Telecom Reseller / Technology Reseller News

Cloud Connections 2025 Podcast with David Duffett

“It’s not just a potato—it’s a globally distributed core of telephony goodness,” says David Duffett, Simwood. As the Cloud Connections 2025 event wrapped up in sunny St. Petersburg, Technology Reseller News publisher Doug Green sat down with David Duffett, corporate ambassador for Simwood, in a conversation that was equal parts innovation and, yes, potato.

Simwood’s unique term “the potato,” coined by CEO Simon Woodhead, refers to the homogenous, globally distributed core of Simwood’s network. “It looks a bit like a potato,” said Duffett, “but it’s packed with telephony goodness—at the edge, everywhere.”

At the Cloud Communications Alliance’s inaugural Solution Showcase, Duffett demonstrated Conversational AI powered by Simwood, launching a live voice assistant named Karina on stage. Within minutes, the team built an intelligent assistant that fielded live calls, answered questions about CCA membership, and even joked about starting a Joe Marion fan club. “She asked if we wanted badges,” Duffett laughed.

Simwood’s AI implementation stands out for its ease of deployment and carrier-agnostic integration. Through Bring Your Own Carrier, even customers on other platforms can transit through Simwood’s network to access conversational AI.

But the real future, Duffett revealed, lies in Contextual AI—where AI assistants can seamlessly pass contextual information from one touchpoint to another. “We’re eliminating the need for callers to repeat themselves,” he said. “Your credit card info doesn’t need to be entered twice.”

Simwood continues to support both enterprise customers and channel partners, including MSPs and hosted PBX providers, offering everything from AI tools to Teams integration—all through the potato.

Learn more at:

www.simwood.com

blog.simwood.com

Cloud Connections 2025 Podcast Interview with Bill Bingham

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - At this year’s Cloud Connections conference, Oculum delivered a simple but urgent message to service providers: Stop giving away your brand—and your customers.

In a podcast interview with Technology Reseller News, Bill Bingham, Senior Vice President of Service, Delivery, and Operations at Oculum, made the case for why resellers and carriers should adopt white-label video conferencing to reclaim margin and reduce churn.

“Oculum is a wholesale-only, white-label video conferencing solution built specifically for service providers,” said Bingham. “We’re the VC part of UCaaS, and we offer something many don’t realize they can have—control.”

Unlike bundled video options from larger UCaaS platforms, Oculum’s offering is on-network—it runs on the provider’s own infrastructure, whether on-prem or in the cloud. That means providers keep their branding, their customers, and most critically, their margin.

Bingham pointed to examples of providers locked into offerings from major switch manufacturers, often deploying Teams integration as a loss leader just to drive monthly recurring revenue. “You’re giving your brand to Microsoft, and your customers to your competition,” said Bingham. “That might bring in revenue, but you’re not making margin—and you’re not protecting your customer base.”

The opportunity is especially significant as more service providers find themselves searching for UCaaS alternatives in the wake of product and ownership shifts among major platforms. “Even providers at scale often don’t realize they can round out their UCaaS stack with best-in-class, standalone components,” said Bingham. “Video is a key differentiator—and it can increase ARPU by 30% or more.”

Oculum offers a fully branded, turnkey video conferencing solution with deep post-sale support, including dedicated project managers for technical, marketing, and business development assistance. “This isn’t a vendor relationship,” said Bingham. “It’s a partnership. That’s why we’re here in person. You can’t build that by email.”

Learn more at: www.oculumvc.com

TekVizion is helping enterprises move from legacy PBX systems to cloud communications platforms with speed, accuracy, and customer-centric focus. Speaking at the Cloud Connections 2025 event hosted by the Cloud Communications Alliance, TekVizion CEO Chakra Develler and Craig Decker emphasized the company’s role in transforming complex cloud migrations into seamless, automated processes.

“There’s a lot of transformation happening in enterprise communications,” said Develler. “As companies shift to the cloud and embrace AI-enhanced CX, the challenge becomes maintaining quality and consistency across increasingly complex systems. That’s where we come in.”

TekVizion, long known for its vendor-agnostic testing and automation tools, is now focused on accelerating enterprise adoption of next-gen communications by reducing the cost, risk, and time associated with migrating to modern platforms like Microsoft Teams, Webex, and Zoom.

Craig Decker noted that many traditional PBX vendors are faltering or have entered Chapter 11, leaving customers looking for cloud alternatives. “There’s an urgency now,” said Decker. “Customers want to go from engagement to deployment in under 10 minutes. We’re automating migrations to make that possible.”

