http://www.informationweek.comInformationWeeken-usCopyright 2012, UBM LLC.2011-04-18T10:11:45ZA cell phone functioning as a credit card is a well known concept in South Korea and Japan. Now, it appears that the idea is about to change the way that U.S. consumers buy products.http://www.informationweek.com/news/229401781?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbStart up Payfone <a href="http://payfone.com/press-release/american-express-and-payfone-announce-strategic-alliance-to-power-global-mobile-checkout">has teamed</a> with American Express to deliver a new mobile payment option to consumers. The Payfone mobile authorization and payment services works with the American Express digital payments platform, Serve, so consumers can use their phones to pay bills upon checkout. To help lower the risk of identity theft, the Payfone system ties the phone's SIM card, device ID and location to each account. <P> The concept of using phones to pay bills has great potential Payfone noted that more than 5 billion people worldwide have mobile phones, but less than 2 billion have credit cards. American Express seems quite interested in the emerging payment option. The company was the largest investor in the latest $19 million round of funding pumped into Payfone. Other contributors included BlackBerry Partners Fund, Opus Capital, Rogers Communications, RRE, and Ventures Verizon Investments Inc. <P> To date, customer interest in mobile payments has been tepid in the US. Many of the established credit card companies have been staying on the sidelines and waiting for the technology to mature. With the American Express endorsement, that scenario may be changing. While small and medium businesses will not have to immediately address this emerging area, they should at least start thinking about how it will affect their business and determine how they may integrate this new payment option into their operations.2011-04-05T09:09:19ZCustomers want their interactions with your company to be swift and easy. In response, EasyAsk developed a version of its natural language search and analysis software for the SugarCRM, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229400956?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbCustomers want their interactions with your company to be swift and easy. In response, EasyAsk developed a version of its natural language search and analysis software for the SugarCRM, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution.With EasyAsk for SugarCRM, users <a href="http://www.easyask.com"target="new">ask </a> questions in English and quickly receive desired information. This new module has the potential to streamline business processes. To prod their representatives, sales managers can ask the system for open opportunities that were not acted upon in the last 30 days. A marketing manager can check the conversion rate and quality of leads pushed into the sales pipeline by inquiring about the number of converted leads and closed opportunities during the last sales campaign. Technical support staff can identify trouble tickets in need of follow up by asking for a list of cases that have not seen any activity in the past two days. <P> Speech recognition technology has been slowly making its way into the mainstream. Traditionally, the technology was expensive and integrating it with other applications has been difficult. Recently, that has been changing with the emergence of more powerful processing engines and the development of open interfaces. <P> Founded in 1994, EasyAsk has grown its business by integrating its technology integrated into a variety of applications. To differentiate its wares, SugarCRM, which has more than 7,000 customers, adopted an open source CRM model, so its solution is relatively inexpensive and easy to use. The new natural language search and analysis features should appeal to corporations that want to offer customers and employees more ways of interacting with CRM data.2011-04-04T10:22:53ZGoogle Android systems have become the most popular smartphone platform, according to recent market research reports. Consequently, small and medium businesses need tools to manage those systems, and Webroot became the latest vendor to try to address that need.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229400949?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbGoogle Android systems have become the most popular smartphone platform, according to recent market research reports. Consequently, small and medium businesses need tools to manage those systems, and Webroot became the latest vendor to try to address that need.Webroot Mobile Security for Android <a href="http://pr.webroot.com/internet-security/cons/webroot-introduces-smartphone-and-tablet-security.html"target="new">is designed</a> to protect Android smartphones and tablets. The product relies on cloud-based URL scanning to assess the safety of website links and block threats before users click on them. In addition, the security system scans applications before they are installed to ensure they are safe. The solution runs in background and automatically checks for updates, so businesses have the latest protection. <P> This product was built to protect the identity and personal information of individuals whose mobile device are lost or stolen. The security solution locks a mobile device, so it can't be used by outsiders, and wipes contact information, text messages, and other personal data from the system. In case the user has forgotten the password, the application sends a temporary access code to a trusted friend. Users can track the device: a map shows where it is located, and a loud alert is sounded once the person is in range of the system. <P> Founded in 1997, Webroot has done a good job carving out a niche in the highly competitive security software market. While its products have had a bit more of a consumer focus than a business thrust, many small and medium businesses have turned to its wares because of their low cost and easy deployment. These organizations are struggling to manage the ever growing array of handheld devices that users are buying, including Google Android systems, which have become quite popular. So small and medium businesses may want to take a look at what Webroot has to offer.2011-03-30T08:24:01ZAdvances are coming fast and furious in the Unified Communications (UC) marketplace. Trying to keep pace with competitors, Mitel announced the Mitel 5000 Communications Platform (5000 CP) version 5.0.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229400990?