Telecom Reseller / Technology Reseller News

Kevin Nethercott of Telestax has been travelling this spring and the trends he sees are the service provider communities examining ways to build revenue, margin and obtain “sticky” solutions that help the customer, and help the customer remain a customer. Low code productivity tools are a part of that picture. In this podcast, Nethercott and Telestax partner, Boris Raicheff of CloudPipes define and discuss low code productivity tools. We learn how this is basically an opportunity to become a part of the critical workflow of the end user customer and thereby go from being a simple pay for service vendor to becoming a trusted, key business partner. We learn about use cases and potential ideas for the channel and service communities to consider. As low cost, low service giants begin to enter the market, it’s very important for service companies to make themselves a more connected, embedded vendor with their customers. Accelerated adoption of CPaaS into business workflows via visual orchestration tools that allow non-coders to implement business automation, makes that destination possible.

More at https://www.telestax.com/

by Gary Audin

Robocalls and telemarketing calls are the number one source of consumer complaints at the FCC. What was once a nuisance has become a plague to consumers receiving billion robocalls every month.

To combat this flood of unwanted calls from the service providers network, a solution that supports the STIR (Secure Telephone Identity Revisited) and SHAKEN (Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs) standards is the answer. The key behind this solution ensures every SIP-signaled call has a certificate of authenticity attached to it — a digital signature — that will produce a positive outcome so consumers will trust incoming caller ID again.

Jamie Gibson VP Technology and Sales Engineering at Ribbon Communications www.ribboncommunications.com and Gary Audin recorded this podcast at the Ribbon Perspectives 19 conference.  Jamie provides a tutorial on STIR and SHAKEN. He discusses the legal and illegal robocall environments. Jamie provides insights into what providers and enterprises can do to implement the solution. STIR and SHAKEN can be implemented hosted or in the cloud. He continues with comments about the regulatory issues that exist and others yet to be determined.

Ribbon Communications Inc. www.ribboncommunications.com  delivers market-leading software solutions that secure and power many of the world's leading service provider and enterprise communications environments. Built on world-class technology and intellectual property, the company's cloud-native solutions deliver intelligent and secure real-time communications solutions for the cloud, network, and enterprise edge. Ribbon's Kandy Cloud real-time communications software platform delivers advanced and embedded CPaaS and UCaaS capabilities enabling service providers to rapidly create and deploy high-value communications services.

by Gary Audin

Security and analytics solutions address two major challenges. The first is how to address network-wide security across a diverse set of devices and applications. The walled garden era is over and solutions need to be applicable to any network configuration. The second challenge is centered on making a solution that is effective and in line with today – and tomorrow’s -- network designs.

Kevin Riley, CTO and EVP of Advanced R&D at Ribbon Communications www.ribboncommunications.com and Gary Audin recorded this podcast at the Ribbon Perspectives19 conference.  Kevin provides a tutorial that helps the listener understand analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. He discusses developing new insights into network operations and security. Ribbon has a global view of the many networks collecting and processing information from:

Device behavior

User behavior

Call flow patterns

All of which, when properly modeled, can tell network operators about normal and flag abnormal conditions on the network far more than a single enterprise’s network operation. He continues by providing what network managers have done once they have been given new insights into security and network operations.

Ribbon Communications Inc. www.ribboncommunications.com  delivers market-leading software solutions that secure and power many of the world's leading service provider and enterprise communications environments. Built on world-class technology and intellectual property, the company's cloud-native solutions deliver intelligent and secure real-time communications solutions for the cloud, network, and enterprise edge. Ribbon's Kandy Cloud real-time communications software platform delivers advanced and embedded CPaaS and UCaaS capabilities enabling service providers to rapidly create and deploy high-value communications services.

Customer Expectations continue to rise, and organizations need to differentiate themselves by increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty – all while improving operational efficiency and business outcomes. In this podcast Rob McDougall of Upstream Works discusses how a successful approach to digital workforce transformation must balance agent optimization tools with customer care. According to McDougall, self-service continues to grow, resulting in the role of the agent evolving to that of an expert. And what is the impact of this shift? According to McDougall, specialized agents require specialized tools. McDougall explains, “they need productivity tools at their fingertips that empower them with knowledge and the ability to easily collaborate, and access to the full customer journey and with all its context – across all channels.” McDougall shares insights on the key to agent success including the importance of proactive service, and having the knowledge and insight to take action. McDougall offers us a glimpse into some of the emerging technologies and trends that are impacting both the agent and customer experience, and the importance of leveraging existing infrastructure through integrations. We learn about the challenges companies face when embarking upon digital workforce transformation and how Upstream Works for Finesse can help with its single agent desktop, omnichannel management, and flexible integration model.

More at www.upstreamworks.com

Crisantos Hajibrahim, Chief Product Evangelist of Prodoscore.com

Google Voice is the monster that might devour UC whole, and Crisantos Hajibrahim couldn’t be more excited. In this podcast Crisantos Hajibrahim, Chief Product Evangelist of Prodoscore.com and Dave Gilbert, Chief Product Evangelist of Cloud Communication Alliance, outline the challenge and discuss the response. Hajibrahim and Gilbert think that Google will approach the market in the disruptive way Google has approached other markets: free at the point of entry. Hajibrahim thinks that Google Voice poses a real market share threat to companies that rely on the traditional SMB UC market. However, Hajibrahim thinks that service companies offering the “human element”, value added services and customized customer care, will find an opportunity in the new market landscape. If service companies pursue a strategy of offering sticky offerings, they can build customer loyalty and avoid the drive to the price bottom.