The two executives described a global trend, particularly in Europe, where service providers are racing to modernize their offerings and upgrade customer communications infrastructure. “We’re hearing from carriers and resellers who are trying to solve for both CX and AI simultaneously, and they don’t want to rip and replace blindly,” said Develler. “Our platform lets them migrate intelligently.”

TekVizion’s automation approach helps enterprises manage both the technology transition and user experience, cutting down project timelines while ensuring performance and compliance. As businesses increasingly demand cloud-native deployments and AI-ready infrastructure, TekVizion positions itself as a trusted guide for every step of that journey.

Learn more at tekvizion.com.

Scoping the Scene: Why Site Surveys Matter in POTS Replacement, TELCLOUD POTS & Shots Podcast, Jacoby explains, that buildings lose electricity, emergency systems like elevators and fire alarms still rely on that dial tone to operate

POTS & Shots Podcast Series

“If you skip the site survey, you might be skipping success,” says Jake Jacoby, TELCLOUD. In the latest episode of POTS and Shots, Doug Green, publisher of Technology Reseller News, reconnects with Jake Jacoby of TELCLOUD to tackle one of the most overlooked—but critical—steps in POTS replacement: the site survey.

“POTS lines traditionally delivered power,” Jacoby explains, noting that when buildings lose electricity, emergency systems like elevators and fire alarms still rely on that dial tone to operate. With modern replacements depending on cellular backhaul and battery backups, understanding a site's power setup and signal availability is essential before installation begins.

Jacoby walks us through the must-check boxes:✔ Where is the DMARC?✔ Is there enough space and a backboard for mounting?✔ Is power always available—and not tied to something as simple as a light switch?✔ Is there cellular signal in that basement telco closet?

These aren’t small details. “This isn’t a home phone. These are life safety lines,” Jacoby stresses. TELCLOUD ensures reliable implementation by offering trained reseller programs and certified third-party installers.

As always, after the tech talk, the POTS and Shots series adds flavor with a tequila—or in this case—mezcal spotlight. Jacoby introduces Cuatrocientos Conejos, a smoky spirit rooted in Aztec mythology. “Every tequila is a mezcal, but not every mezcal is a tequila,” he says, explaining the nuanced difference based on agave type and production method.

Stay tuned: the next episode will dive into future-proofing telecom and ensuring long-term sustainability of POTS line replacements.

Learn more: www.telcloud.com

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - April 2025 - As the cloud communications sector embraces artificial intelligence (AI), BroadSource is stepping forward with a practical message for resellers: You can profit from AI — if you first help your customers solve data privacy challenges.

Speaking with Technology Reseller News at the Cloud Communications Alliance’s Cloud Connections 2025 event, Bill Placke, President of Americas for BroadSource, outlined how the company’s SecureCall platform helps overcome a critical barrier to AI adoption.

“Legal and compliance concerns around collecting personal data are slowing AI deployment,” said Placke. “Our SecureCall solution removes sensitive personal information like credit card or Social Security numbers at the time of collection — enabling safe and compliant AI use.”

BroadSource’s SecureCall product, which earned Cisco’s Top 3 Global Innovation Award, enables secure data input during phone-based customer interactions. Customers input card details or other personal information directly, while the merchant remains on the call without hearing sensitive tones. Data is transmitted securely for processing, bypassing the merchant’s internal systems and eliminating storage liability.

With new PCI DSS 4.0 standards taking effect and global regulations such as GDPR and CCPA evolving, businesses face growing risks for non-compliance. Placke noted that SecureCall removes this burden from the enterprise.

“Companies can rely on BroadSource’s own PCI certification for compliance,” he said. “That means fewer headaches for IT and finance leaders — and real value for the reseller who delivers the solution.”

BroadSource is expanding SecureCall’s capabilities under the SecurePII brand to address broader categories of personal data. The goal is to create a foundation of data minimization, enabling enterprises to leverage AI and LLMs (large language models) without running afoul of data protection laws.

Placke likens the opportunity to the 1840s Gold Rush: “AI is the gold. BroadSource is the pickaxe and blue jeans — the tools every prospector needs to get started.”

For resellers navigating the fast-moving AI landscape, Placke advises aligning with customer priorities.

“Cybersecurity is the top concern for IT leaders,” he said. “Look at breach points like passwords and explore solutions that offer more secure alternatives. When you bring customers practical AI tools with compliance built in, you’re not just selling a service — you’re building trust.”

BroadSource also offers EMU CAPP, a behavioral analytics product that uses AI to monitor user behavior on BroadWorks platforms and detect anomalies, helping prevent toll fraud.

