Enterprise Connect is the largest enterprise communications conference of the year. As expected there was a flurry of new announcements as vendors jockeyed for attention. Well, most vendors, some were notably quiet. Some news comes as it happens, such as Cisco’s announcement to end its email service the week prior to the conference. But many vendors used the hotel filled with media and analysts to set the stage. Some companies figure the the noise is too high, and avoid news at conferences for less competition. I won't pretend to know the best strategy, but there was some compelling news last week.
All said and done, I decided to get a bit more logical about the news of the week and plot my results. Regarding technical significance, I gave low scores for expected news;such a Microsoft intending to support smartphone clients, and higher scores for more revolutionary or unexpected announcements. As for impact, I gave lower scores for news that only impact a specific product or existing customer base and higher scores for news that will potentially impact the industry, or other vendors, customers, and/or channels.
With that I get the following chart--the higher scores indicated with blue and yellow along their axes- and the magical intersection being turned green just as my kindergarten teacher promised. That gives six significant announcements from Enterprise Connect 2011--according to me.
Verizon and XO: Verizon and XO announced their intention to enter hosted enterprise voice. Verizon intends to use Cisco's unified communications technology to provide a range of capabilities in various packages. XO intends to use Broadsoft’s portfolio. The cloud, or hosted voice, has been making impressive gains with SMB accounts, but not so much enterprise accounts. These cloud offerings intend to change that with a national footprint, SLAs, and end-to-end QoS. Verizon even intends to sweeten the deal with an enhanced mobile solution. Both companies suggest their services will offer a significant cost savings.
Siemens 2: Siemens Enterprise made three announcements, and the one I deemed as “number two” moved into the green. Siemens also jumps to the cloud with a new offering officially targeted at the mid market. The reason I give it so much significance is their approach to the channel; an area where many providers struggle. Most channel models are either agent or wholesale--both with issues. Siemens Enterprise is using a branded resale solution with building blocks and options designed for channel partners to create differentiated offerings.
Aastra: Aastra announced a new desktop video solution called BluStar which has some disruptive potential. While video and collaboration are clearly increasing in popularity, our device attention has been distracted with tablets and smartphones. Aastra's BluStar 8000i has a whopping 13" color LCD display suitable for video and/or collaboration. In an Aastra environment, the solution renews the ViPr line of video and collaboration products, but it is also suitable for non Aastra environments as an impressive SIP video phone. A planned BluStar server appliance positions the solution for non Aastra environments that support SIP. I would not be surprised to see a Lync-load BluStar in the future.
NEC: NEC has always had great products and a strong channel, but it hasn’t really unleashed what I consider its most strategic platform: Sphericall. NEC announced it intends to unleash this new UC product later this year. It is bustling with capabilities that just might quench its thirsty channel. Sphericall is reasonably mature and strong, fully buzzword compliant as a software based (comes on a disc) product, virtual-ready, SIP, UC, and uses web technologies instead of traditional clients. The booth reps were also sporting a clever mini Dect phone highly suitable for environments such as health care...pendant and wrist mount styling.
Skype/Citrix: I had higher expectations from Skype at Enterprise Connect. They had people and tables, but only shared a booth with Avaya, and made few actual announcements. I was hoping for something on SLAs or an update with its Avaya signaling integration. But instead had to settle for a vague partnership with Citrix; specifically its GoToMeeting service. It fills a minor hole for both companies, but I gave it weight as Skype continues to take baby steps into the enterprise with its unrelenting growth of its user base.
Those were the big announcements. More news will come shortly. Avaya is busting with an announcement it hasn’t made yet. IBM was quiet. Google hasn’t said anything either. Microsoft was pretty loose about its announcements ("sometime this year"...). I got hushed grimaces to some of my questions from Polycom and Siemens Enterprise.
Regarding high-impact news, I will mention Cisco's new mid market offering (Cisco 2). This product is poised to disrupt both existing pricing models and the channel. Microsoft got some recognition for embracing the iPhone. I assumed Microsoft's "first and best on Windows" philosophy would mean a rich client only for Phone 7 users. Instead, we heard a new tagline "Microsoft wants to be where the users are" and it demonstrated an iPhone client. Evidently, Microsoft wants to support where all the users are, so intends to support Android, iPhone, Windows, RIM, and Nokia smartphones sometime "later this year".
Regarding revolutionary or at least unexpected, honorable mentions go to Vidyo for bringing the DVR to video conferences, Siemens (Siemens1) for a rich UC appliance for SMB, and Polycom and ShoreTel improved video solutions (Polycom continues to align with all Cisco competitors).
* Siemens3
* Skype and Citrix
* Vidyo
* Cisco1
* Cisco1
* AudioCodes
Dave Michels, Principal of Verge1, is regular contributor and blogs at PinDropSoup.com.
