|
|
|
(c)
Unified Communications Apps & Cloud Communications Forum 5-17-2013 -
Issue #192
Unified Communications Apps & Cloud Communications Forum is an
Independent Forum on
Unified Communications Apps,
Lync CEBP Apps, Cloud Communications,
OTT-Over The Top Apps
from Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Apple and other Communications,
Mobile, Contextual-Intelligence
companies and
technologies.
Microsoft
Lync is a trademark of the Microsoft Corporation.
|
|
|
 We can help in developing webinars, customer
studies, social media and sales,
marketing
for
Lync, unified communications,
cloud and other tech.
Click here
|
|
Jobs
- Help Wanted - Situations Wanted
Send
them and we will post them.
Enabling
Technologies is hiring - click here
for jobs
|
|
Our
Sponsors
|
|
Enabling
Technologies is a premier Microsoft Lync Voice Partner as Microsoft
Unified Communications Partner of the Year for 2009, 2010 and 2012 with
over 700 UC Deployments.
To
help prevent your organization from such attacks at the network
perimeter, the security filter for the Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Edge
Server monitors sign-in attempts and enforces account lockout at the
network perimeter.
Your
suggestions, ideas and wish list for Microsoft Lync Server and
Client. This message is not supported or paid for by
Microsoft.
This is NOT a Microsoft
Tag or QR Code, it is a very cool Lync Protocols Poster.
 
Certificate Program for Integrated Sales-Social Media Professional
Education
and
Channel Partner Sales Training Program
iFlipTipPro
iPhone/iPad App
Flipcards &
Flashcards
for personal multi-media notecards
for iPhone and iPad to create Corporate Presentations, Multimedia
Training and Personal Notecard-Study "Flipcard" System
iFlipCards
lets you make Q&A flipcards, capture audio, video, text and
take/use pics and answer with pics, video, text and audio, not just
text.
iFlipTips create with a
single button multimedia quick reference cards with text, audio, video
and pics.
iFlipTips can be shared
posted to Twitter, Facebook or email. Capture information and file it fast
with unlimited Library Folders and Subfolders.
For
advertising and other marcom options,
Click here
or
call 303-594-1694
|
|
|
|
AdvaTel
Espera exponentially increases the value of Lync response groups.
It
provides the real-time monitoring and reporting necessary to quantify
many standard call center KPIs. From IT Helpdesk to smaller call
centers, Espera is an essential tool for long term success."
-Alex Lewis, Principal Consultant - Modality Systems.
Free Dealer
Versions and Summer User Discounts
Dealer Inquiries Invited - Click here - Mention LUF for Special
|
|
Welcome
to the UC Apps & Cloud Communications Forum
 The sad thing about mechanical switching technology is
that you often wish it would come back at least for a day.
Rooms filled with crossbar switching systems often made
conversation impossible. Click on image for how a crossbar
works. Similar switching systems are now hardly more than a
rack mount or even software only and work silently. This week I
explore WebRTC and WebRTC gateways which can make SIP applications
accessible globally via wireless or wireless. Technology always
moves far faster than we can cope with but there are days when
technology was very noisy like an old car.
Our goal is to find UCaasS, Ucoms, CEBP applications,
solutions, tech, users and other content on Google, Apple, Twitter,
Facebook, Amazon, Oracle, Microsoft Skype/Lync, Kinect,SharePoint and
others. We want hear from you about great ideas on the www-wild
wild web of internet communications and online cloud, SaaS,
smartphone apps and other hot tech solutions. Send your ideas
and products anytime.
|
|
Certified SIP Certification Program available
Certified SIP Professional (CSP)
Program
Summer Certification Course
New
Fredricksburg, VA June 20-21
in
Boulder, Atlanta & Webinar and Inhouse/other locations
Click
on image for course description. Come for the course stay for
the view
|
|
WebRTC-Web Real-Time Communications - Weaving a New
Way for Web Communications
There is so much storm fury about WebRTC I wanted to
"drill down" a bit and explore this new tech as it has been
called by many as a "game changer." WebRTC essentially
adds real-time communications to the website allowing for IM, chat
and other features without a plug-in.  The technical term is
stateless or connectionless rather than requiring a custom app or SIP
(a connection-oriented session). While way websites already
offer these features, WebRTC portends to be like any website
experience today and not need a plug-in such as Flash to work using
HTML5. This issue is very timely to many though I was surprised
to see out of ~150 sessions only
one session at Google I/O on WebRTC. Please
note the following chart was prepared by my own research with the
help of some of the best minds in the UC business. If you have
any suggestions for improvement, please email them anytime.