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbAdvances are coming fast and furious in the Unified Communications (UC) marketplace. Trying to keep pace with competitors, Mitel announced the Mitel 5000 Communications Platform (5000 CP) version 5.0.The new release <a href="http://mitl.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=560726"target="new">features</a> improved conferencing capabilities, enhanced integration, better mobility functions, and streamlined management features. The UC solution's Meet-Me Conferencing function now supports eight-party conferences with the capacity to host 20 conferences simultaneously. In addition, 5000 CP v5.0's voicemail function now offers bidirectional synchronization of voice and email messages <P> Increased mobility has been a common desire for small and medium companies. The solution's single number calling capability has been enhanced to support up to 10 devices and includes a Message Waiting indicator. With embedded hotdesking, users can log into any phone and have access to their personal communications settings as if they were at their desk. <P> The company tried to ease the device's management functions. Via a web portal, users can view and configure settings, such as Do Not Disturb, manual call forwarding, dynamic extension express, their presence status, call history, and account information. Embedded reporting capabilities have been added to the System Administration and Diagnostics client. <P> Historically, Mitel has focused on serving small and medium businesses. Like other voice communications vendors, the company has been undergoing a transformation in the past few years as the industry focus has shifted from hardware based solutions to software systems. The 5000 CP system came from its purchase in 2007 of Inter-Tel. Mitel, which generated &#36;648 million in fiscal 2010, is doing well but will need to increase its market share to remain viable as the market matures.2011-03-29T09:05:51ZIncreasingly, many small and medium businesses are relying on Unified Communications (UC) systems to support their core business functions. Consequently, Zultys Inc. improved the desktop video, mobility, connectivity to Microsoft applications, and integration with Salesforce.com features available with its MX UC solution.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229400987?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbIncreasingly, many small and medium businesses are relying on Unified Communications (UC) systems to support their core business functions. Consequently, Zultys Inc. improved the desktop video, mobility, connectivity to Microsoft applications, and integration with Salesforce.com features available with its MX UC solution.Video conferencing is emerging as a common communications option: Forrester Research found that 56 percent of small-to-medium sized businesses have or plan to deploy video in the near term. The Zultys MX client now <a href="http://www.zultys.com"target="new">works with </a> integrated, point-to-point HD video connections. <P> Mobility is playing a more important role in corporations, so the MXmobile client supports presence, instant messaging, and call handling on smartphones, such as the Apple iPhone and Research in Motion Blackberry. The solution features call transfer, either manually or via a BlackBerry address book or corporate MX directory; parking so calls can be retrieved by any other phone on the system; call hold with music; and a call action screen that lists all active calls. <P> Improved integration is another theme with the new release. The Zultys Salesforce.com Communicator integrates the phone system with Salesforce.com CRM application suite. It includes the ability to capture contact records and call notes, deliver inbound contact record screen pops, execute holds and transfers, and support click-to-call capabilities. The Zultys Outlook Communicator provides users with call control capabilities from within Outlook and synchronizes user presence with Outlook calendars. A new message escalation function helps to ensure receipt of company voicemails and faxes through a customizable chain of email and voice call alerts that continue until action is taken. The MXreport contact center reporting tool enables contact center managers and supervisors to compose custom statistical reports for agents and contact center groups. <P> In business since 2001, Zultys claims to have installed more than 10,000 systems, whose pricing starts at &#36;500. The company has had success in the small and medium business space, and the latest enhancements mesh with their evolving technology needs. However, the UC market is becoming congested as vendors have been attracted to its high growth rates. To be successful in the long term, Zultys will need to grow its customer base and increase its name recognition.2011-03-28T09:12:16ZWith IT applications now integral to business processes, small and medium companies can no longer tolerate performance bottlenecks or system downtime. To help firms pinpoint problem spots, Netoptics announced an integrated network and application monitoring appliance.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229400981?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbWith IT applications now integral to business processes, small and medium companies can no longer tolerate performance bottlenecks or system downtime. To help firms pinpoint problem spots, Netoptics announced an integrated network and application monitoring appliance.The company's appTap solution <a href="http://www.netoptics.com/news/default.asp?PageID=33&prid=494"target="new">is designed</a> to help companies detect and resolve problems in real-time. The product analyzes network traffic and application activity and monitors Voice Over IP (VoIP) calls, so businesses can pinpointing performance issues, such as jitter, underperforming applications, or insufficient network With the product, corporations can capture historic network performance data and identify changes in usage; monitor Web-based applications and view the network resources they use; and view network use over time and determine future capacity needs. <P> The product comes in three configurations. A Network Monitoring version, whose pricing starts at &#36;3,000, captures network performance data, such as NetFlow and non-NetFlow records for use by third party analysis tools. Application Monitoring, whose pricing has not been set, breaks down network use by layer, protocol and application. Session Monitoring, whose pricing also has not been established, troubleshoots VoIP calls. <P> In business since 1996, Netoptics has more than 7,000 customers, with a traditional emphasis on larger companies: service providers, government organizations, and Fortune 100 companies. Historically, network and application monitoring has been too expensive and too time consuming for most small and medium businesses to implement. That outlook has been changing recently with the delivery of lower priced, easier to use products. Netoptics is making a play for that market segment with its new product, and time will tell how successful the company's initiative may be.2011-03-22T08:54:04ZCisco, Netgear, TP-Link, and Aruba increased their chances for long term survival in the wireless LAN market, according to figures released by market research firm In-Stat. On the other hand, Linksys and Technicolor would like to forget 2010.