“Resellers should lean in,” Placke concluded. “There’s a real opportunity to lead by helping your customers adopt AI safely.”

For more information, visit broadsource.com or secure-pii.com.

Max Giammario

"We're not just building an assistant—we're creating artificial life that you actually want to talk to." — Max Giammario, CEO, Kindred Labs

In one of the most thought-provoking episodes of Technology Reseller News, publisher Doug Green sat down with Max Giammario, CEO of Kindred Labs, to discuss a new frontier in AI: emotionally intelligent, pop-culture-powered digital companions.

Forget impersonal chatbots or disjointed AI assistants. Kindred Labs is blending beloved characters like Hello Kitty, Teletubbies, and Pudgy Penguins with advanced agentic AI to create immersive, emotionally resonant digital experiences. The goal? A future where your most trusted companion might be a personality you already know and love.

Artificial Life Meets Emotional Intelligence

Giammario’s research centers on artificial life and emotional connection. Kindred is the result of that work, delivering companions that don’t just complete tasks—they live across your devices, follow your routines, and grow with you over time.

"Imagine a character like Hello Kitty or a K-pop idol expressed as your AI assistant," said Giammario. "It’s Clippy reimagined for the AI era, but now it’s someone you love waking you up, organizing your day, tracking your portfolio, and cheering you on during your workout."

That vision isn’t hypothetical. Kindred already has over 100,000 active users, and many of them spend more than six hours a day interacting with their AI companions. These are cross-platform personalities, jumping from mobile to laptop to smartwatch, offering contextually relevant help with a smile, a joke, or a familiar catchphrase.

Trust, Familiarity, and Emotional Loyalty

One of Kindred’s key innovations is in overcoming what Giammario calls the "AI trust gap."

"Most people are hesitant to allow AI that level of access to their life. But when it comes wrapped in a character you know—one you already trust—you drop your guard. That’s the magic."

Kindred isn't just function-first. In fact, its entire model is based on emotional connection. Users don't just use Kindred because it works. They use it because they love the character.

"If we just built a better assistant, we’d be in a race to the bottom," Giammario explained. "But if you love your Bugs Bunny, you’ll stick with it. That loyalty is what lets us deliver more functionality, not the other way around."

A Single Interface Across Everything

The implications for enterprise and commercial applications are vast. Instead of bouncing between disconnected bots, imagine a single consistent AI companion interface across every website and interaction.

"Chatbots are fragmented," said Giammario. "But your Kindred character can follow you across every business, every device, and every platform—always learning, always adapting."

In the workplace, that might look like a familiar avatar giving you a morning briefing, syncing your calendar, prompting reminders, and surfacing insights from your CRM. In retail, it could mean brand mascots that act as informed, AI-powered shopping concierges.

From Fiction to Reality

Giammario admits that this shift can feel surreal—even science fiction. But it’s already happening.

"We're crossing a line from tools into relationships," said Green. "From functionality into feeling."

And it's not just about novelty. The mental health benefits, the engagement rates, and the potential for radically new forms of interaction are all on the table.

Learn More

Visit KindredLabs.ai to meet your next digital companion, explore the white paper, or join the community on Discord. You can also follow Max Giammario on X and Kindred at @kindred_ai.

Kindred is turning the characters you grew up with into the digital friends you take into the future. The question now is: Are you ready to meet your AI best friend?

“We deliver Zero Trust out of the box—it’s built in, not bolted on.” — Suresh Katukam, Chief Product Officer, Nile

While the cybersecurity conversation continues to focus on Zero Trust and Secure Service Edge (SSE), Nile is calling out what many have missed: the campus network. In a world where cloud-based remote work has advanced rapidly, on-premises security—especially across corporate and hybrid environments—has lagged behind.

In a Technology Reseller News podcast recorded just after Enterprise Connect, Suresh Katukam outlined why even the most well-resourced companies struggle to achieve Zero Trust in their campus networks—and how Nile’s “out-of-the-box” approach changes the game.

Campus Zero Trust: The Missing Link

“The same users who are secure at home become vulnerable in the office,” said Katukam. “That’s because campus networks were built on implicit trust—just plugging into an Ethernet port gives you access. That’s broken by design.”

While cloud Zero Trust has made strides, most enterprise campuses still rely on legacy NAC solutions, VLANs, ACLs, and other outdated, complex layers of bolt-on security. Nile flips that model—offering Zero Trust campus security as a native feature of the network itself.

