Telecom Reseller / Technology Reseller News

Technology Reseller News senior tech reporter Moshe Beauford recently spoke with Kristyn Hogan, who heads up Cisco’s collaboration partner sales unit, to discuss the partner opportunity in collaboration and the smooth integration of Cisco’s full portfolio with offerings recently unveiled at its 2025 partner summit in San Diego.

The conversation spans the breadth of Cisco’s collaboration devices and software, highlighting the company’s commitment to a partner-led growth strategy. Hogan further noted that partners are central to this push, as they are essential in providing the expertise and services needed for a “seamless migration experience.”

She, too, detailed how the partner opportunity has evolved in the cloud era, moving from selling on-premises solutions to earning substantial recurring revenue through activation, usage and adoption incentives in hybrid environments. This shift is designed to ensure partner profitability as they help customers leverage the full stack of Cisco solutions.

Furthermore, the discussion touched on how Cisco’s entire portfolio—including innovations announced at the recent Cisco Partner Summit—is designed for tight integration. This unified approach, part of the new Cisco 360 Partner Program, ensures that collaboration solutions work smoothly with networking, security and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure to deliver integrated customer outcomes and create a significant competitive advantage for partners.

More at www.cisco.com

In this episode of Technology Reseller News’ special series on Telco Days 2025, Doug Green speaks with Damian Mazurek, Chief Innovation Officer at Software Mind, about why the telecom industry is at a historic crossroads – and what it will take for telcos to move from commodity connectivity to AI-era value creators.

Mazurek explains how rapid advances in AI, edge computing, LEO satellites and IoT are converging with generational change, especially Gen Z’s preference for asynchronous, AI-enabled interactions. Traditional voice and human-to-human communication are giving way to data-driven, bot-mediated experiences. “The next generation will not even talk with us – their AI assistants will do it for them,” he notes, predicting a future where AI agents negotiate, schedule, buy, sell and resolve issues on behalf of human users.

To avoid being trapped as low-margin bandwidth providers, Mazurek argues that telcos must evolve from telco to techco, building both an innovation culture and the cloud-native platforms needed to iterate at high speed. He outlines a three-layer framework for AI in the RAN – AI for the run, AI in the run and AI on the run – where AI improves network operations, monetizes unused capacity for AI workloads, and enables new services built on top of programmable, API-driven networks.

Mazurek sees major opportunities in:

Ultimately, Mazurek believes telcos that embrace cloud-native transformation, programmable networks and AI-driven operations can do far more than survive the coming decade. “They can dominate the market and create new business value,” he says, by building the secure, trusted infrastructure that will underpin AI-to-AI communication at global scale.

To learn more about Software Mind’s telecom innovation initiatives and access resources from Telco Days, visit https://softwaremind.com/.

“This really levels the playing field for ITADs of all sizes.” — Doug Hughes, VP of Sales Operations, ReturnCenter

In this special ASCDI edition of the Technology Reseller News podcast, Doug Green speaks with Doug Hughes of ReturnCenter about how the company’s digital platform is helping ITADs modernize their return workflows and better serve enterprise customers.

ReturnCenter is a digital platform that connects all stakeholders in IT asset returns, enabling ITADs to accept, track, and manage orders with full chain-of-custody visibility. The platform supports two primary customer paths:

Hughes notes that digital connectivity is becoming a “ticket to entry” for ITADs engaging large organizations. ReturnCenter enables even smaller providers to offer a modern, audit-ready customer experience—while preserving their personalized service.

ITADs benefit from centralized visibility, streamlined documentation, improved SLA management, and a platform that supports growth into the enterprise segment.

To learn more or request a demo, visit https://go.returncenter.com/podcast.

Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, interviews Helmut Minor, Managing Director of envenance GmbH and President of envenance SAS, in this special welcome podcast for ASCDI’s newest member. Envenance delivers a next-generation, fully digital ITAD platform designed to support multinational enterprises with consistent, compliant asset disposition across borders.

A Digital-First, Asset-Free ITAD Model

Envenance operates as a software-driven orchestrator, not a recycler or logistics operator. The company centralizes global ITAD operations through:

“We drain the complexity out of ITAD,” Minor notes. “Customers see one simple process. We handle everything behind the scenes.”

