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Let’s Talk Managed Services
Most vendors and channel partners reported an uptake in managed services throughout the recession. Workforce reduction led businesses to seek to out-task routine network management activities as a more flexible alternative. In fact, throughout the years, reducing labor costs and/or augmenting internal staff capabilities have represented the primary drivers for managed services. In cases of slow or uncertain growth, more cost-conscious businesses have chosen to maintain a minimal number of IT staff and frequently find themselves unable to handle peaks in activity or properly support the infrastructure when IT staff becomes temporarily unavailable (e.g. during annual vacations).
Furthermore, as the complexity of communications infrastructures increases and businesses look to consolidate not just networks and applications, but also the management of all their hardware, software and vendor relationships, managed services are becoming increasingly popular. Currently, businesses have separate arrangements with multiple vendors – for voice, data and applications. In multi-vendor voice environments, there could be separate contracts for each platform with multiple vendors, VARs and service providers. Managing all these relationships is costly and frequently ineffective in ensuring synchronized infrastructure upgrades and a migration to a more consolidated, tightly integrated communications environment.
Though the benefits of out-tasking infrastructure management to a single party seem obvious, businesses frequently perceive the move to managed services as presenting challenges on several levels. Internal IT and telecom staff fear they may potentially become obsolete as the managed services arrangement evolves and matures. Additionally, a managed services contract commits the business to recurring costs throughout the course of several years, which appears to increase the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the communications infrastructure. Also, for some verticals with dual budgets such as government and education, managed services can also help shift costs from CAPEX to OPEX, thus enabling these organizations to take advantage of certain subsidies and thus lower the TCO.
Nobody is particularly fond of insurance and likes to pay high insurance premiums. Yet, there are multiple occasions when we’ve benefited greatly from the mitigated cost of an unforeseen adverse event. In my mind, managed services provide similar protection with the added benefit of actual cost savings along the way. The frequently overlooked variable in a TCO analysis is the cost of downtime – in terms of lost revenues, customer dissatisfaction, etc. Third-party remote monitoring and proactive performance and QoS management can provide a safety blanket to businesses with round-the-clock customer-facing services such as healthcare, financial services, hospitality, etc.
The chart below identifies some triggers for managed services implementation in the large enterprise and SMB sectors:
Managed services will evolve over the next few years along several dimensions: some vendors will focus on greater SW support, blending maintenance and managed services with software assurance programs; other vendors will sweeten managed services deals with equipment financing and leasing arrangements; yet, others will package managed CPE with hosted/cloud offerings. Pricing will become increasingly more competitive. Customers can take advantage of vendor efforts to secure managed service deals and ask for better SLAs and various incremental benefits (e.g. SW upgrade support, more detailed reporting, etc.)
Any other thoughts on managed services? Buy Zopiclone c.o.d., I know I have dedicated quite a bit of blog space to discussing cloud and hosted communications. I have also, however, Pennsylvania PA Penn. , pointed out that premises-based solutions will continue to dominate the market for a long time to come. Growth in this market will be driven primarily by the replacement of the installed TDM base with advanced IP telephony solutions. Zopiclone sale, Multiple trends are converging to drive further penetration of IP telephony into the business market. The technology has matured, and concerns over voice quality related to jitter, order Zopiclone without prescription, echo, Zopiclone prices, and packet loss are rapidly dissolving. Moreover, high definition (HD) voice is now promising to give end users a superior experience compared with TDM communications, District of Columbia DC D.C. . Furthermore, the cost of advanced IP telephony solutions (including platforms, endpoints, and media gateways) is continuously declining, making them an appealing investment even for the more cost-conscious customers, buy Zopiclone c.o.d.. The available pool of professional and managed services expertise is also continuously expanding, Kjøpe billig Zopiclone, driving down the cost of IP telephony implementation and support. Finally, SIP is quickly becoming the de-facto standard for voice communications, buy Zopiclone cheap, and its wider adoption is enabling businesses to take advantage of IP telephony’s full array of communications benefits. Order Zopiclone pills, 
The above chart shows the evolution of convergence technologies and their value to businesses over time. Over the past 10 years, IP telephony has evolved and asserted itself as the communications foundation of the future. Today, cheap Zopiclone, we are at a juncture where customers have acknowledged the value of network convergence and are rapidly deploying IP telephony. Buy Zopiclone c.o.d., We are estimating that about half of all business telephony users are on IP or converged systems, though only about 30% use IP endpoints. Florida FL Fla. , It is important to note, however, that convergence is a gradual, Wyoming WY Wyo. , stepped process for most organizations even today. Zopiclone generic, Most start small and then look to grow bigger by adding more capabilities, more sites, etc.