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229400971?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbCisco, Netgear, TP-Link, and Aruba increased their chances for long term survival in the wireless LAN market, according to figures released by market research firm In-Stat. On the other hand, Linksys and Technicolor would like to forget 2010.In-Stat <a href="http://www.instat.com"target="new"> found </a> that Cisco was once again the industry's market leader: increasing its revenue from &#36;902 million in 2009 to &#36;1.187 billion in 2011. Netgear moved up from the market's number three position to the second spot as its sales grew from &#36;470 million to &#36;638 million year over year. TP-Link's revenue rose from &#36;178 million in 2009 to &#36;291 million the following year, an impressive 64&#37; jump. In 2009, Aruba was perched in the number 10 spot with &#36;159 million in revenue but leaped to the eighth position on the strength of &#36;236 million in sales. <P> Technicolor dropped from the second spot to third place as its revenue declined from &#36;470 million to &#36;454 million year over year. Linksys, which is a Cisco brand, saw its sales fall from &#36;417 million in 2010 to &#36;392 million in 2009. In addition, Belkin, which was ranked eighth in 2009, dropped out the Top Ten in 2010 as ZyXEL made its way onto the list. <P> Mobility has become a key IT initiative in small and medium businesses. Demonstrating the continued interest in wireless LANs, revenue among the Top Ten vendors increased from &#36;3.75 billion to &#36;4.40 billion, about 18&#37;. Despite the fact that wireless LANs have been shipping for more than a decade, vendors continue to bring innovative solutions to market, and small and medium business contiue to buy them.2011-03-21T09:54:07ZVideo conferencing capabilities, greater scalability, a more open architecture, and an improved user interface are the highlights in the Mitel Unified Communicator (UC) Advanced 4.0 solution.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229400966?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbVideo conferencing capabilities, greater scalability, a more open architecture, and an improved user interface are the highlights in the Mitel Unified Communicator (UC) Advanced 4.0 solution.The new release <a href="http://investor.mitel.com/releases.cfm"target="new">includes</a> support for desktop video conferencing, which is becoming a more popular communications option among small and medium businesses. Users can also attach subject and priority messaging with each call, which may prod recipients to pick it up. <P> Traditionally, customers have found mixing and matching different UC solutions difficult. The Mitel system features server federation between UC Advanced and Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS) or IBM Lotus Sametime clients. Consequently, users can work with non-Mitel instant messaging, presence, and chat functions. <P> The new release supports peering, so geographically dispersed servers can connect with one another. As a result, the UC Advanced system now supports up to 10,000 users. A refreshed user interface allows for a more intuitive user experience and eases navigation, according to the company. An UC Advanced Mobile for BlackBerry update helps users provision corporate locations and integrates the Mitel system with smartphone contacts. <P> For decades, Mitel has been a leading supplier of voice communications systems to small and medium suppliers. Like competitors, the company struggled to switch from traditional hardware based PBX solutions to modern software based IP PBX systems. In response, the vendor, which claims to have 65,000 customers, retooled its product portfolio. Mitel now finds itself in a highly volatile marketplace and facing a bevy of competitors. In its last fiscal quarter, the vendor reported minimal revenue growth and a loss of &#36;4 million. While Mitel has taken many positive steps in trying to reshape its business, how it will fare long term remains an open question.2011-03-15T08:00:22ZThe phone rings while you are speeding down the highway at 50 mph. Answering the call can be difficult and even illegal in some cases, such as returning a text. In response to such scenarios, iSpeech developed DriveSafe.ly, which now runs on the Apple iPhone.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229301237?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbThe phone rings while you are speeding down the highway at 50 mph. Answering the call can be difficult and even illegal in some cases, such as returning a text. In response to such scenarios, iSpeech developed DriveSafe.ly, which now runs on the Apple iPhone.The iSpeech voice recognition and text-to-speech capabilities <a href="http://www.ispeech.org"target="new">enable</a> users to hear and verbally respond to text messages, emails and Tweets. Once an incoming message is read aloud, an employee can replay it, send a response, or return the call. DriveSafe.ly, which had been available for Research in Motion BlackBerry systems and Android smartphones, now runs on the Apple iPhone. The messaging solution comes in either a free or a paid (&#36;13.95 year or &#36;3.95) version. The former supports 25 words, does not include voice response features, offers limited customization, and is advertising based; the latter works with 500 words, features voice response capabilities, offers voice and reading speed customization, and does not present advertisements to the user. <P> With the rise in usage of smartphones, driving and answering calls has become a hot button issue, one that iSpeech is trying to address. Such solutions could help small and medium businesses avoid problems when employees use their smartphones while driving. The company, which has been in business since 2007 and sells a variety of speech recognition system, has 8 million users. Though its focus seems to be noteworthy, the vendor could struggle as it butts heads with larger, more established speech recognition competitors.2011-03-14T12:14:23ZSmall and medium businesses have been deploying wireless LANs for more than a decade. However, vendors are still trying to differentiate their products because the market continues to experience very healthy growth, according to market research firm In-Stat.