Built for Compliance, Visibility, and Scale

Envenance ensures strict adherence to EU waste regulations, country-specific documentation requirements, and verified in-country recycling. The platform provides:

A People-Powered Network

While Envenance is highly digital, Minor emphasizes that experience and relationships with local partners remain central to their success. “You can’t replace people. The platform works because the network behind it works.”

Global Capabilities

Though Europe is the core focus, Envenance has delivered ITAD projects in the U.S. and other regions—especially where secure inventory capture and compliance documentation are required.

Learn More

Envenance’s new website offers service details, videos, and updates:

In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Publisher Doug Green speaks with Christian Stredicke, President & CEO of Vodia Networks, about how hotel communications are evolving and why guest room telephony still matters in 2026.

Stredicke explains that while many hotels question whether they still need a phone in every room, the answer is often yes—especially when there is on-property staff and services to deliver. From in-room dining and housekeeping to bell service and deliveries, a simple, dedicated room phone with clear speed dials (“Front Desk,” “Room Service,” etc.) remains the fastest, most intuitive way for guests to get what they need. “There’s zero training necessary,” he notes. “You just push a button and it works.”

Vodia supports both legacy analog phones and modern IP/VoIP hospitality devices, allowing properties to extend the life of existing cabling or upgrade to CAT5/6 and new hotel-specific endpoints. Stredicke sees AI playing a growing role, particularly for “call center–style” functions such as internal operator services, simple requests, and multilingual support. AI can, for example, help connect calls between rooms or handle basic inquiries in the guest’s native language. However, he stresses that high-touch revenue activities like in-room dining still benefit from human interaction, especially when guests want recommendations or customization.

Compliance and safety are also central. A room phone carries an implied promise that guests can reliably reach emergency services (911) and that staff can quickly see which room placed the call to coordinate with first responders and provide immediate on-site assistance. Stredicke argues that modern PBXs—whether on-premises for resiliency or cloud-based for easier maintenance—are critical to delivering this, and that cutting corners on telephony is usually a false economy. With many hotels still running 20–30-year-old systems, he suggests that upcoming renovation cycles are the ideal time to move to a modern, hospitality-aware phone system that can support AI workflows, better guest experience, and tighter operational efficiency.

Vodia’s website: https://web.vodia.com/

In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Doug Green interviews David Erickson, CEO of Phound, about the launch of Phound for Business—a platform that goes far beyond traditional UCaaS.

Built on the global CarrierX telecom backbone, Phound treats the phone number as a verified digital identity, enabling secure calling, texting, AI integration, and multi-persona management.

“The SKU is the phone number,” Erickson explains. “It should be your global identity—voice, messaging, payments, even AI agents all roll up to it.”

What Makes Phound Different

Erickson emphasizes that Phound is built for the new AI era—where human and AI employees coexist and need trusted, secure communication channels.

More at https://phound.app/

Nima Hakimi, CEO and Co-Founder of Convoso, joined Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, to discuss one of the most pressing issues facing legitimate outbound sales teams today: how to reach customers when carriers are aggressively filtering calls.

Convoso serves revenue teams in insurance, financial services, and home services—organizations that depend on connecting with leads who have actively expressed intent. But even calls to fully permissioned customers are increasingly mislabeled as spam, scam, or telemarketer, damaging contact rates and revenue.

A Broken System for Legitimate Businesses

Hakimi notes that carriers and analytics providers like Hiya, TNS, and First Orion are trying to stop fraud, but the system is far from perfect. “You can have consent, follow the rules, and still get mislabeled,” he explained. For outbound teams spending heavily on leads and labor, this results in wasted efforts, lost deals, and lower productivity.

Convoso’s response is Ignite, an AI-powered engine that monitors caller ID reputation, analyzes contact-rate drops, and automatically selects the best-performing number in real time. It deprioritizes numbers falsely flagged by carriers and optimizes outreach across voice and text to preserve compliance and improve connection rates.

