Telecom Reseller / Technology Reseller News

It is all about quality and reliability in telecommunications. Versa delivers both through their VOS™ 5G and SASE.  Michael Wood, Chief Marketing Officer for Versa gives Don Witt of the Channel Daily News, a TR publication, some insight into the SASE and supporting technologies that are available to the ACE Channel Partners.

First, while the Versa ACE channel is diversified including Carriers, Telcos, Service Providers, Operators as well as VARs, System Integrators, Distributors and Agents, they doubled their channel size over the last two years.

Michael Wood

If you are looking to implement SASE in the near term, Michael discusses the key drivers for the technology in the channel. He also covers the key SASE functions that the channel is requesting.

Listen in to find out how Versa works to support and enable their Channel Partners.

About Versa: They accelerate your Digital Transformation.

Versa is unique among SASE vendors, providing an end-to-end solution that both simplifies and secures the modern network. Versa SASE, based on VOS™, delivers a broad set of capabilities via the cloud and on-premises for building agile and secure enterprise networks, as well as highly efficient managed service offerings.

The Versa mission is to address the security and networking challenges that Enterprises and Service Providers face, and connect branch offices, home offices, and users to applications wherever they exist.

For more information, go to: www.versa-networks.com  or  https://versa-networks.com/partners/

iBASIS launches its Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) to generate growth for Carriers and Service providers

“Our flavor of CPaaS is enablement,” says Nicola Tamma at iBASIS. Tamma tells us that iBASIS is simplifying the path CSPs take into new cloud driven markets, with a series of new products and services, and with a continuity of relationships that are unique. That mix of time-tested service and deep customer connect, combined with a commitment to move to the cloud, attracted Nicola Tamma to iBASIS. Today, Tamma serves as Cloud Communications Product Manager, a front row seat in that CPaaS journey. In this special podcast for the Cloud Communications Alliance (CCA) and TR Publications, we learn about new products and services iBASIS has been rolling out. Tamma takes us through the new offerings and discusses how they have been carefully crafted with CSP real world needs in mind. A major differentiator is iBASIS recognizing the CPaaS ground war is staffed by a salesforce that can easily struggle without training and tools. Tamma discusses how iBASIS has curated several tools to enable the telecoms salesforce to have everything they need to not only sell cloud in lieu of traditional offerings but to sell cloud as a set of critical solutions that their customers need.

Visit www.ibasis.com

Small business has had to become creative to survive and to service both employees and customers properly. Ooma Office is an option that many are choosing. Jeff Zoloto, Channel Sales Manager with Ooma, speaks with Don Witt of the Channel Daily News, a TR Publication about Ooma Office and the Value Add that it brings to the office using the service. Key differentiators in the Ooma Office include:

Jeff Zoloto

Ranked #1 VoIP business solution 8 years in a row

Best Features

Best Service

Recommended more than any other provider

Customer service based in the U.S.

If you are struggling with the current phone system you are using or selling to your customers, contact Ooma.  Listen in as Jeff does a great job of providing excellent positioning for their Ooma Office solution.

Ooma is dedicated to empowering customers to connect in smarter ways. They create powerful connected experiences for businesses and consumers, all delivered through their smart, cloud-based software service platform. Ooma's business and consumer phone service solutions are each ranked #1 by customers in third party surveys.

For businesses, Ooma Office phone service enables small businesses to sound and act like a big business, with powerful features including desktop and mobile apps so users can work from anywhere. Ooma Enterprise phone service provides larger businesses with a complete unified communications as a service (UCaaS) solution that can be customized to meet the individual needs of complex organizations. Ooma Connect delivers innovative fixed wireless internet to businesses, for both back-up and primary use.

For more information, go to: https://www.ooma.com/

In our ongoing series of podcasts reporting on billing, we are exploring the world of billing from different points of view. Billing is the one certain point of contact between vendor and customer, and yet it’s often overlooked as an area of opportunity. In this podcast JK Chelladurai, Founder & CEO of OneBill discusses how billing can maximize revenue. “You can only do so much through your direct sales force,” says Chelladurai. “A faster way to get market penetration is to leverage channel partners.” Chelladurai discusses how the OneBill platform can enable this process, maximize revenue and how OneBill offers all of this with a white label program. We also learn about how OneBill, while helping improve revenue, also seamlessly keeps the whole process in compliance with regulations, taxes, and other best practice issues.

Visit www.onebillsoftware.com

In today’s IT equipment markets, compliance and data security, along with environmental sustainability and employee health and safety are important. In this podcast, we learn how Apto Solutions, a member of the ASCDI, offers customers these critical, certified services. Apto Solutions CEO, Jeff Jones walks us through the company’s process and approach. “Data security is always top of mind for our corporate and OEM customers,” says Jones, “...so we built systems to validate that.” Jones outlines the layers of process, checking and re-checking to make sure every server, PC or even part, has been scrubbed, wiped, and properly managed, whether it’s going back into use or headed for a recycling process. With current events re-focusing IT buyers and users on things such as supply chain, parts, sourcing plastics and mined materials, we discuss the new critical nature of how Apto Solutions, as an ITAD certified resource, can offer a deep partnership to companies as they modernize their networks, accommodate Work from Anywhere and confront a less predictable global IT supply system.