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229301241?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbSmall and medium businesses have been deploying wireless LANs for more than a decade. However, vendors are still trying to differentiate their products because the market continues to experience very healthy growth, according to market research firm In-Stat.In-Stat <a href="http://www.instat.com"target="new">found</a> that sales of Wireless Access Points (WAP) increased by 30&#37; in 2010, and some vendors capitalized on the high growth. For instance, Meru Networks increased its installed base by nearly 50&#37; in 2010, which resulted in a sharp rise (19&#37;) in its market share. Other high-risers AeroHive and Meraki Networks are giving access points enhanced hardware features and moving the controller functions to the cloud, a change designed to ease network management challenges for businesses. <P> Cisco, the leading supplier of WLAN equipment, has tried to keep pace. In-Stat noted that the network equipment vendor recently released a security upgrade for its 802.11n WAP that features improved reporting and compliance with the PCI 2.0 standard. <P> The market research report presents both good and bad news for small and medium businesses. The positives are that they will continue to see a variety of differentiating products from suppliers and may be better able to find one that meets their unique requirements. The downside is that the trend in the networking arena has been toward consolidation. Consequently, businesses may end up deploying products whose long term future could shift dramatically as the market matures.2011-03-10T13:00:49ZWith networks becoming more complex, small and medium businesses are finding it more difficult to understand how their applications are performing. In response, Correlsense, a supplier of monitoring solutions, enhanced its SharePath RUM line.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229300863?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbWith networks becoming more complex, small and medium businesses are finding it more difficult to understand how their applications are performing. In response, Correlsense, a supplier of monitoring solutions, enhanced its SharePath RUM line.solutions, enhanced its SharePath RUM line. The product <a href="http://www.correlsense.com"target="new">is designed</a> to help businesses isolate problems and pinpoint bottlenecks that exist in the data centers, networks, or applications. The product measures items, such as the speed at which a data center processes user requests, the network delays between the end user and the data center, and the time it takes a browser to deliver a Web page. It is designed to trace workloads, response times, payloads (HTTP requests, SQL statements, etc.) and throughputs on each step of a transaction. <P> The monitoring solution is available in three configurations. SharePath RUM (Real user monitoring) Express is a free solution designed for one application and a couple of servers. SharePath RUM Enterprise is geared to traditional applications and SharePath Cloud focuses on public, say Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), as well as private hosted applications. Pricing for the latter two solutions starts at &#36;1,000. <P> Founded in 2005, Correlsense is one of many vendors that recently focused on enhancing visibility into application performance. Because its approach is newer, its solutions can be less expensive and more functional than traditional monitoring tools. However, competition in this market space has been intensifying, and the company's relatively small size (it has about 60 employees) leaves its future as an open question.2011-03-08T09:33:31ZSmartphones have become key extensions to business communications systems. In response, 8x8 Inc., a hosted communications provider, added an Android application to its repertoire.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229300850?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbSmartphones have become key extensions to business communications systems. In response, 8x8 Inc., a hosted communications provider, added an Android application to its repertoire.With the application, Virtual Office subscribers <a href="http://investors.8x8.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=555314 "target="new">can make </a> inbound and outbound domestic calls over WiFi or 3G networks. They no longer have to pay extra for roaming minutes if they are at a WiFi hotspot. The application supports, extension dialing, call transfers and 3-way calling. Users can place calls from call logs, contact lists, or corporate directories. <P> On the business side, the application provides access to Virtual Office's voicemail, auto attendant and conference bridge services. An outbound caller ID displays a Virtual Office business phone number rather than a user's personal mobile phone number. <P> In business since 1987, the company has targeted the traditional voice market, which is undergoing significant changes. By focusing on IP services, the vendor can offer lower pricing and more comprehensive services than traditional voice service providers. The approach has garnered the company some success: it has 23,000 customers, which typically have a handful of employees. The new Android application, which is available for free from the Android Marketplace, meshes with the growing interest in smartphones among small and medium businesses. <P> However, 8x8 faces significant competition in this space. With IP communications usage becoming more widespread, larger vendors have been retooling their services. In addition, a bevy of start-ups have entered this market. While the company has been successful to date, it lacks name recognition, so its future is uncertain.2011-03-07T09:49:08ZMonitoring tools typically arrive after a technology has begun to take root. With cloud computing gaining so much buzz recently, Keynote Systems threw its hat into the cloud application performance monitoring arena.