Solving the “Black Box” Problem

Because no carrier provides a clear standard for avoiding flags, Convoso built Ignite to manage the number lifecycle automatically preventing declines that teams only notice after revenue is lost.

What’s Next

Hakimi says 2026 will be defined by deeper AI integration, improved lead-quality prediction, and greater automation of dialer operations. “We’re helping teams make better real-time decisions using the data they already have,” he said.

Learn more at convoso.com.

Software Mind Telco Days 2025: On-demand online conference

Ram Ramanathan, Vice President of Product at Ribbon Communications, joined Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, to discuss Acumen, Ribbon’s new AI-powered platform designed to accelerate autonomous networking for service providers and enterprises.

Ramanathan explains that rapid shifts—5G adoption, cloud-native architectures, heightened security demands, and a retiring telecom workforce—have created urgent pressure for automation. “We focus on practical, pragmatic AI that delivers real ROI—not hype,” he noted.

Practical Automation Across the Service Lifecycle

Acumen provides end-to-end observability and automation using real-time data and ML. It is vendor-agnostic, spans OSI layers 0–7, and includes a low-code/no-code Builder that allows Ribbon to tailor automation workflows and chatbots to each customer’s environment.

Real Deployments Already Underway

Ribbon is working with several tier-one operators, including a major mobile provider moving from 4G to 5G across a multi-vendor network. Acumen is helping automate fault management, speed root-cause analysis, and proactively inform customer-facing teams.

“It’s not just fixing issues faster—it’s keeping everyone, including the customer, informed,” Ramanathan said.

Looking Ahead

Ramanathan cautions organizations to avoid AI hype by setting realistic expectations and focusing on high-ROI outcomes first. “Break it into stages and show progress along the way,” he advised.

Learn more at ribboncommunications.com.

Software Mind Telco Days 2025: On-demand online conference

As the Managed Service Provider (MSP) landscape shifts vastly, service providers must fundamentally differentiate their offerings and value proposition to remain competitive. This imperative means a necessary expansion into robust security services, addressing a growing and critical concern for businesses ranging from Small to Medium Businesses (SMBs) right up to the enterprise level.

Companies like Cisco and Microsoft are leading this transformation. They are not only ensuring security is built natively into their core platforms, but are also heavily invested in educating MSPs. This education emphasizes adopting a security-first mindset, adhering to industry best practices, and strategically integrating advanced security measures into their service delivery models.

In this podcast, TRN senior editor Moshe Beauford explores this pivotal notion. He lays out his thoughts on how MSPs can successfully adapt to the swiftly evolving security landscape. This adaptation mirrors the historical transformation of traditional resellers into Value Added Resellers (VARs)—a shift that requires MSPs to add continuous, high-value security expertise and services to their portfolio.

The integration of Splunk into the Cisco stack is a potential game-changer for channel partners who fully leverage its capabilities. From a security perspective, Splunk provides a powerful analytics platform that acts as a gold mine for partners. It allows them to move beyond simple product reselling into offering high-value services like deep threat detection, correlation, and rapid response by analyzing security data across the entire Cisco environment.

Furthermore, the platform offers significant benefits from an artificial intelligence (AI) standpoint. By applying Splunk’s AI and machine learning capabilities to the massive streams of data generated by Cisco devices, partners can automate formerly manual security and operational processes. This automation drastically improves efficiency, reduces labor costs and speeds up time-to-resolution for issues, allowing partners to deliver more profitable managed and professional services and expand with a viable security proposition.

A key operational advantage is the unified visibility the combined platform delivers.

Through it, partners can gain comprehensive insight into an entire fleet of devices across all their customers from a single, unified dashboard. This not only shortens the time it takes to get to market with powerful monitoring and security solutions, but also provides the deep operational clarity needed to deliver effective managed services and quickly troubleshoot complex customer environments. The final significant component resides in the ease of doing business: partners can sell Splunk products through existing Cisco Enterprise Agreements (EAs) and purchasing programs, simplifying procurement for customers and making sales transactions much simpler and faster for the partner.

Check out the full podcast as expert guest, Moshe Beauford breaks down the key benefits of the Splunk-Cisco play for channel partners.