Bottom-line - I am sure there will be more to say about
WebRTC though like Mounds and Almond Joy sometimes you feel like a
nut (plug-in or app) and sometimes you don't. Of course, the
browser isn't going away, however, device specific apps for Android
and IOS are finding great favor with close to 1M apps on each
platform, 700M Android devices, 500M on IOS and iTunes just passing
50B app downloads. To be honest, I prefer apps as you can get
very specific with features and functionality in more
"immersive" ways than you can't with browsers. Like
any legacy versus infancy tech, it will take time and motivation on
the part of management to evaluate WebRTC and then direct developers
to build apps.
|
|
SPiDR Provides the "Spin" To Weave a New
Web
For hosting/carriers, If you find the need for a WebRTC
gateway in your product mix and need a checkbox, GENBAND has a new
gateway to help. Why I like this product is that is allows developers
to bridge the gap between WebRTC and SIP apps.
GENBAND SPiDR™, the industry's most comprehensive WebRTC
gateway. Deployed as a component of GENBAND's SMART CORE™, SMART
EDGE™ and SMART EXPERIENCE™ solutions, SPiDR enters a ground breaking
product category based on emerging WebRTC and HTML5 technologies that
empower innovative web communities to create bold, new services that
directly integrate with existing SIP-based communications networks.
Click on
image for website.
By
deploying SPiDR, service providers can quickly extend the reach and
breadth of their offerings to include rich multimedia directly from
any web browser - including voice, video, IM and presence. SPiDR also
protects service providers' investments by seamlessly interworking
future telecom network elements to the web world. Fulfilling all
requirements of a WebRTC gateway, SPiDR delivers independent media
and signaling interworking capabilities and provides transcoding
functions needed to effectively and efficiently bridge between
diverse Over-The-Top and legacy signaling and voice/video media
streams.
 Bottom-line - As a fan of SIP, I have always been
excited about SIP "forking" and all the potential apps such
as hazardous alerting, multi-call connections. Click on graphic for
example. However, since you can never really know how the user
is going to need services or help, providing the "spin"
both users and providers can create a better web experience.
|
|
Lync Broadsoft
Link Up
 We gave iscoord the Ucom App of the Week award
in March for their is-phone for iPhone/iPad and now they take
integration to a significant new level with the leading hosted UC
provider Broadsoft. The newest is-phone for BroadWorks version
2.1, a software plug-in seamlessly integrates BroadWorks capabilities
in Microsoft™ Lync™ 2010 client.
is-phone Lync for BroadWorks version 2.1 is certified by
BroadSoft. It
unleashes BroadWorks capabilities in Microsoft Lync and now includes
major improvements:
- All
BroadWorks telephony features provided in deskphone mode are now
supported in softphone mode: CommPilot Express, Remote Office,
Do not Disturb, Call Forwarding Always, Simultaneous Ringing,
lookup in BroadWorks directory, direct access to User's
self-care portal.
- The
User now gets the same BroadWorks UC experience whether running
is-phone Lync BroadWorks in deskphone or softphone mode. The
User can now smoothly switch between deskphone and softphone
mode, by a single click and using the same BroadWorks telephony
account.
- BroadWorks
Device Management Server (DMS) allows provisioning and
administration of is-phone Lync BroadWorks "devices"
in both deskphone and softphone modes and includes a BroadWorks
licensing mechanism to ease installation and operation.
- Certified
release with BroadWorks 17 SP4, 18 SP1 and 19, including
certification of SIP interoperability tests in softphone mode.
- In
deskphone mode, the plug-in has been tested in virtualized
environment such as Citrix and Terminal Services.
To evaluate is-phone Lync for BroadWorks, please contact
your BroadSoft representative and register here to receive the
software.
Bottom-line - as BYOD moves mainstream, not just
multi-device but multi-app integration will be the limiting factor in
deployment. iscoord sees where devices and apps are going and
is already there.
|
|
Free trial of the Security Filter
Increase the security of your
Lync Server deployment
Protect your Microsoft Lync Server 2010 deployment from
Denial of Service (DoS) attacks and password brute-force attacks
when exposing your Lync Servers to the Internet.
- The Security Edge Filter protects your external SIP
traffic going through your Lync Edge Server.
- The Security Web Filter protects your external Lync
HTTPS traffic going through your Microsoft Forefront TMG 2010
reverse proxy.