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229300857?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbMonitoring tools typically arrive after a technology has begun to take root. With cloud computing gaining so much buzz recently, Keynote Systems threw its hat into the cloud application performance monitoring arena.The Keynote Cloud Application Perspective (CAP) <a href="http://www.keynote.com"target="new">examines</a> Web application performance inside private clouds, which are applications sitting behind a firewall. Customers place CAP software agents on their own private or third party cloud infrastructure. The MyKeynote portal provides dashboards, so companies can evaluate alerts regarding Web application performance. Businesses can set the system to examine performance in 1, 5, 15, 30, or 60 minute intervals, and various diagnostic features help them pinpoint performance bottlenecks. Pricing for the Keynote service is usage based, with the monitoring of a single system starting at &#36;500 per month. <P> Cloud computing is becoming more popular because if offers companies a way to more effectively use their data center infrastructure. Monitoring tools are arising from various market sectors: network and systems management suppliers, Web management tools, enterprise application performance monitoring suppliers, and the cloud service suppliers themselves. <P> Founded in 1995, Keynote has carved out a viable niche by focusing on Web application performance services. To expand its business, the vendor is now branching out into the private cloud area. The company legacy is such that one would expect that the service would deliver beneficial information. Small and medium businesses will need to determine if the service pricing meets their needs. In general, the service is used for revenue generating applications, such as ecommerce systems, rather than daily business applications, such as a back office solutions.2011-03-02T13:00:48ZAfter years of talk, the move from IPv4 to IPv6 has finally begun to gain some momentum. While the evolution promises to relieve the Internet of potential addressing problems, it may create some management challenges for businesses. In response, SolarWinds has developed a new management module.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229300865?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbAfter years of talk, the move from IPv4 to IPv6 has finally begun to gain some momentum. While the evolution promises to relieve the Internet of potential addressing problems, it may create some management challenges for businesses. In response, SolarWinds has developed a new management module.The Orion IP Address Manager <a href="http://www.solarwinds.com/Company/Newsroom/Press_Releases/Years/2010/21474837542.aspx"target="new">automates </a> IP address management, so network technicians no longer have to rely on items, such as spreadsheets. With the tool, administrators can add, edit, and delete IPv6 addresses and subnets. In addition, they can plan for IPv4 to IPv 6 migration by creating various test scenarios. <P> The product can enhance their trouble shooting efforts. Network administrators can search for IPv4 or IPv6 addresses and find addresses on dual-stack devices. They can also determine what device had a specific IP address at a given point in time, for instance, they can examine a MAC address and hostname that previously was assigned to an IP address and see how its properties have changed over time. Pricing for the module starts at &#36;1,995. <P> SolarWinds has been one of many network and systems management vendors who recently delivered inexpensive, easy to use products for the small and medium businesses. The company has done well in this niche: it claims to have more than 95,000 customers worldwide. The new module could appeal to existing customers as well as firms concerned about the impact that the movement to IPv6 may have on their networks.2011-03-01T08:48:25ZThe benefits of HD video are often obvious to see. RHUB Communications, Inc. hopes that is also the case with Hi-Definition voice capabilities, which have been added to its TurboMeeting Web conferencing solution.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229300875?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbThe benefits of HD video are often obvious to see. RHUB Communications, Inc. hopes that is also the case with Hi-Definition voice capabilities, which have been added to its TurboMeeting Web conferencing solution.The vendor <a href="http://www.rhubcom.com"target="new">unveiled</a> TurboMeeting, V 4.3, which works with HD Voice over IP (VoIP) softphones. The solution doubles the typical voice sampling rate from 8kHz to 16kHz, which should improve sound quality. The new release's features echo-cancellation, firewall traversal, automated audio device detection, and auto-reconnection. In addition, companies can hold audio conferences with more than 200 participants, who can use either PCs or Apple Macintoshes. <P> The vendor added a few other features to its service, whose price starts at &#36;12.95 per month. As companies rely more on online conferencing, they need to put mechanisms in place to capture such exchanges. Businesses can record entire web conferences, including audio, screen updates and webcam video, and a new recording converter supports a variety of file formats: FLV (Flash), WMV, and AVI. Finally, via TurboMeeting 4.3's LDAP integration, companies can assign access privileges to various groups. <P> Founded in 2005, RHUB claims that more than 1 million individuals use its conferencing solution. The vendor relies on an embedded Linux-based communication appliance to support its services. Competition in the UC space has intensified. RHUB does not have the name recognition as other vendors but some small and medium businesses may find its approach enticing.2011-03-01T06:19:16ZMobile communications have become a prime option for executives. In response, Siemens Enterprise Communications expanded the mobile features of its OpenScape Office Unified Communications suite.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229300866?