As UC technologies mature and decision makers become more aware of the benefits of UC, Zopiclone pharmacy, forward-looking businesses are beginning to transition to the next stage of convergence - that of application integration. Zopiclone cheap, Yet, it will be at least 3 to 4 years before UC becomes truly mainstream and more businesses integrate communications into business processes. For customers to transition to that final stage and realize the strategic benefits of communications-enabled business processes (CEBP), New Hampshire NH N.H. , technologies need to mature further and become more exposed to the larger developer community so they can develop specific applications for specific uses.
My colleague Alaa Saayed just completed our World Enterprise Telephony Platforms and Endpoints research and here below are some of his findings, buy Zopiclone c.o.d.. Montana MT Mont. , The year 2009 can be defined as a very challenging, yet interesting year, characterized by landmark events and trends that will have a long-term impact on both technology evolution and competitive dynamics, acheter Zopiclone discount. On the negative side, Billige Zopiclone apotek, 2009 was marked by worsened macroeconomic conditions, rising unemployment rates and a significant reduction of technology investments. Not only did the economic turmoil cause the sales of almost all major enterprise telephony vendors to decline at double-digit rates, West Virginia WV W.Va. , but it also caused the demise of the former telco giant and one of the world’s premier technology companies - Nortel. Acquistare online Zopiclone, Nonetheless, history has shown that pulling out of recession often comes on the back of innovation and continued investment in technology development. Buy Zopiclone c.o.d., In fact, the enterprise telephony sector has been one of the fastest and most efficient sectors to quickly adapt to these new challenging market conditions. Important actions that were taken to fight back the negative impact of the recession included major acquisitions and reorganizations (e.g, kopen goedkope Zopiclone. HP/3Com and Avaya/Nortel), Köpa Zopiclone online, the introduction of new flexible IP telephony solutions, the implementation of very aggressive customer programs, and increased focus on channel expansion strategies, Arizona AZ Ariz. . Furthermore, Generic Zopiclone, 2009 was also marked by a significant uptake in certain advanced technologies and innovative delivery models such as SIP trunking, virtualization, hosted communications/ Communications as a Service (CaaS) offerings, comprare Zopiclone, SIP and SOA-based architectures (e.g. Avaya Aura), and professional and managed services. Finally, although it slowed down the pace, the economy did not completely stop the evolution of some of the key trends of previous years including enterprise mobility, collaboration, social media and open-source telephony, buy Zopiclone c.o.d.. Social media, for example, enabled many telephony vendors to use non-conventional marketing methods to promote and communicate the value of their products and solutions throughout the recession.
It is no surprise the market plunged in 2009, but we do expect a modest recovery in 2010, with North America and APAC leading the way out of the recession and Europe maybe experiencing some continued challenges. This year, we expect positive growth in units, but close to 0% revenue growth. In the near term, there may be some continued hesitation in investment decisions– some Nortel customers debating what route to take, others waiting for Wave 14 to prove its value, yet others looking for cloud models to mature. Buy Zopiclone c.o.d., Over the next 5 to 6 years, however, we are projecting about 1% growth in revenues and about 3% to 4% growth in unit shipments. We expect customers with TDM systems to pursue IP telephony for both cost savings and productivity benefits, laying the foundation for advanced IP apps and future UC implementations. Infrastructure consolidation through SIP and SOA will be the other two drivers for IP telephony migration and further investments in this space. Towards the end of the forecast period, the user base should be almost all converted to IP , barring the impact of some unforeseen disruptive events. Cloud technologies may begin to have a larger impact in the long term restraining PBX line shipments towards 2014 and 2015.
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Zopiclone over the counter, A few days ago, I had the pleasure to visit Aastra’s Concord, ON, headquarters and to meet again with Tony Shen, Aastra’s Co-CEO, President and COO. I must admit, Ordering Zopiclone online legally, he is quite different from other executives I interact with. His practical, down-to-Earth talk is in complete contrast with the inflated marketing bravado of most other high-ranking individuals in the industry, price of Zopiclone.
I also enjoyed listening to Jason Andersson, Købe Zopiclone, Head of Aastra’s Center of Excellence for Applications, brief me about Aastra’s current UC strategy and portfolio using Aastra’s ViPr videoconferencing technology. Thank you, Jason, comprare Zopiclone sconto, for going back to the office at 9 pm Swedish time to do this video call for me. Order Zopiclone online cheap, I have to say video really adds to the quality of the conversation. It helps establish a rapport with the other participants and be more productive, Zopiclone over the counter. Although I found the ViPr quite good, the Aastra folks hinted at the upcoming launch of a next-gen product that will help bring better and much more affordable video to the mass market.