Click on image for website -
mention LUF45 for free trial.
|
|
|
One Last Look IntelePeer Moves Video to the
Problem
If you have read anything I have written in the past 30
years on teleconferencing it has been that the providers don't
understand you need focus "on
problems, not people" in doing video.
IntelePeer's view is to provide any-to-anything unlike
traditional solutions.
Here's what IntelePeer thinks of video of traditional video
conferencing:
- Flexible pay-as-you-go services and bundled
solutions to meet your specific small to medium
size enterprises may be unable to afford their own
video conferencing infrastructure
- Managing interoperability between vendors
and platforms is difficult
-
B2B enterprise-grade video conferencing is complicated to deploy
and maintain especially
IntelePeer's answer is to integrate Vidtel
MeetMe any-to-any® cloud-based video conferencing service into its portfolio
of Unified Communications (UC) and SIP Trunking solutions.
IntelePeer adds Vidtel MeetMe that allow multiple conferencing
participants using H.323, SIP, Skype, Google Talk and web
browsers to meet in video conferencing rooms in the cloud.
The MeetMe service allows participants to Bring Your Own Device
(BYOD) from a broad variety of choices, including traditional video
systems, laptops, tablets and smartphones. That means it can provide
video conferencing between traditional SIP and H.323 hardware
endpoints, SIP soft clients like Cisco Jabber, WebRTC-based browsers,
and consumer applications like Google Talk and Skype. Even better is
that all this is seamlessly handled by the partnership between
Intelepeer and Vidtel without any reservations, pre-setup or
pre-configuration required by any of the participants.
This any-to-any approach gives users the flexibility as
they grow, acquire, divest and meet other business challenges.
|
|
One Last Look Communications Engines Power
Business Decisions
Yorktel has developed an exciting really unified video
communications solution. However, they have gone beyond that looking
to the future needs of their customers, I spoke with Vishal
Brown Vice President of Professional Services for Yorktel. He
explained, "As voice, video and messaging further converge many
organizations are faced with the dilemma of having to decide which
communications control platform they should centralize their
enterprise communications environment around.
Why is this a big decision?
Communications control engines (Registrars) tie real-time presence
information with instant messaging, videoconferencing and voice
communications.
In essence it lies at the heart of
bringing different modes of enterprise communication together."
Main UC Players
- Microsoft:
Lync
- Cisco:
Call Manager
- Avaya:
Aura
- Other
Mentions: Siemens OpenScape, IBM Notes, Google Enterprise Apps
What this means is shown below.
As you can see in the picture, Yorktel has integrated a
number of different video vendors into one unified communications
wall. This concept brings together real world meetings together into
one system. Yorktel calls it their VideoCloud™ and supports full
integration with Microsoft Lync and Office 365-the only provider with
this ability. Users on any Microsoft Lync clients, including
enterprise on-premise Lync server or Microsoft Office 365, can use
VideoCloud to connect to video conferencing systems from Cisco,
Polycom, Avaya (Radvision), LifeSize, and other vendors.
Vishal continued, "During the past few years, as
each of the players above expanded their breadth of communication
capabilities to encompass what we call today Unified Communications
the end result is overlapping features. The difficulty here is that
many enterprises have already invested in at least 2 of the above
platforms i.e. separate infrastructure investments in traditional
voice, video and messaging with separate associated work flows.
Given the critical role of a communications control
platform in Unified Communications, IT buyers/decision will need to
fundamentally decide on:
- Centralizing
around Voice: Cisco, Avaya
- Centralizing
around Messaging: Microsoft, IBM Notes
So what does this all mean?
IT Managers will face tough decisions as different UC
platform providers wrestle to be the Gatekeepers of enterprise
communications. IT managers will want to make sure that the decision
is predicated on:
- Features:
UC capabilities that align to work flows
- Infrastructure
Flexibility: Private, Hosted, Cloud
- Extensibility:
accommodate other communication applications(e.g. SIP trunking)
The key here is to keep users and the associated user
experience and workflows at the focal point of the decision-making.
Of note, is that Yorktel recently introduced Yorktel
VideoCloud™, it's Enterprise-Class Video Conferencing as-a-service
Portfolio. VideoCloud
provides three models, each of which offers a
distinct solution that addresses the inherent challenges of video
conferencing hindering organizations of all sizes.
- VideoCloud™ Virtual Meeting Room: A reservation-less,
on-demand video conferencing service interoperable with any H.323 or
SIP compliant desktop, room or mobile video conferencing client.