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbMobile communications have become a prime option for executives. In response, Siemens Enterprise Communications expanded the mobile features of its OpenScape Office Unified Communications suite.OpenScape Office V3 <a href="http://www.siemens-enterprise.com/us/sitecore/content/Home/Internet/Internet2010/us/Home/about/press-releases.aspx?rs_itemid={26E800D1-3CDA-40DF-A7EB-1E101DBF6731}"target="new">supports</a> a range of services: voice and Web conferencing, presence, mobility, social networking, and multi-channel contact centers. The new release is designed to help mobile and remote workers stay connected. Traveling workers now have access to the Siemens UC tool. Also presence information can be displayed on mobile devices, such as cell phones. Another improvement is employees can now link OpenScape Office to other presence systems via an open industry standard, the XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) interface. The protocol was designed to allow users to send instant messages to anyone else on the Internet, regardless of differences in the underlying operating systems and browsers. <P> The new solution is three configurations. The OpenScape LX supports up to 500 users, runs on a single server, and works with LX and MX systems. The OpenScape Office MX works with up to 150 users, functions on IP and PSTN networks, and runs on MX and LX systems. The OpenScape Office HX operates on the company's HiPath 3000 solution. <P> Traditionally, Siemens has been a key supplier of business voice systems. With the movement to IP and Unified Communications, the company has struggled to maintain its leading position. The enhancements underscore its latest attempt to improve its position in the small and medium business market segment.2011-02-24T09:40:47ZAs they try to keep the company network functioning, IT technicians often move from place to place. Because many now carry smartphones, Spiceworks designed an iPhone application that helps them keep tabs on their networks and communicate with their coworkers.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229300880?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbAs they try to keep the company network functioning, IT technicians often move from place to place. Because many now carry smartphones, Spiceworks designed an iPhone application that helps them keep tabs on their networks and communicate with their coworkers.The iPhone app <a href="http://www.spiceworks.com"target="new">enables</a> IT pros to perform a number of functions. They can view the status of their servers, software applications and cloud services. Technicians can open, access, edit, and manage Spiceworks help desk tickets. IT support staff have access to community posts, where they can ask for help or search through comments on various management topics. They can also access employee contact information in case they need to ping a coworker. <P> Founded in 2006, Spiceworks took a different approach to delivering network management solutions. The company built a social networking type of community, one that now numbers 1.3 million members. In addition, its management software is available for free; the vendor generates its revenue via an advertising based model. <P> The new application, which is available in the Apple iTunes store, was designed because it scored high on the community Wish List. Delivery of similar applications for other mobile devices, such as the Google Android, would be helpful.2011-02-23T11:59:38ZMeraki has carved out a growing niche by offering businesses cloud based wireless network services. To maintain its momentum, the vendor added three items to its product line.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229219235?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbMeraki has carved out a growing niche by offering businesses cloud based wireless network services. To maintain its momentum, the vendor added three items to its product line.The enhancements <a href="http://meraki.com/blog/2011/02/introducing-3-new-products/"target="new">offer</a> customers greater capacity, increased security, and more flexibility. The company's MR24 wireless access point, which costs &#36;1,199, delivers 240M bps of bandwidth at distances up to 150 feet. The capacity stems from the ability of the device's two radios to each support up to three data streams, one more than typical Wi-Fi connections. <P> In addition, the vendor unveiled the Meraki NAC, which prevents clients without antivirus protection from accessing corporate networks. This feature, which is available at no cost, is built into the company's wireless LAN service. <P> Last, the Meraki Teleworker VPN establishes a secure tunnel back from an employee's home to the company network. This solution, which is also available at no charge, enforces 802.1x, traffic shaping, and NAC security policies. <P> Meraki has done well recently. The company announced that revenue for the quarter that ended on December 31, 2010 was three times higher than it was in Dec. 2009. In addition, the firm, which has more than 17,000 customers, secured &#36;15 million in venture funding. These new enhancements are designed to help the vendor maintain its market momentum; time will tell if that is the case.2011-02-22T08:36:44ZMovement from traditional to IP telephony services has been taking place for several years. A leader in traditional voice services, Virtual PBX has now broadened its offerings, so they work better with IP.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229219251?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbMovement from traditional to IP telephony services has been taking place for several years. A leader in traditional voice services, Virtual PBX has now broadened its offerings, so they work better with IP.The Virtual PBX Complete <a href="http://www.virtualpbx.com"target="new">solution</a> offers customers flexibility: it runs over IP lines, cell phones, or traditional connections. The service was designed to be easy to use: users connect the phones to a broadband Internet connection and the devices register. <P> In business for 15 years, Virtual PBX has developed a number of calling features, including auto-attendant with professional greetings; a greetings library; and customizable greetings and hold music for different departments. In addition, the system includes automatic or manual call recording with optional administrator control, departmental load balancing, and Web management and real-time monitoring. Employees may be interested in follow-me/find-me capabilities; online voicemail retrieval by phone or by e-mail; and inbound and outbound faxing with no fax machine <P> The services are packaged in a couple of ways. For unlimited minutes a month, pricing is about &#36;20 per employee per month. Companies can opt for services with limited minutes each month, starting at &#36;9.99 per employee per month. <P> Virtual PBX has done well delivering voice services to small and medium businesses for many years. Recently, competition has intensified as companies started to deploy unified communications applications. Virtual PBX now has a solution with an IP foundation, which may appeal to a broader base of current and potential customers.2011-02-16T15:44:15ZSending and receiving information on wireless networks has been impossible to date because of their design. However, that could change because of the work of three graduate students at Stanford University.