So where does Aastra stand today in the global communications market, köpa rabatterade Zopiclone. According to our recent research, Purchase Zopiclone online, in 2009, Aastra was among the top 6 market participants in terms of total PBX and IP PBX line shipments and revenues and IP desktop phone shipments. It has a large installed base it can leverage for future growth, comprar Zopiclone. It is also on track to gradually consolidate and synchronize its multiple product lines over the next couple of years. Zopiclone over the counter, But how does it differentiate. Zopiclone online cheap, What does it do better than its competitors?
It is tempting to quote Shen who addressed the above questions by saying “We all sell sugar,” referring to the fact that communications have become a commodity, adding “we are just easier to do business with.” He strongly believes that Aastra’s main competitive advantage is in delivering technologies tailored to local customer needs and its ability to use local resources who speak the language and best understand the peculiarities of the specific market, cheap Zopiclone online. “The French buy French”, Texas TX Tex. , Shen elaborated, pointing to one reason why Aastra is doing so well in France, whereas Ericsson before couldn’t (and where U.S, Zopiclone kopen. vendors are struggling, Ordering Zopiclone no rx, too).
Aastra has also adopted a very pragmatic approach to UC. While the rest of the market has gotten a little carried away with the desktop-centric approach spearheaded by Microsoft (as it best serves its purposes), Shen and his team see little demand for soft clients, Zopiclone over the counter. As I have indicated in other blog posts and presentations, I also think it will take a few years for soft clients to populate the marketplace and become a more commonly used interface, Zopiclone over the counter. It will not be until customers deploy a larger number of advanced communications and collaboration applications such as IM, Vermont VT Vt. , presence and conferencing, that they will see the value in the unified desktop client. For most users, Køb discount Zopiclone, a basic softphone provides little more than a convenient alternative when travelling. Osta Zopiclone online, Yet, Aastra is looking to keep up with its competitors and potential customer demand and will soon be launching InTouch Plus, an advanced client that can be used both for voice and IM, buy Zopiclone online legally. So, Discount Zopiclone, if you are looking for an OCS-like experience and you believe in convergence at the desktop – Aastra will have a solution for you later this year.
Aastra sees greater potential in mobility. Zopiclone over the counter, In fact, according to Shen’s definition, UC is more about integrating corporate and mobile voice communications, than it is about the desktop client. Aastra offers both mobile PBX extensions and a solid portfolio of VoWLAN and DECT capabilities, which can meet both outdoor and indoor mobility requirements, Utah UT . Although Frost & Sullivan’s definition of UC is quite client-centric as well, Zopiclone en ligne afin, I have to agree that mobile smartphones have a greater potential than desktop clients in replacing the desktop phone as a primary communications device.
Aastra is also one of the few telephony vendors heavily promoting the voice interface. I thought voice navigation remained somewhat confined to the IVR and auto attendant space. Shen, order Zopiclone online, however, Buy Zopiclone without prescription, gave me some interesting examples of his vision for speech, which included voice navigation of calendars and folders. When I think of the time I waste looking for documents, this sounds like a life-saver to me, Zopiclone over the counter. Also, North Carolina NC N.C. , the ability to schedule a meeting over the phone, Cheap generic Zopiclone, speaking commands such as “book me a meeting with Joe at 2 pm on July 3rd” may be where the market is going next.
Aastra is also offering some interesting collaboration capabilities with its recently launched InReach social networking software. It enables employees to create various interest or project groups where they can post comments (“micro-blogs”) and share files and ideas. This software will eventually become integrated with InTouch Plus, the advanced UC client, so users can IM each other, see status updates and pictures, etc.
Although it feels like Aastra is lacking that single defining characteristic that will differentiate it in the marketplace – such as Microsoft’s message around software-based communications or Cisco’s one-stop-shop approach, for example – it may very well be that Shen and his team have identified a successful growth formula that is not based so much on marketing, but on practical, customer-centric strategies. In the SMB market especially, its local approach is far more important than technology superiority or marketing clout. Of course, this is not to say that Aastra’s technologies are not competitive, it is just to reinforce Shen’s pragmatic view of the commoditization of communications.
Shen stated that Aastra seeks to evolve its portfolio around four main tenets: the voice interface, mobility, video and security. Although I believe these have a very different value for different users, they seem like potential growth opportunities and differentiators for Aastra.
