Telecom Reseller / Technology Reseller News

Telecommunications is all about channels and Vonage proved it when they brought on board Robert Crissman as Senior Vice President & Chief Channel Officer six months ago. He and his staff are getting the word out about the Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) solutions Vonage has available for businesses. The 3000 businesses a month that switch to Vonage is a great testimonial as to the ease of use and integration capabilities they have which include:

Bullhorn

JobDiva

Clio

Microsoft Dynamics

SalesForce

Zendesk

ZohoCRM

ConnectWise

Oracle

Oracle Netsuite

G Suite

Listen in as Bob energizes businesses to sign up for special promotions while they are listening to the podcast. This is very informative and provides a new perspective for Vonage as a channel-based company expanding their business sales.

Vonage (NYSE:VG) is redefining business communications. True to their roots as a technology disruptor, they’ve embraced technology to transform how companies communicate to create better business outcomes. Their unique cloud communications platform brings together a robust unified communications solution with the agility of embedded, contextual communications APIs. This powerful combination enables businesses to collaborate more productively and engage their customers more effectively across messaging, chat, social media, video and voice.

The Company also provides a robust suite of feature-rich residential communication solutions.

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

Cardi Prinzi, Senior Vice President – Americas for Telstra Enterprise updates Don Witt of The Channel Daily News, a TR publication about how Telstra is one of the largest global technology service providers with a particular focus on the Asia Pacific region. In the US, Telstra is looking to expand its agent channel while providing expanding services.

Telstra Programable Network provides features for users including:

Bandwidth on demand between data centers

Network Function Virtualization setting up routers and firewalls and more

Telstra also provides access to cloud service providers through their platform including AWS, Microsoft Azure and others.

Also launching managed security service called Open MSF which is network independent.

The reliable partner to enhance your operational capabilities

Leading global footprint with one of the largest subsea fiber networks in the Asia-Pacific region offering scalability, reliability and direct connectivity to challenging markets

Extensive global experience with international operations over more than 70 years, with in-region experts in 22 countries worldwide and committed global facilities and infrastructure

A full suite of products and services offering access to the depth and breadth of products and services required to develop new capabilities for securing incremental market share and revenues

In-country support in Asia with engineering excellence combined with strong local knowledge and localized support capabilities.

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

Jimmy Jones, Positive Technologies Telecom Business, explains to Don Witt of The Channel Daily News, a TR publication, how SS7 was designed for a copper wire network back in the 1980s. Back then there were only a few companies that connected with it over TDM as a point to point solution. It was basically a closed network.

Today, the protocol is still used but in an IP environment that exposes some of the SS7 vulnerabilities. There are thousands of companies with access to the network as well as thousands of hackers. The successor to SS7 is Diameter which is also susceptible to similar vulnerabilities.

Listen in as Jimmy explains how Positive Technologies will provide security assessments for telecom, ATM, Web and mobile applications.

Positive Technologies is a leading global provider of enterprise security solutions for vulnerability and compliance management, incident and threat analysis, and application protection. Commitment to clients and research has earned Positive Technologies a reputation as one of the foremost authorities on Industrial Control System, Banking, Telecom, Web Application, and ERP security, supported by recognition from the analyst community.

Positive Technologies offers its clients an approach that simultaneously maintains compliance with laws and industry regulations, while taking advantage of international best practices. Thanks to their experts' knowledge of the real-world methods that hackers use to penetrate corporate networks, they can offer the most effective solutions for protecting your information assets.

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

According Feargal Brady, founder of Blueface, offering new products is just part of the battle to stay ahead in a rapidly changing real time communication market. In this podcast, Feargal discusses how his newly merged company, branded now as Star2Star in North America and as Blueface in the UK and EU, offers white label solutions for their company’s global network of partners to offer to today’s enterprise. In a sweeping review of the market, including evolving technologies and security issues, Feargal outlines how his company enables their partner to remain in growth and in profit. Feargal also discusses his company’s role in the Cloud Communication Alliance and the value that membership and participation have brought his company.