- VideoCloud™ Managed Conferencing
Service:
A fully managed conferencing service that provides cloud-based video
conferencing bridging, call control, and management to support
multipoint room video conferencing. This offering includes an
expansive suite of services to ensure that important group meetings
are successful, such as Reservations & Scheduling, Proactive
Monitoring, Incident Management, Performance to Service Level
Agreements (SLAs), Maintenance, and User Experience Detailed
Reporting.
- VideoCloud™ B2B Service: Serves as an extension
of the managed corporate video conferencing environment, and enables
a company to schedule and host external, inter-company video
conference meetings. The VideoCloud™ B2B Service is secure for all
participants because it is an outbound call for each company.
Yorktel Video Managed Services, VideoCloud™ and Managed
Media Services portfolio offer myriad resources that are swiftly
deployed, customizable and can scale as needed. From video
conferencing and internal communications to streaming media and
public broadcasts, you can contact Yorktel to create and manage their
professional video productions, video communications and visual
collaboration solutions.
Bottom-line - Yorktel can help you
create and manage your video communications solutions whatever the technology.
|
|
Free Trials and Demos
|
|
|
|
SIP Business Applications Planning Guide Updated
for 2013
Click on image to
schedule, complete course outline, references and more details.
What You Will Learn:
-
Review the fundamentals of IP-Internet Protocol and platforms required
for high performance SIP-VoIP systems. This includes soft
switches, gateways, routers, services and other critical
components.
-
Explore business applications and opportunities. Review what
customers are buying today and why they are buying. In addition,
emerging "killer applications" will be explained in
depth.
-
Quickly grasp complex subjects such as H.323, MGCP and SIP. As
SIP-Session Initiation Protocol emerges are the key VoIP
communications protocol, discover how this technology will
impact all voice communications systems from key, PBX, IP-PBX,
hosted, managed and other systems.
 -
Understand basic and advanced SIP-VoIP concepts features. From hosted,
managed, IAS, and IP-PBX, quickly understands
"what's-what" for different customer applications and
business models.
-
Probe the issues behind Integrated and Converged Access.
Understand when and why organizations need a converged access solution.
-
Understand why "network assessment" is critical to any
SIP-VoIP implementation and why this step cannot be overlooked.
-
Address the issue of QoS-Quality of Service by overcoming
jitter, echo, noise and other network problems. Review the role
of RTCP and other tools to monitor and maintain high performance
VoIP networks.
-
Understand the functions of the new communications
"toolbar." See how the benefits of "unified
communications" as they improve business operations.
-
Assess the Top-10 issues why SIP trunking and hosted VoIP is
more than "dial-tone," and how it can represent change
in the business and business model of even the smallest
enterprises. Discuss and explore new ways to improve fundamental
business processes.
-
Explore how a SIP-VoIP call is processed and review potential
security attacks. Discover how SPIT, VOMIT,
Calljacking, DOS and other terrorist attacks can target not just
data, but voice packets.
-
Review SIP and SIP Trunking and all the implications and
applications from TCO-Total Cost of Ownership to QoS-Quality of
Service. SIP Trunking is the most profound new form of
telecommunications since POTS.
And,
optionally explore Microsoft's Lync Communications Server features,
concepts, call flows, configurations and other issues for evaluation
and implementation.
|
|
Marketing Communications
Solutions
There are a number of other marcom solutions available
such as:
- Newsletters (e.g. private label version of Lync User
Forum) 
from Constant Contact
Certified Experts click here
- Webseminars ("Highest Scores Ever" -
Microsoft)
- Customer Case Studies ("Best Customer Case
Study' - Broadsoft)
- White Papers (Top-10 Tips for VoIP Implementation -
XO)
- SEO (top placement of key words in Google), e.g.
Google IVR Lync
- Social marketing (Twitter, social media course) see
my Twitter account @techtionary
- Social media training (course evaluations available)
- Articles - email for example
- Press Releases (email for examples)
- Training - your courses
- Course development new courses (Qwest, Microsoft,
others)
- Elearning course development and delivery (Qwest)
- Videos
- Consulting (product, strategic planning,
crossnetpoints model)
Email today to get help cross@gocross.com
|
|
Telecom Reseller reaches 37,000
readers every month by print, 1000s daily on line, by eBulletin, by
podcast and in special supplements.