Learn more at www.prodoscore.com

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“We enable a great customer experience for the end user,” says Sanjay Bhatia, Ribbon Communications’ Vice President of Solutions Marketing. In this podcast, Bhatia links the dots between current and still emerging UC trends and challenges. A survey Ribbon is releasing finds that companies are stepping up UC migration plans. “UC has gone way beyond voice,” says Bhatia. Bhatia outlines how Ribbon’s solutions deliver on SIP and IP technologies for all the enterprise’s multimodal communications needs. Describing Ribbon’s solutions as a “carrier grade”, Bhatia outlines Ribbon’s service assurance stance. Bhatia also notes how in the public cloud, Ribbon SBCs can deliver reliability and security. Speaking of AWS, Google and Microsoft, Bhatia says, “We enable those environments to be secure”.

Visit www.ribboncommunicatons.com

The SBC remains a critical part of migration, ongoing opportunity for channel

Enterprise, telcos, and channel, almost everyone in the UC market should be looking at the edge and edge products such as the SBC, as a critical part of the migration story. At this week’s Ribbon’s Perspectives, a report was released that many enterprises are looking to step up migration in the near term. In this podcast Kevin N. Isacks, Vice President Edge Products gives us a view of the role of the SBC in that process, and makes the case for the Ribbon Communications SBC. Isacks discusses the rise of the public cloud, and platforms such as Amazon’s Chime, and how critical the SBC can be a part of migration towards Chime. Ribbon brings carrier grade solutions to the enterprise, and Isacks discusses how that plays out at the edge.

Visit www.ribboncommunicattions.com

“We live in an API world,” says Sacha Gera SVP, Cloud Product & Engineering, for kandy.io. Kandy is Ribbon’s white label communications Platform as a Service. Kandy provides communication APIs and SDKs so that web developers can embed communications into these experiences. In this podcast we learn about Kandy’s current offerings, solutions and case studies. Initially a three-level program, UCaaS, over the top and CPaaS, today Kandy offers converged solutions that are carrier grade and white label. Carriers can “take some Kandy” and invent solutions, allowing them to custom build solutions for their customers. Gera says that Kandy began as a part of Ribbon, at the time GENBAND, to combine the inventiveness of a startup with the stability of carrier grade solutions. Gera discusses recent success with IBM’s work with Hertz, plus plans to relaunch the Kandy “store”. Like candy, the idea is that Ribbon’s partners can easily create customized white label solutions, critical in an era when service companies must differentiate themselves to avoid being caught in a price race to the bottom.

Visit www.kandy.io

by Gary Audin

Is there a cloud service for that? Certainly, but which one? How do you compare them? Do you call a broker who is a sales agent or an organization that has done its homework, an organization that has vetted the best services?

The enterprise may have the staff to pursue the catalog of cloud services. The SMBs and the channels that service the SMBs can be overwhelmed by the cloud choices, not knowing who pursue or who to avoid. How do you qualify and verify the service before you sign up?

Ryan Walsh, Chief Channel Officer for Pax8 www.pax8.com and Gary Audin recorded this podcast at the ASCII Group conference, a channel support group. Going to the cloud is a journey. Ryan discusses the confusion that channels and end customers have when selecting a cloud service. Even when you select a service, there is an ongoing relationship with the provider, according to Ryan. He describes the Pax8 portfolio of services including business productivity, security, business continuity, and infrastructure. Pax8 offers more than a catalog. It supports channels with marketing, sales, and support for offering cloud services with their Wingman Partner Program.

Pax8 www.pax8.com is a born in the cloud company; Pax8 empowers businesses to capitalize on the $1 trillion cloud opportunity and achieve more with cloud. Through billing, provisioning, automation, industry-leading PSA integrations, and pre-and-post sales support, Pax8 simplifies cloud buying, improves operational efficiency, and lowers customer acquisition cost.

Pax8 is a proven, award-winning disruptor in the market, earning accolades like NexGen’s Best in Show two years in a row, Biggest Buzz at IT Nation, CRN’s Coolest Cloud Vendor, Best in Show at two consecutive XChange conferences, HTG’s Rookie of the Year, and more.

Meredith Caram, Vice President – Global Distribution and Rhonda Gibler, Sr. Vice President, CX Portfolio Manager team up to discuss the West Channel Program with Don Witt of the Channel Daily News, a TR publication.

West has recently added Meredith to the executive staff and by all indications she will be a shot of adrenaline for the channel and the company. Listen in to a very lively interview as Rhonda gives a brief company overview and Meredith provides a spirited review of her current plans for the channel. There will be some great thing coming for the channel.

In her short time at West, Meredith has first been listening to her channel partners.  The partners know what needs to be done. Once she has a good idea of channel requirements, it will be on to implementation and delivery of the needs. During the discussion, Meredith will discuss two deliverables already made available to the channel.

Meredith to the channel – Stand by there is much more to come!

Enterprise technology, by definition, faces the constant challenges of complexity and obsolescence. At West, they are dedicated to delivering and improving upon new channels, new capabilities and new choices for how businesses and consumers collaborate, connect and transact. They operate at the scale and speed necessary to capitalize on the promise of emerging technologies and the advantages they will provide. It is their business to deliver reliable, scalable, productive communications and build smarter, more meaningful connections.

They live it every day, from saving lives, to saving time and money. They can serve as an extension of your brand or expand your network. West is the backbone of a communications platform that is connecting the world and has been from the beginning.

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