Visit www.blueface.com and www.star2star.com

In order to have a smooth functioning Call Center, the user must be able to work with his smart phone, PAD, laptop or desk computer. The office desk phone is not a part of the picture. Olivier Pailhes, CEO and Cofounder of Aircall Speaks with Don Witt of The Channel Daily News, a TR publication about how easy it is for their users to get started. This is a full featured solution that

Aircall is about to receive their second round of funding in the amount of $29 million. Listen in and find out who is investing in Aircall!

Integrated Software

Aircall empowers Sales & Support teams to ace every call with a phone system specifically built for their favorite business tools. Instantly obtain phone numbers in over 40 countries. Handle calls on the go with their desktop and mobile apps. Hit the ground running thanks to their intuitive dashboard. Easily add and remove users depending on your needs. Automatically and efficiently route calls according to IVR selection, agent skills, time zone, etc. Receive advanced Call Center Analytics on agent and team productivity. Monitor your team’s activity in real-time on the live feed and cross-reference your data with your CRM and Helpdesk for a richer understanding of your processes.

For more information, go to: https://aircall.io/

Drew Lydecker Co-Founder and President of Avant describes to Don Witt of The Channel Daily News, a TR publication, how they are developing the most advanced sales force in the country.  “When we enable our customer to be successful, Avant also becomes successful. Our goal is to provide our sales team with the most advanced sales tools and information as possible.”

Even the large resellers do not have enough time, money or personnel with the expertise to do the research and create the tools necessary to make their sales force stand out from the others. Avant addresses those reseller needs by providing the staff to become the research house, research lab, R&D lab, engineering to create sales tools and provide sales people to assist each Avant reseller organization.  Those resellers that utilize the sales tools will experience a 200% to 300% growth in sales and will have pivoted from the premise-based sales approach to the next generation of cloud products which encompass a CPaaS & SaaS MRR approach to end customer solutions.

When the Special Forces Summit 2018 concludes, Avant will be sending a well-trained sales force back to the channel where they will make new highly tactical and advanced sales presentations to their customer prospects that will literally propel their customer prospects into the next generation of IT with confidence based on the Avant Trusted Advisor approach to Sales.

Avant provides the most comprehensive and curated portfolio of leading next generation IT solutions in the channel

Their providers offer global solutions that span cloud, colocation and connectivity. This robust portfolio of market-leading solutions is constantly expanding to meet changing demands. They only deal with best-in-class vendors, because that's what partners and customers deserve.

Currently they have more than 50 cloud providers, 1400 carrier-neutral colocation sites, and 45 connectivity solutions, available globally

To find out more, go to: https://goavant.net/

by Gary Audin

Don’t think of the headset as a simple peripheral. It now contains intelligent processing technology. Think of the headset as an IT endpoint to be managed like other endpoints. If you are reseller and/or integrator, you can increase your revenue and profits with the new Plantronics partner program.

Virginia Anderson, director, Global Enterprise Channel Marketing Programs for Plantronics www.plantronics.com and Gary Audin recorded this podcast discussing the new Plantronics Partner Program. Virginia presents the key elements of the new program. She covers the two tracks offered:

Reseller Track: partners who sell communications devices to customers and often provide additional services to assist in their deployment and use.

Integrator Track: partners selling a broad line of IT, communications, and collaboration technologies. These partners carry certification for Plantronics Alliance Partners as well for the Plantronics Manager Pro solution.

The new program elements are effective immediately. For more details on Plantronics Partner Program benefits and terms, visit here.

Plantronics is an audio pioneer and a global leader in the communications industry. They create intelligent and adaptive solutions that support our customers’ most important needs: experiencing and facilitating simple and clear communications while enjoying distraction-free environments.  Their solutions are used worldwide by consumers and businesses alike and are an optimal choice for open office environments. From unified communications and customer service ecosystems, to data analytics and Bluetooth headsets, Plantronics delivers high-quality communications solutions that our customers count on today, while relentlessly innovating on behalf of their future.

by Gary Audin

The hospitality phone, most think of it as a cost not a revenue producer. What if you could change the interaction with a phone so that you could generate revenue and profit beyond telephone calls? Expand your mind to include hotels, motels, conference centers, hospitals, senior living facilities, nursing homes, and B&Bs as venues for revenue-producing hospitality phones.