In my opinion, Aastra’s open, standards-based approach and ability to integrate its endpoints and applications with other vendors’ technologies could be its ultimate key to success. Going forward, an accelerated portfolio harmonization roadmap and a stronger message around the benefits it can deliver to larger businesses with disparate, multi-vendor environments could help it maintain and grow its market share in the communications marketplace.
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Order Zopiclone without prescription, Vanessa Alvarez and I just completed the update of our North American Hosted IP Telephony and UC Services Markets study. Here is a summary of our findings:
In 2009, ordering Zopiclone no prescription, Order Zopiclone from canada, the economic crisis continued to plague enterprises, particularly in the small and medium business segment, Arkansas AR Ark. , Cheap Zopiclone pills, which is the target market for hosted IP telephony. Many service providers suffered customer retention issues as SMBs downsized and some even went under and couldn’t pay their bills. Customer acquisition was even more difficult as many enterprises held back on making communications decisions or made other IT technology investments a priority.
Yet, 2009 was a relatively successful year for hosted IP telephony, pharmacy Zopiclone. Missouri MO Mo. , The installed base grew by close to 30 percent with new adds compensating for losses due to workforce reduction in customer organizations.
Although the concept of unified communications continued to make inroads into enterprises, Zopiclone discount, Buy cheap Zopiclone, it did not gain as much traction as originally anticipated. As a result, although many hosted service providers took 2008 to retrench and include more UC offerings into their portfolio, ordering Zopiclone without prescription, Buy Zopiclone c.o.d., the market segment targeted by hosted services was not ready for unified communications, and UC adoption rates and revenue impact were minimal, ordering Zopiclone pills. Buy Zopiclone without prescription, Frost & Sullivan estimates about 1.4 million installed hosted IP telephony lines as of the end of 2009 and expects the installed base to reach between 7.5 and 8 million lines in 2015. Revenues, Hawaii HI , New York NY N.Y. , estimated based on an average bundle of features and capabilities, reached about $700 million in 2009 and are expected to reach $3.8 billion in 2015, buy Zopiclone overnight delivery. Kaufen Zopiclone, 
Many factors will contribute to growth going forward. The macroeconomic situation forces enterprises to reconsider maintaining their own infrastructure as opposed to using hosted services. Enterprises today want to focus on driving their business, not managing their IT environments.
Parallel to this, order Zopiclone, Halvalla Zopiclone apteekki, hosted IP telephony, and hosted services in general, buy Zopiclone no rx, Zopiclone pills, have evolved in terms of features and functionality. Underlying technologies are also evolving, allowing service providers to upgrade and enhance their own networks and data centers, cheap Zopiclone without prescription, Om Zopiclone online, making the delivery of IP telephony easier and more cost-effective.
The market remained fragmented with over 50 providers, köpa Zopiclone, Cheapest Zopiclone prices, each offering varying bundles of communications applications typically including local and long-distance voice, voicemail or unified messaging, Nebraska NE Nebr. , auto attendant, conferencing, contact center and CRM applications, frequently also packaged with an access line and an Internet service. Frost & Sullivan predicts that consolidation in this market will accelerate, as large IT service providers look to bundle communications services into their overall IT hosted services offerings. As cloud computing begins to evolve in service providers’ data centers, it will become easier to deliver compelling cloud-based communications services. Also, within the next two to three years, some PBX vendors will look to develop their own solutions, in the form of virtual appliances hosted in their own data centers or the public cloud, and deliver services more directly to end users, bypassing the traditional telcos.
Enterprises today must consider what delivers greater value to their business. Many are finding that managing their own IP telephony systems, or any IT for that matter, just doesn’t make economic sense. It is best to focus their IT and communications management resources on delivering superior products/services to their customers as quickly and efficiently as possible.
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Order cheap Zopiclone online, The counterpoint to what. Good question. Zopiclone no prescription, I wanted to talk about some personal experiences with communications technologies. Since the sentiments in this article may appear to contradict ideas I have shared previously – taking more of an analyst, rather than a consumer point of view - I thought I would present them as a “counterpoint”.
Frequently, Zopiclone for sale, nascent technologies promise to improve the way we live and work. Virginia VA Va. , But at the early stages, both businesses and individuals tend to experience more challenges than benefits.