24,000 of TR readers are IT
managers at enterprises and public entities with over 200 employees,
while another 12,000 are partners of Avaya, Microsoft, Cisco, Mitel,
NEC, Microsoft, Shoretel and hundreds of other companies as well as
other channel partners, dealers, systems integrators, agents and VARs
that sell directly to both SMBs and larger companies.
We can connect you with the people who sell to smaller
companies, and to the IT people who handle the internal needs of the
larger firms who, on the average, manages over 56 sites.
Here are some exciting new
options for summer:
- Event promotion - use to promote your event, webseminar, road show,
quarterly/annual meetings and other activities.
- Blog promotion - you have a blog so why not really promote it.
- Webseminar - promotion only or design, development, moderating and
promotion.
- Elite banner advertising on Telecom Reseller home page and others
This month and going forward, we are working on
special reports on Cloud Based UC Services and Products which will
include:
- Hosted and cloud based PBX-VoIP and other call
management solutions.
- Cloud based collaboration
- Mobility
- Conferencing, including voice, video and data
sharing
- Cloud based data management, security, performance
management and other communications
- Private cloud, MPLS and other SIP trunking solutions
Since 1988, Telecom Reseller is the industry standard
for UC news, opinion and technical advice. If you are targeting
companies that have historically relied on customer premises based
equipment or your go to market plan includes dealers, resellers and
VARs who sell into this space, Telecom Reseller can connect you with
the people you are looking for.
Click
here to receive the Media Kit.
|
|
Get Lync Smart: TECHnet click on image for link
Here's a great place to get Lync Smart. I particularly
like the labs and podcasts (which you can download and take with
you).
Webcasts
Tune in as Microsoft subject-matter experts present
product overviews and strategies for improving productivity and driving
down costs. Webcasts include technical presentations about
configuring, securing, and extending your unified communications
infrastructure.
Videos
Learn smart strategies, get new insights, and stay
up-to-date on Microsoft tools, technologies, and services. Stream or
download a video today.
Virtual Labs
Test drive Microsoft's unified communications solutions
in a virtual lab. It's simple-no complex setup or installation is
required. You get a downloadable manual and a 90-minute block of time
for each module, and you can sign up for additional 90-minute blocks
anytime.
Podcasts
Stream or download these audio podcasts on to your
favorite podcast software or mobile device. These podcasts are free
and do not require registration-just click, listen, and learn.
Here's from one of the labs I explore: The New
Enterprise Voice Features of Microsoft Lync Server 2010.
Microsoft Lync Server 2010 introduces the ability to give users a
second, private telephone line in addition to the primary telephone
line. Private telephone lines are often assigned to executives and
others who want an unlisted telephone number at which they can be
reached directly. Private telephone lines can only be
configured with the Lync Server Management Shell.
|
|
|
|
Lync Forum Jobs Board
click here to see.
Jobs added for free on Lync Forum website
Jobs added in Newsletter for a fee.
Email links to your jobs to cross@gocross.com
|
|
|
Lync Knowledge Source - 36 Blogs, Knowledge Sources on
Lync Forum website
Click here for Lync Forum
If
you have a blog to add or want to add your own, please send
email to cross@cross.com
|
|
TECHtionary
Knowledge Source
Click here for TECHtionary -- World's First and Largest Animated Library on
Technology with more than 3,015 animated tutorials.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lync is a Trademark of Microsoft. Unified
Communications Apps & Cloud Communications Forum is an independent
forum.
Advertising,
Exhibiting, Training and other Marcom Programs, call 303-594-1694 or click here.
The User Forum provides classroom and webseminar training as well as a
non-production environment for those IT departments without additional
equipment, budget or time. This allows planners and users to test
ideas, dial in and dial back out, IM file transfers, remote desktop
sharing, video conferencing, run scenarios, review logs, break linkages
and learning about new telephony features and network access. The
User Forum is also designed for both the system integrator/consultant who
wants to learn about tech without having to build their own system as
well as the enterprise customer who doesn't have the time, resources or
knowledge to develop one. Coming soon, User Forum Labs are designed
to be "hands-on" or "over-the-shoulder" with experts
available for Q&A and classes for feature-specific review.
About User Forum
The User Forum is a vendor-independent laboratory environment designed
for learning, technical guides, knowledge resources and online
"live" services. The User Forum provides planning, project
management, consulting, training, case studies, white papers, speaking
engagements, market/customer research, network planning and other
services.
Click here to contact.
(c) User Forum - all rights reserved.
|
|
|
|
