago to natively facilitate
communication between existing
conference rooms and the most widely
used telecommunications platforms,
“
“
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
48. Industry Evolution
It 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
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,
UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS
TO REVOLUTIONIZE THE
PUBLIC SECTOR
I
46 | June 2016 |