Visit www.aptosolutions.com

People want to hear a real human voice, storytelling might be a better tactic than on hold music

Voice actors and their art begin with the “talkies”, in the actors who created voices for cartoon characters, and narration of major films. A technology breakthrough of offering voice with motion pictures, and now the new technology of AI will not replace the human voice, according to David Ciccarelli Chief Executive Officer of Voices. According to Ciccarelli, there is a 72% higher preference for human voices over the synthetic alternative. “After listening to more than 1 minute of an AI voice, respondents reported more discomfort, and decreased trust and connection to the voice.” Ciccarelli believes that AI will augment, not replace the human voice. 90% of Fortune 500 companies do not use AI voice in any marketing or customer engagement activities. Matthew McConaughey’s distinctive voice is now a well-established brand for the Lincoln Motor Company. Ciccarelli points out that American Express, greeting inbound customers with a simple set of familiar chimes, puts customers at ease by sending out a message of care and safety. In this podcast, Ciccarelli makes the case for using the on-hold times as a place to offer useful information, a first step to caring for anxious customers and as a place to begin a distinctive experience. He also cautions that these technologies and occasions can be misused, creating an unintended effect on customers.

Visit www.voices.com

Big news for the contact center, doesn’t need an SBC connection, and works with calling plans, direct routing, and operator connect

“It makes for an easy on-boarding process, and easy proof of concept process,” says Ryan O’Connor, Technical Sales Lead, North America for Tendfor. Tendfor has just became the first API-based platform to work with Microsoft Teams native integration (meaning the PBX replacement is all Teams).  In this podcast we learn why this is a significant step forward because this type of integration opens a completely new service provider independent and global way to build telephony that has never been possible before Teams. Essentially, you can have local breakouts from any service provider (including Microsoft), based on any technology for numbers (DR, CP and OC), in any geographical region/market all over the world. And you can mix and match on every level. Tendfor customers can also mix these forms of PSTN connectivity, for a truly service provider independent global solution. A revolution in enterprise telephony for professionals, powered by the unique capabilities in the global Microsoft Teams infrastructure.

Visit https://tendfor.com/en/

We’re here with Darren Kretz, a proud member of the Imagicle sales team with many years of experience and a passion for making customers happy. Today, Darren will outline who Imagicle is, what they do, and their strategic and long-term partnership with Cisco. But most importantly, Darren will tell us of a great opportunity to learn more about Cloud market trends and solutions & the disruptive Cisco + Imagicle integrations. We’re talking about It’s Cloud Time, Imagicle’s Cisco-dedicated virtual event taking place next March 15-17.

You can register here! (Full link: https://discover.imagicle.com/l/925773/2022-02-02/91zlf)

The International Association of Information Technology Asset Managers, Inc. (“IAITAM”) is the professional association for individuals and organizations involved in any aspect of IT Asset Management (“ITAM”), Software Asset Management (“SAM”), Hardware Asset Management and the lifecycle processes supporting IT Asset Management in organizations of every size and industry across the globe. The organization bridges the gap between technology and management to ensure organizations receive value and mitigate risk while using technology. In this podcast we talk to Dr. Barbara Rembiesa, CEO of IAITAM, about the organization’s role in an era of rapid change, as cloud and tectonic changes in the way large portions of workers choose their venues. Rembiesa reminds us that asset management is a critical part of the IT picture. Rembiesa says that companies that, “…aren’t managing that technology they aren’t managing their business.” We also learn about the organization’s upcoming post-covid conference. The conference will take place in Las Vegas, May 17th-19th, 2022.

Visit https://iaitam.org/ for more information

Visit https://ace.iaitam.org/ for conference information

by Gary Audin

Unified communications (UC) are everywhere. Every UC operation contains multiple vendors and providers that need to be managed, including now-critical SBC and SIP components. Many enterprises are using 2 to 5 different UC platforms. No single vendor or provider can perform the management end-to-end. This opens up revenue opportunities for MSPs and providers to perform the UC management for their customers whether enterprise or SMB.

Mike Cebulski, Director of Channel Development at Virsae and Gary Audin recorded this EDUcast about managing SBCs and SIP as a MSP or provider for an added revenue stream. Mike discusses:

How SBCs and SIP relate to UC

The diversity of products and services in a UC environment

The overwhelming data produced when managing the UC function, more than humans can fully process

The SBC security statistics

Creating new revenue streams by managing UC end-to-end

What you will learn in this EDUcast:

Challenges with SIP and SBCs

What are the problems?

Resolving the problems

SBC security

VSM in a service organization

Revenue streams and opportunities

Virsae delivers unrivaled insight to enable flawless communication. Their cloud-based platform, Virsae Service Management (VSM), continuously processes billions of data points from thousands of sites around the world – delivering AI-powered analytics and diagnostics to enable progressively smarter management of contact center and UC platforms. www.virsae.com