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229219187?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbSending and receiving information on wireless networks has been impossible to date because of their design. However, that could change because of the work of three graduate students at Stanford University.Traditionally, wireless connections have been one way communications vehicles. If more than one type of traffic flowed over a specific frequency, the devices became confused and the transmission garbled. <P> Electrical engineering graduate students, Jung Il Choi, Mayank Jain and Kannan Srinivasan <a href=" http://news.stanford.edu/news/2011/february/duplex-radio-transmission-021411.html"target="new">fixed </a> that problem by developing technology similar to noise-canceling headphones. Their approach takes advantage of the fact that each radio knows what it is transmitting and hence what its receiver should filter out. The new feature means that companies should be able to send twice as much as data on their wireless networks. <P> However, a few steps still have to be taken before the technology impacts small and medium businesses. First, a few technical kinks need to be ironed out. The group is currently trying to increase both the strength of the transmissions and the distances over which they work, improvements needed for use in Wi-Fi networks. In addition, the group has filed for a provisional patent on the technology and plans to commercialize it. Once those hurdles are cleared, businesses could see a significant increase in the amount of traffic that their Wi-Fi networks support, a capability that may be needed if video usage continues to grow.2011-02-15T09:23:42ZCorporate use of video conferencing systems is on the rise. To widen its market niche, LifeSize enhanced its solution, with the highlight being support for HD content on mobile devices, such as the Apple iPhone and iPad.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229219192?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbCorporate use of video conferencing systems is on the rise. To widen its market niche, LifeSize enhanced its solution, with the highlight being support for HD content on mobile devices, such as the Apple iPhone and iPad.The latest release of the LifeSize Video Center solutions, which support video streaming, recording and auto-publishing functions, <a href="http://www.lifesize.com/Company/News_and_Events/Press_Releases/2011/20110215_LifeSize_Video_Center_Mobile_Streaming.aspx"target="new">features</a> a handful of improvements. With the new LifeSize system, mobile devices, especially tablets, can serve as end points for executive updates, business presentations, sales meetings, and training sessions. Employees use their Web browser to download video content to these devices via Wi-Fi or cellular network. <P> In addition to the mobile functionality, the LifeSize Video Center now includes an automatic adaptive video streaming feature where HD recordings are streamed at one of four speeds depending on how much bandwidth is available on a connection. Also the video conferencing system now works with Network Attached Storage systems, a capability that could make it easier for small and medium businesses to backup important video transmissions. Finally, LifeSize added an Application Programming Interface to its system, so third-parties or customers can integrate video conferencing features into applications, such as company intranets or Learning Management Systems. <P> The video conferencing market has been maturing. LifeSize has been in a battle with Cisco and Polycom for market leadership. The latest LifeSize enhancements are designed to appeal to small and medium businesses interested in expanding their use of video conferencing technology.2011-02-14T14:31:41ZApplication stores have become all the rage in the mobile handset market. Rather than acquiesce all of the power to Apple, a group of telecommunications services providers have forged a different approach, the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC).http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229219236?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbApplication stores have become all the rage in the mobile handset market. Rather than acquiesce all of the power to Apple, a group of telecommunications services providers have forged a different approach, the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC).The group, which was formed at Mobile World Congress World in 2010, <a href=" http://www.wacapps.net/web/portal/home?p_p_id=contentdisplayportlet_WAR_contentdisplayportlet_INSTANCE_kAq9&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=maximized&p_p_mode=view&p_p_col_id=column-2&p_p_col_count=1&_contentdisplayportlet_WAR_contentdisplayportlet_INSTANCE_kAq9_jspPage=&#37;2FviewAllNews.jsp#133261"target="new">launched</a> its service at the show this year. The goal of the consortium is to create an open industry platform that appeals to applications developers, handset manufacturers, operating system suppliers, and end users. To that end, the group has developed the WAC 1.0 specification, which was published in September 2010; the WAC 2.0 standard, which supports HTML5 web applications and is now available; and the WAC 3.0 specification, which will be available in September 2011 and support functions, such as billing and user authentication, so users can more easily purchase mobile apps. <P> The forum has garnered support from 68 telecommunications service providers, including China Mobile, Orange, Telef&#211;nica, Telenor, and Verizon. In addition, mobile phone manufacturers Huawei, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and ZTE have pledged to incorporate support for the WAC specification into their products. Initially, the consortium expects to have more than 12,000 applications available in its store. <P> Application stores have become a key measurement of success in the mobile market even since the Apple iPhone become popular a few years ago. Since then, handset vendors