What “Out of the Box” Really Means

Nile’s solution is pre-configured for Zero Trust from day one. Every user and device is authenticated and authorized continuously, not just at login. Micro-segmentation, behavioral analytics, and continuous risk scoring mean that even compromised credentials won’t lead to lateral movement or ransomware spread.

“We call it a segment of one,” said Katukam. “You can’t see other users on the network. You can’t move laterally. Ransomware can’t propagate.”

Administrators have full control through a simplified interface that supports policy toggling, real-time response, and behavioral-based reauthentication—without layering in extra management tools.

Security-Driven Network as a Service

Nile isn’t just a security company—it’s a networking company that rethinks how networks are built and managed. Delivered as a service, Nile offers high-performance, low-latency connectivity with embedded Zero Trust principles.

“Even large enterprises with robust security teams are choosing Nile—because the security is integrated into the network itself,” Katukam explained.

For example, one financial services customer consolidated three segmented networks (IT, OT, and guest) into a single secure fabric using Nile. Another prevented a physical intrusion from turning into a breach, thanks to the system’s strict device authentication and visibility controls.

Universal Zero Trust: Bridging Campus and Cloud

Nile’s model doesn’t stop at the office door. The company advocates for Universal Zero Trust, connecting campus-level protections with cloud-based SSE providers.

“Whether a user is on-site or remote, whether it's an IT or OT device, they should be protected the same way,” said Katukam. “That’s Universal Zero Trust—unifying cloud and campus with seamless security.”

Learn More

To explore how Nile is reimagining networking and delivering built-in Zero Trust, visit NileSecure.com or reach out to Suresh directly at [email protected]

#Nile #ZeroTrust #CampusSecurity #UniversalZeroTrust #OutOfTheBoxSecurity #NetworkSecurity #EnterpriseConnect2025 #SecureNetworking #NaaS #BehavioralAnalytics #Microsegmentation #Cybersecurity

“Change, change, change—that’s what we’re hearing from customers. AI is exciting, but it’s also overwhelming. Sentinel helps cut through the noise.”

— Phil Moen, President & CEO, Unimax

At Enterprise Connect, Unimax unveiled Sentinel, a new cloud-based call analytics application built to bring clarity to even the most complex enterprise communications environments. For large enterprises and IT teams already navigating a maze of platforms like Microsoft Teams, Cisco UCM, direct routing systems, and SBCs, Sentinel offers what Unimax calls “event-level visibility”—a way to track every call leg as a single, unified call experience.

In a live Technology Reseller News podcast, Moen walked us through how Sentinel not only answers the long-standing demand for native call visibility but does it in a way that makes millions of data points actionable, thanks to natural language processing and AI.

“If you want to know how many calls Doug Green made to his wife last week, we can tell you. Just press a button.”

From CDR Chaos to Contextual Clarity

Unimax’s customers—many of them Fortune 500 companies—have been asking for this kind of solution for years. Traditional CDR (call detail record) logs were difficult to read and even harder to stitch together, often requiring teams to manually connect disjointed call legs across systems.

Sentinel changes that. It treats each multi-leg, multi-device, multi-platform interaction as a single event, unifying what previously felt like call “hieroglyphics” into searchable, intelligent data.

“It’s not just about showing you what happened—it’s about telling you what matters,” said Moen. “If a number hits your network 100 times in a row, that’s probably a problem. Sentinel tells you where, when, and what to do about it.”

AI That Surfaces the Signal, Not Just the Noise

Sentinel is AI-enabled, but Moen is quick to differentiate it from the hype. What makes Sentinel stand out is how AI is applied: it simplifies user experience through natural language, flags anomalies and outages, and supports real-time decisions on capacity planning, license usage, and more.

“Our customers generate millions of calls per month. Now, we can finally put that data to work—not just collect it.”

Partner and Coexistence Opportunities

While Sentinel was launched at an enterprise-focused show, it also opens up opportunities for partners and integrators. Moen noted that the platform was designed to coexist with other analytics and monitoring tools, creating richer datasets and deeper insights.

“Some apps collect this data, others collect that. When you stitch them together, that’s where the magic happens.”

Unimax’s deep presence in North America and within the Fortune 500 makes this release especially relevant for channel partners working with complex, hybrid UC environments.

Learn More

To explore Sentinel or Unimax’s broader call management solutions, visit Unimax.com.

#Unimax #Sentinel #CallAnalytics #EnterpriseConnect2025 #UCManagement #AI #CDR #EventDrivenAnalytics #MicrosoftTeams #CiscoUCM #EnterpriseTelecom #ChannelPartners #DigitalTransformation

“We’re going beyond just contact center AI—this is CX-first orchestration across the entire enterprise,” said Elizabeth Tobey, Vice President of Marketing at NICE, as the company recently revealed its latest innovation—CXone Mpower Orchestrator—and walked away with two top honors at Enterprise Connect 2025: Best CX Innovation and Best of Show.