I work out of a home office, like many other professionals today, Mississippi MS Miss. . Organizations are becoming increasingly virtual and IT managers are struggling to deliver reliable, secure and cost-effective communications to their growing remote workforce, order cheap Zopiclone online. In fact, Cheap Zopiclone online without prescription, many technological advancements – such as enterprise mobility, unified communications and SaaS/cloud-based communications, to name a few - are touted as particularly appropriate for mobile and geographically dispersed users, Kansas KS Kans. . But remote workers frequently face issues that negatively impact their ability to leverage the full potential of these advanced technologies.
Here follow some quick references to popular marketing pitches and my counterpoints as an end user:
UC and software-based communications provide a cost-effective and convenient communications solution for remote workers.
COUNTERPOINT: At home, αγοράσετε Zopiclone, I have a regular POTS line, as well as a Cisco IP Communicator client on my laptop. I am glad I have the Cisco client because it allows me to call home when travelling or call an international number from home – free of charge to me, cheap Zopiclone. However, Online Zopiclone, the few times I have tried to use it to attend an audio conference or make a critical business call, the quality turned out to be so poor that I had to switch to the POTS line or my cell phone. Order cheap Zopiclone online, There are several “weak links” in this scenario and the soft client is just one. It may be the quality of my Internet connection, παραγγείλετε online Zopiclone. I have a DSL line (I believe 4 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream) and I frequently have quality problems (breaking voice or slow website upload) when using various web applications or soft clients. Buy Zopiclone no prescription, It may be my wireless router – which is integrated with the DSL modem. It may be my laptop RAM or processing power. It could also be an issue with my VPN, the size of my Lotus Notes mail box, or any other application I access on my laptop, order cheap Zopiclone online. It may be some cookies or software bugs on my home network.
So it could be anything, acquistare a buon mercato Zopiclone. But my point is, Ordering Zopiclone from canada, I am not ready to dump my TDM line OR my desktop phone for a PC-based soft client any time soon. Though my experience is that of a home worker, I think business environments are not immune to such challenges, Illinois IL Ill. . If you really believe PC-based clients are ready to replace desktop phones, Delaware DE Del. , maybe you need to make sure the money you save from eliminating desktop phones is properly invested in assessing and upgrading LAN and WAN connections, PC processing power, RAM and hard drivers, New Mexico NM N.Mex. , etc. Order cheap Zopiclone online, In my opinion, soft clients make a great adjunct to desktop phones, but not a viable replacement alternative … yet. Buy Zopiclone online cheap, SaaS and cloud-based communications enable convenient self service for SMBs and remote workers.
COUNTERPOINT: I strongly believe in the value of hosted/cloud-based communications for businesses with limited in-house resources. But I have an issue with the claims around self service. I suppose, Zopiclone ordine on-line, self service makes sense at the very initial stages of service selection and provisioning. Maine ME Me. , Certainly, IP telephony – hosted or premises-based - also enables self-service moves, adds and changes (MACs), Washington WA Wash. , which provides substantial cost savings. IP telephony also enables IT managers as well as end users to manipulate settings through software/Web-based interfaces – providing flexibility and cost efficiencies.
However, self service only goes so far, order cheap Zopiclone online. Alaska AK , In fact, hosted IP telephony and other ASP services never gained much traction exactly because service providers were not able to provide sufficient network implementation and management support required for mission-critical, real-time communications.
Inevitably, Kjøp Discount Zopiclone, hosted services involve some customer premises equipment (CPE). For Zopiclone online, To begin with, LAN and WAN reliability and security are top concerns with both hosted and premises-based IP communications. Therefore, farmacia Zopiclone baratos, router and switch selection, Order Zopiclone no prescription, proper configuration and management are critical. Further, telephony endpoints and the respective wiring still require someone to literally crawl under people’s desks. Order cheap Zopiclone online, Small business and remote workers should not be left entirely on their own when implementing or managing hosted IP communications.
Most of the time, a remote worker, similar to a residential user, uses… well, “cloud” or hosted communications. The Internet service, the POTS line – it is all managed by a service provider. And remote workers frequently face some common challenges. For example, my intermittent Internet connection has been an issue for a while. Having to spend hours on the phone with a customer service rep and stick pins into the router to restart and reconfigure it could be immensely frustrating. My phone company, on the other hand, has so far left me without a phone service only once (for about 24 hours), order cheap Zopiclone online. But even that one time, the warning that if they come to my house and it turns out to be a problem with my internal wiring or phones, they’ll charge me whatever it is they charge, etc., etc. … well, it leaves a bitter after-taste.
So, my point is, small business, remote workers, even medium and large businesses - they all want to feel taken care of. They’ll expect someone to come in and install or fix things for them as part of the monthly service charges and will not be too thrilled about self service.
I hope my thoughts make sense. Let me know what you think..
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