have tried to duplicate that success, with varying degrees of success. The service providers do not want to be left behind as this phenomenon takes shape. They certainly play a key role in the deployment and ongoing maintenance of mobile applications. How well their group effort can compete with more focused, monolithic vendors is an open question. <P> For small and medium businesses, the emergence of the WAC means their users will have one more option for places where they can buy their mobile apps, which means the IT folks will need to monitor one more option and guard against unforeseen problems, such as malware being slipped into these apps. Eventually, the app market will sort itself out, but for the moment, end user choices &#8211; as well IT department concerns -- continue to multiply.2011-02-09T12:20:54ZSince the turn of the millennium, open interfaces and support for industry standards have been the norm in all industries, except for video conferencing. But that is changing as Polycom has decided to support a Cisco Systems Inc. telepresence interface.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229219250?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbSince the turn of the millennium, open interfaces and support for industry standards have been the norm in all industries, except for video conferencing. But that is changing as Polycom has decided to support a Cisco Systems Inc. telepresence interface.Polycom <a href="http://www.polycom.com"target="new">plans to add</a> support for the Telepresence Interoperability Protocol (TIP), an open source project that Cisco sponsored. With that capability, Polycom video conferencing systems will be able to interoperate with Cisco systems. While an improvement, it is unclear if the level of interoperability delivered will match what is available when small and medium businesses rely on equipment from just one vendor. <P> During the past few years, use of video conferencing has swelled. Consequently, companies have found the proprietary barriers among different devices vexing: they want to be able to mix and match different device. In January 2010, Cisco announced TIP, and LifeSize and RADVISION pledged to support the interface. In the spring of 2010, Polycom began working with companies, such as Microsoft, IBM, HP, and Avaya, to form the Unified Communications Interoperability Forum (UCIF), whose goal is improve the level of interoperability found in multimedia collaboration systems. As a result, two sets of specifications have been developed. <P> In sum, vendors seem to understand the need to make it easier for customers to mix and match telepresence equipment. However rather than one standard, two are emerging, which ultimately will continue to limit the level of interoperability found among different products.2011-02-08T08:59:16ZThe thirst for faster speeds in IT is never ending. Consequently, wireless LAN suppliers are trying to boost the top speed of their devices from a few hundred M bps to 1G bps, a quest that market research firm In-Stat expects will be quite successful.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229219196?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbThe thirst for faster speeds in IT is never ending. Consequently, wireless LAN suppliers are trying to boost the top speed of their devices from a few hundred M bps to 1G bps, a quest that market research firm In-Stat expects will be quite successful.Work on the new 802.11ac standard has been ongoing and a draft version is expected to be unveiled later this year. In-Stat <a href=" http://www.instat.com/press.asp?ID=3034&sku=IN1105001WS"target="new">projects</a> that compliant products will begin shipping in 2012 and be found in more than 1 billion devices in 2015. Mobile phones with embedded Wi-Fi will dominate this area, accounting for 800 million of the shipments, and by 2015, virtually all hotspot shipments will be 802.11ac compliant. In addition, the high speed wireless networking option will also find its way into notebooks, netbooks, tablets, PCs, gateways, routers, printers, and storage systems. <P> The emerging standard does face a few obstacles. Vendors have not yet agreed on a way to increase the speed, and a few options may emerge. In addition, there may be some unforeseen glitches in previous versions of the technology. For instance, early Wi-Fi systems had security holes, and problems arose with the radios used in more recent iterations of the wireless networking option. <P> Small and medium businesses do not need to be overly concerned about the movement to higher speed wireless LANs in the near term. However in the long term, the emergence of the new standard does offer them possible migration paths. In some cases, companies may want to move from wired LANs to wireless options, and in other instances, high bandwidth applications, such as video, may be stretching their network capacity. Eventually, 802.11ac could fill such voids.2011-02-07T16:17:23ZCox Business has teamed with Cisco Systems Inc. to deliver managed IP PBX services to businesses with less than 100 employees.http://www.iweek-interim.com/news/229219190?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Networking/Comm_smbCox Business has teamed with Cisco Systems Inc. to deliver managed IP PBX services to businesses with less than 100 employees.Cox claims to have more than 260,000 business customers in markets, such as healthcare, higher education, and financial services. The new Cox Business service <a href=" http://cox.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=527"target="new">is based</a> on the Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series for Small Business IP PBX, which supports 104 users. The service features support for up to five networked locations, four-digit dialing and an integrated PC toolbar. <P> Managed Voice over IP (VoIP) services have been gaining interest among small and medium businesses because they often can cut costs and deliver more services to employees. However, there is plenty of competition in the space. Start-ups have been entering this space. Established service providers, such as AT&T and Verizon, have been expanding their VoIP service offerings. Other traditional cable companies, such as Comcast, have been moving more squarely into the telecommunications services market. The Cox service is available only in Oklahoma and Las Vegas, but the company is expected to expand its coverage area. Cox has identified a market with potential, but time will pass before it becomes clear how much success it will experience with this endeavor.