In a live Technology Reseller News podcast, Tobey shared how CXone Mpower Orchestrator marks a new era for enterprise AI—one that is measurable, scalable, and tied to tangible outcomes.

CXone Mpower Orchestrator is built around an AI-powered co-pilot design that allows organizations to analyze, automate, and optimize workflows across the full customer journey. “It’s not just about improving one part of the customer experience,” Tobey noted. “It’s about connecting the front office and back office, and turning insights into immediate, scalable action.”

The result is greater agility and faster time-to-value, with automation tasks that once took days or weeks now completed in minutes. Critically, CXone Mpower Orchestrator also features a continuous feedback loop, even when tasks are escalated to live agents. “Every facet of the organization gets better through this data,” said Tobey. “This is AI moving from hype to highly functional.”

Tobey emphasized NICE’s commitment to a CX-first philosophy, noting that the platform touches every part of the business: from sales and marketing to fulfillment and support. “Customer experience and customer service incorporate the entire business,” she said. “Every interaction matters—and that’s what we’re connecting.”

Beyond the enterprise, the launch presents new opportunities for NICE’s global partner network. “Partners are seeing this as a way to help customers move faster,” Tobey shared. “And they’re excited to be part of it.”

The announcement also coincided with a milestone: the eighth anniversary of Amazon Connect, originally launched at Enterprise Connect in 2017. For NICE—and for Tobey, who was part of that original AWS launch team—it’s a full-circle moment that reflects how far CX technology has come.

Learn More

Explore CXone Mpower Orchestrator and NICE’s full suite of AI-powered CX solutions at NICE.com.

#NICE #CXone #EnterpriseConnect2025 #AI #CustomerExperience #Automation #CXInnovation #ContactCenterAI #WorkflowOrchestration #ChannelPartners #DigitalTransformation

“This is a liberating moment for us—and for the enterprises we serve. We’re combining forces to scale fast and deliver smarter CX solutions.” — Chris Marr, Pronetx

Live from Enterprise Connect, Chris Marr and Yasser El-Haggan of Pronetx joined us for a special Technology Reseller News podcast to share big news: the merger of two AWS customer experience (CX) powerhouses—Pronetx and VT Team—to create a stronger, faster, and more specialized Amazon Connect services firm.

AWS-Certified, Cloud-Focused, and Ready to Scale

Pronetx, an AWS Service Delivery Partner specializing in Amazon Connect, helps customers—including Fortune 25 companies and federal agencies—migrate contact centers to the cloud and unlock the full potential of AWS technologies, including generative AI, chatbots, case management, and advanced analytics.

“Many customers think they’re on the cloud—but they’re not truly leveraging it,” said El-Haggan. “We help them do more with their AWS investment.”

With the merger, Pronetx is not only growing in capacity—it’s expanding its focus. Together, the combined team will accelerate software development, build tools for CX teams, and help enterprises infuse generative AI into both front-end and back-office operations.

A Boutique Partner, Backed by Deep Tech Expertise

Unlike broad SIs, Pronetx operates as a boutique CX firm focused solely on Amazon Connect—a strategy that enables deeper specialization and faster time-to-value.

“We’re not generalists. We’re laser-focused on customer experience, and that’s what makes us an ideal partner—for enterprises and for SIs and GSIs,” said Marr.

As one of AWS’s launch partners for Amazon Q, Pronetx has already begun helping customers use agentic AI and natural language processing to deliver more intelligent, efficient, and personalized support.

CX Trends, Real-Time Data, and GenAI Readiness

One theme echoed throughout the podcast: AI won’t work without great data. Marr emphasized that with the merger, the team now has expanded capability to understand, organize, and apply customer data to maximize GenAI performance.

“It’s impossible to succeed with GenAI without understanding your customer data. This merger gives us the team to do that at scale,” he added.

With CX trends evolving fast—and customer expectations even faster—Pronetx is positioning itself as a partner of choice for cloud-first transformation.

A Platform Built on Experience

The announcement comes on the eighth anniversary of Amazon Connect, launched at Enterprise Connect 2017. El-Haggan, who helped lead that launch while at AWS, noted the full-circle moment.

“Amazon Connect was born right here eight years ago. Now, we’re taking it even further with this merger.”

Learn More

Visit pronetx.com