John Grubb, SVP, Marketing for Cetis Inc. www.cetis.com and Gary Audin recorded this EDUcast. John explores the revenue opportunities for hospitality phones beyond phone call charges. He explains that dining rooms and room service revenue can be significant if the right phone is used. John also goes into the behavior of a millennial’s who have become foodies that consider the dining experiences in combination with the hotel experiences to select where they are going to stay. He points out that with the right kind of phone, hospitality organizations can lease space on the phone for speed dialing for revenue producing services.

What you will learn in the EDUcast:

Hospitality Opportunities

Dining Rooms

Room Service

Emergence of Foodies

Speed Dial for Revenue

Foodie Examples

Cetis, Inc., www.cetis.com formed through the 2006 merger of Scitec and TeleMatrix, and the 2009 acquisition of Teledex assets, designs, and manufactures a broad range of analog and VoIP hotel phones. In 1982 they introduced Teledex Diamond Series, the first hotel phones with programmable guest service keys and a customizable faceplate area. Today, the Diamond Series continues to be recognized as the most popular hotel phones in the world. Since 1982, hundreds of Cetis channel partners have installed more than 30 million Cetis hotel phones at 100,000 locations globally.

Resources:

Blog posts https://cetisgroup.com/blog

Newsletter https://cetisgroup.com/enewsletter.html

Product information https://cetisgroup.com/download.html

Podcasts https://telecomreseller.com/?submit=Search&s=cetis

Press https://www.cetisgroup.com/press.html​

by Gary Audin

You hear about application security, malware, and attacks. You cannot ignore the same issues with VoIP. So how can you keep up with the VoIP security problems? Is inherent security within your session border controller (SBC) enough? Is your SBC properly managed? Can you gain access to VoIP security problems and resolutions encountered by other users of VoIP?

Ross Williams, Chief Operations Officer at Virsae www.virsae.com and Gary Audin recorded this tutorial EDUcast. The phrase “You can’t manage what you can’t see” is the core theme.

Ross presents the issues, threats, and risks associated with VoIP security. He examines the SBC and its capabilities, but also its limitations for security. Ross continues by discussing how automation is necessary for VoIP security management. He points out that because their security service is cloud-based, it means a security issue detected by one customer can be applied to others ensuring that Virsae’s global view of VoIP security benefits all customers.

What you will learn in this EDUcast:

VoIP Security Landscape

Common Security Threats

Risks for VoIP in Security

Session Border Controllers in VoIP

Automation in Security

Is there an ROI?

Businesses around the world use Virsae’s www.virsae.com cloud services to monitor and manage their communications technology and security. Virsae keeps business communications at peak performance, so every channel remains open, customers always get answers, and workers stay productive. Ensuring VoIP security is a component of the Virsae portfolio.

Eric Rock, CEO and Founder of Vivify, speaks with Don Witt from The Channel Daily News, a TR publication, about their success and leading position in the Remote Care telemedicine market. They have just completed their fourth year with 100% growth.  The current expansion of the telecommunications industry with 5G, IoT, edge service expansion and others have all allowed them to take full advantage with advancements into home monitoring and more.

They are an international company with sales in Canada, UK, Bahamas and now Europe. While most of their sales are direct, they do work with various partners that provide strategic advantages.

Core platform functionality includes easily modified care plans, biometric data monitoring, video education, video conferencing, text-to-speech, and more. The engagement tactics and educational tools utilized are varied and customized to each population segment or individual thereby delivering higher quality and more cost-effective care. Vivify’s back-end caregiver portal is equally intuitive and allows clinicians to efficiently and proactively manage the complex workflow of remote care for virtually any clinical condition. Beyond simplicity and flexibility, the comprehensive, content driven platform and available turnkey workflow services (medical command center, kit logistics program, etc.) are enablers for Vivify customers to immediately scale and maximize value throughout their populations.

For more information: go to: https://www.vivifyhealth.com/