Polycom announced today that Andrew Miller is to be their new President and Chief Executive Officer.
In a press release on their website, Polycom stated that Mr.Miller had been appointed by the board of directors and that the appointment was effective as of today.
Mr. Miller succeeds Robert Hagerty who held the post of director for 13 years. Prior to the appointment, Mr.Miller was vice president of Global Field Operations at Polycom. Mr.Hegarty will stay on in an advisory role to both Mr. Miller and the Board of Directors.
Mr.Hegarty is also standing down as chairman of the board of directors and as such, David DeWalt, lead independent director at Polycom, will take on the role of chairman comms giant.
Mr. Miller, joined Polycom in 2009 and has seen through the implementation of projects such as the Polycom Open Collaboration Network. Prior to joining Polycom, Mr. Miller worked in the video and networking industries at companies including Cisco, Tandberg, and IPC Information Systems.
The full press release can be found here.
While the country feels the almost Day After Tomorrow-style effects of a fully active Icelandic volcano, over at Fierce VoIP Mike Dolan has highlighted the fact that the economy halting ash cloud cannot stop businesses that have implemented VoIP Solutions into their company communications infrastructure.
Instant messaging, video conferencing and the 21st phenomenon of the mobile workplace are all key to a business surviving natural disasters.
Read the full blog post here.
A study by business analysts Frost and Sullivan, has revealed that 2009 was a good year for VoiP despite all thw worries surrounding the global economic downturn.
The Frost and Sullivan report, focused on the videoconferencing market, revealed a growth of 18 percent (equating to revenues of 184.2 million USD) for the North America market.
The report looked at two primary service models – Hosted Videoconferencing Services (services primarily bought by users that don’t have VoIP equipment) and Videoconferencing and Telepresence Managed Services (services which are operated by a managed service provider (MSP) and offer a full range of end-to-end services).
The article notes that despite the surprising growth in 2009, the videoconferencing marketplace is still far from reaching critical mass, with IT managers having to up bandwidths to cope with both video and communications, and integration between systems both new and old requiring the skills of and increading workforce of experts.
When projected to 2016, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is expected to the be 18.4 percent, equating to a staggering 599.6 million USD.
A more detailed overview of the report can be found here.
Unified communications provider Mitel, have recently launch the latest version of their VoIP application, UC Advanced 3.1.
3.1 sees improvements web browsing and mobile phone portals, as well as location software for BlackBerry smartphones.
The benefits of the upgrades will be seen most by those who wish to switch from a desk-bound work environment to a mobile environment as the software allows the user to access UC Advanced remotely.
All important business information such as user contacts, call history of calls, and voice mail messages can be accessed via the web portal from either a remote pc or via a smartphone.
The Blackberry addition acts as a locator so that users can update contactsa on their whereabouts while on the move.
If that wasn’t enough, Mitel also announced that UC Advanced 3.1 will be available as a server appliance meaning a low-cost, easily implemented VoIP solution for Mitel-using businesses of any size.
For more information, read the full press release here.
Mobile provider, Orange France have pushed new boundaries in the world of VoIP by installing a number of payphones around Paris that, through the miracle that is VoIP, allow a user to engage in internet browsing as well as phone calls.
Browse the web, check emails, look for local services, and make crystal clear quality phone calls all at one stylishly designed booth.
The twelve booths are the result of collaboration between Orange France and furtniture designer JCDecaux and were designed to match the current look of Parisian urban furniture.
While the mobile age has all but done away with the need for payphones, the addition of internet services provides a possible lifeline for people who’s phone batteries are low on charge. The booths are being trialed for 6 months with a decision on whether to be deployed at a national level to be made afterwards.
The full press release can be found here
Reports from the US have revealed that up 48% of government sector locations are now employing VoIP technology in some capacity.
A research paper released by Research and Markets states that the government market in the US is among the most promising in terms of actual and potential adoption of VoIP solutions.
So much so that a recent survey reported that 48% of government institutions have VoIP deployed in at least one of their locations.
The key towards this high level of adoption seems to be in the scalable features and capabilities of VoIP when compared to conventional communications solutions.
The report went on to reveal that Verizon are the most cited VoIP Provider among government institutions.
The full report can be purchased here
The Apple iPad must be one of the most hyped electronic devices of the last few years. Depending on your stance on all things Apple related, Steve Jobs and co. have either “done it again” and released a new edition to their burgeoning portfolio of products, or worked a near miracle in convincing people that a keyboard-less, USB-less, non-multitask computer is the way forward.
Despite calls from ardent admirers and fans of Apple products, it is yet to be seen how the iPad is going to change the game in the world of portable internet devices.
Already though, there are developers furiously working away at new apps for the Apple iPad and one area that has been looked into is IP based communications.
The iPad doesn’t come with any phone software or hardware but with the addition of the TruPhone application, the iPad can quickly be turned into an effective voice communications device.
Truphone allows customers the option of free calling to other Truphone and Google Talk users when connected over a Wi-Fi network, and also offers international calling to mobile phones and landlines for as low as $5 USD per minute.
We feel this might just be the tip of the iceberg as more VoIP Solutions start to appear for the Apple iPad over the coming months.
Though the iPad is definitely marketed at the casual user, it will be interesting to see if it signals a change in the business sector in anyway in which case business VoIP solutions will definitely be at the forefront of future development.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced plans to ensure that every home in the UK will be provided with ’super-fast broadband’.
The Labour government wants to make sure that the internet is accessible to everyone. In light of this, IP telephony solutions could become more popular and VoIP, by way of communicating will become more popular.
The government has said that it feels that the internet should not just be for ’some’ but for all. Gordon Brown has also said that he wants Britain to be ‘the world leader in the digital economy’ by 2020.
With high speed broadband available to everyone the way that we communicate will be revolutionised. VoIP telephony, coupled with broadband for all, could mean big savings and the ability to talk to family and friends all over the world.
Polycom have announced that they have partnered up with technology leader, Hewlett Packard to sell their portfolio of video and voice communications solutions.
The new expanded agreement will see all Unified Communications (UC) products sold through HP as part of HP’s own Unified Communications and Collaboration Services.
The deal sees HP’s global position as a supplier of technology, especially to businesses, coupled with Polycom’s leading presence in the UC market.
As would be expected, the two companies are looking to enhance the interoperability between Polycom’s video conferencing solutions and HP’s Halo telepresence.
The agreement further cements an already healthy relationship between the two tech leaders and as an addition boost, sees other UC and tech providers such as Avaya and Microsoft pulled closer together, ultimately benefiting the end user who receives the widest possible range of options when looking at their IT infrastructure.
Mark Golden, vice president of Network Services at HP said “With the addition of Polycom technologies to our portfolio, HP can provide clients around the world with a complete range of open voice and visual communication solutions that simplify business communications while speeding collaboration with clients and key partners.”
Indeed, this does bode well for the end user. A one stop shop for VoIP Phone Systems and an unbeatable range of options with regards to equipment and applications.
Read the full press release here.
We have said it before, but VoIP phones can and will save you money. They can make telephone calls virtually free all over the world simply by using a computer and the Internet.
VoIP Telephony has been listed as one of the top 20 ways to save money online by Moneywise. All that you need is VoIP software, Internet access, headphones and a microphone. If both parties on the call are using VoIP, then the call shouldn’t cost a penny.
VoIP is especially useful and will be particularly beneficial if you make a lot of international calls and gives an alternative to landline and mobile calls. Telecoms companies will be shaking in their boots as international calls have been traditionally decent money earners and VoIP will threaten this.
