Staying Connected

Equifax, one of the country’s largest credit reporting agencies, revealed that the private information of some 143 million consumers had been compromised as a result of a data breach.  Was this hack avoidable?  Could Equifax have done a better job of notifying the affected parties?  What happens next?

Listen to this 10 minute podcast as Kevin DiLallo, a Senior Partner at LB3, discusses the legal fallout of the security breach with TC2’s Joe Schmidt.  Kevin cogently describes what happened at Equifax that opened the door to the massive hack, reveals the possible fines and damages Equifax may face, and lays out what enterprises can do to minimize their operational and legal risks of a similar hack.

Avaya, a key supplier of network infrastructure, maintenance/support, and contact center software for large enterprise customers, declared bankruptcy on January 19, 2017. Enterprise customers that rely upon Avaya for mission critical products, services, and support are understandably concerned about what the bankruptcy filing means for Avaya’s future and the impact it may have on their companies’ network services.

In this episode of Staying Connected, TC2 Project Director Joe Schmidt joins LB3 partners Andrew Brown and Kevin DiLallo to discuss the likely impact of Avaya’s bankruptcy on enterprise customers and what might happen to the company in the coming months.  Most importantly, they explain what your company should consider doing to deal with the bankrupt supplier in the short term.  They also lay out options for how to best position your company, regardless of what happens to Avaya.

Listen to this brief podcast and read the accompanying blog post so that you stay fully informed about this important event.

Verizon recently completed the purchase of XO Communications’ fiber-optic network business.  This might be good news for Verizon and XO’s seller, billionaire hedge fund tycoon Carl Icahn, but what does it mean for the enterprise market?

Listen to this 5 minute Staying Connected podcast as TC2’s Pat Gilpatrick and Joe Schmidt discuss what XO customers need to be doing now and how enterprises should prepare for a market with one less service provider.

Tangoe, a top Telecom Expense Management (TEM) firm, recently notified its customers that it had received two proposals to be acquired by private equity firms.  In a related press release, Tangoe stated that it would likely not meet the deadline for completing its financial restatement process and as a result could be delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Should this news concern Tangoe customers?  What about customers of other TEM providers?  Are there steps that TEM users need to take if they’re now worried about their TEM provider’s stability?  

Listen to this 10 minute Staying Connected podcast for answers as TC2’s Theresa Knutson and Joe Schmidt, along with Steve Rosen of LB3 discuss this Tangoe revelation.

Chances are you don’t spend much time and effort assessing the impact that regulatory fees have on your telecom budget.  Even sophisticated buyers of telecom services have a difficult time understanding what regulatory fees are – Federal Regulatory Fee? Carrier Cost Recovery?  Telecommunications Relay Service? – and most believe there’s not a lot one can do to avoid paying them.

Listen to this 10 minute podcast as TC2’s Joe Schmidt moderates a discussion with Deb Boehling, a Senior Partner at LB3, and TC2 Project Director Theresa Knutson.  Deb and Theresa describe what these nasty fees are, why the service providers can legally tack them on to your bill, and what you can do to fight this mysterious telecom budget buster.

Net Neutrality is about how internet service providers (“ISPs”) located in the United States control access to their subscribers and (understandably) want the FCC’s rules to let them monetize that control.  

Many enterprises think Net Neutrality is strictly a consumer issue, where customers of content providers like Netflix or Amazon would have a very different internet experience if Net Neutrality rules are rolled back. Or they think Net Neutrality is strictly an issue for “tech companies” whose businesses depend on their internet content.  But this is actually an issue for every American business that communicates with its customers over the internet.  The customer’s ISP stands in the way and wants to be paid for passage.  That’s why Net Neutrality rules benefit every enterprise – the rules protect businesses from the ISPs’ plans to charge for access to their subscribers.    

Listen to this 12 minute podcast as TC2 Project Director Joe Schmidt discusses the current state of the fight over Net Neutrality and how it affects the enterprise with Colleen Boothby, one of LB3’s senior partners and a leading champion of Net Neutrality rights for enterprises.  Colleen explains why the carriers and cable companies keep fighting the fight (hint: it’s about the money), updates listeners on the state of play in Washington, and explains why all enterprise users have a huge dollar stake in the outcome of this fight. 

2017 has seen significant merger and acquisition activity across the communications industry.  Is this M&A activity an anomaly or is it the new normal?

Listen to this 13 minute podcast as Jack Deal, TC2 Managing Director, and Joe Schmidt discuss the recently completed CenturyLink merger with Level 3, the unraveling AT&T acquisition of Time Warner, the failed combination of Sprint and T-Mobile, and other M&A activity that are sure to impact enterprise purchasing options.

NTT, one of the world’s largest network service providers, announced on July 1 that it launched a new company called NTT Limited.  NTT describes the new company as a world-leading global technology services provider that brings together the capabilities of 28 companies, including NTT Communications, Dimension Data, and NTT Security.  NTT Ltd. will be an $11 billion business headquartered in London, it will employ around 40,000 people, and have offices across 70+ countries and regions.

Listen to this nine minute podcast as TC2 Project Directors Theresa Knutson and Joe Schmidt discuss what this company structure means for enterprise customers and offer advice on what you need to do if you’re a current NTT customer or want to include them in your next procurement.

Sometimes IT services deals fail.  It could be because the provider is incapable of performing the scope of services or lacks the skills and resources to meet the customer’s requirements.  Sometimes deals fail because the customer’s requirements evolve beyond the confines of the original arrangement.  Regardless of the reason, you need to be prepared in the unlikely event your IT services deal heads south.

Listen to this 15 minute podcast as LB3’s Marc Lindsey and TC2’s Ben Fox talk with TC2’s Joe Schmidt and share their perspective on what causes IT deals to fail and share advice for fixing them when they do.