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“Peter possesses a keen sense and insight for turning telecom services and products into customers and dollars. He is passionate about this industry, his work and the people he serves. Visit his site, read his blog and sign up for his newsletter at marketingideaguy.com and you will discover what makes Peter a sought after marketing consultant.”

Cynthia de Lorenzi, CEO, Patriot Computer Group
A Fun Chat with VAR Dynamics
On Rad's Radar
Tuesday, 31 January 2012 19:51
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It started out coincidentally as VAR Dynamics CEO, Tony Francisco, was on my plane this morning. And he just recently moved from Silicon Valley to Tampa Bay, where I live. He is working with Gazelle Labs and spoke at BarCamp Tampa Bay, which is an un-conference I co-organize for the last 4 years. I had to go to Miami Beach to talk to him though. Go figure!

VAR Dynamics is the geeks in the cloud that run the servers that run the software that VAR's and service providers then re-label and sell to end-users. Back in the day, they would be labeled Master MSP as they enable MSP businesses. I called then an MSPE - a managed service provider enabler. Tony disliked that immediately. They are like the VAR Viagra - get them up and running on the Cloud in a day, fully turn key and automated through the magic of open API's. Tony didn't like that either, but his VP of Marketing, Darrek Porter, a man who was in politics once upon a time, did. This system allows VAR's to consume and re-purpose cloud apps in a self-service atmosphere.

I like it when the discussion is lively, more like buddies chatting over coffee than telling me your talking points. VAR Dynamics has almost 200 partners, which include telcos, VAR's and MSP's. What's the difference between VAR and MSP? Mainly mindset. Break/fix versus MRR (monthly recurring revenue).

VAR Dynamics white labels a lot of Microsoft products like Exchange, Sharepoint, CRM and soon Lync Lite. They also white label Blackberry Enterprise Server and Zimbra. Why Zimbra? "For those that don't like Microsoft." They have add-ons like archiving and "Compliancy", which means help complying with the myriad federal regs like PCI, HIPAA, GLBA, SOX, etc.

Francisco did name drop Autotask, ConnectWise, Jamcracker and Reflection as current or future partners -- again through the magic of well coded open API's.

Are you a company with a base of customers looking for MRR - "and control of their future"? Then VAR Dynamics wants to talk to you.

How do you control your own future? By selling white-label services, you are the provider - no carrier deciding that the bottom looks better when they stop paying commissions - so the monthly commission isn't going to get cut off, unless the customer leaves you.
Read more... [A Fun Chat with VAR Dynamics]
 
Day 1 at ITEXPO
On Rad's Radar
Tuesday, 31 January 2012 19:31
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I had a couple of good conversations today. One was with Greg Plum who has embarked on a new chapter in his career at StartMeeting.com. Plum is exciting about building the channel for this start-up conferencing company for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that he believes that StartMeeting.com will be a disruptor, a serious game changer in the conference space. They offer conferencing - audio, video and web - like so many others, right? It is HD audio. There is file and desktop sharing. We'll see. The launch is at the channel show in Vegas.

I met with ONYX today. ONYX is a distributor of value added products - like Grandstream IP phones and Digium - to Latin America. Headquartered in Miami, ONYX is turning a corner, realizing that Education and Local will be the keys for growth.

On the Local side, ONYX has offices in four Latin America countries now. A local presence is needed for distribution and support and a local presence. ONYX has plans to open offices in every country in Latin America.

The second key is education. With 20 years of experience, ONYX is rolling out how-to videos on its products, developing a knowledge base, and offering product and know-how training to its VAR's and others on IP-PBX, IP Phones and Asterisk - in Spanish too.

A final note about ONYX is that it migrated its back office computer systems to the cloud in order to utlize tablet based access for real-time inventory and more. Accessing the back office over an Android smartphone or tablet is speed to market.

Globecomm was next up to discuss their TEMPO product - a managed platform for streaming video specifically for Fortune 5000 companies. Analytics and whatnot are included in the platform. For corporate training and webcasts.
Read more... [Day 1 at ITEXPO]
 
The Next FCC Auction?
NSP Strategist
Monday, 30 January 2012 13:43

In this Washington Post video, Cleland Says FCC Airwave Sale May Exclude AT&T, Verizon and favor Google. Of course, he does. Cleland is the guy behind NetCompetition.org. "Scott Cleland is the world’s leading Google critic. He has testified before the U.S. House and Senate three times regarding Google, and is author of the new book, Search & Destroy: Why You Can’t Trust Google."

Being anti-Google has paid him handsomely, especially since there are companies like AT&T and VZ that like the way he demonizes their competition.

Cleland blogs here about how the FCC is out of control and just wants to raise revenue for the US Treasury. That is actually the history behind spectrum auctions: revenue! Rarely does spectrum get taken back or enforcement of auction rules occur. Even deployment rules are not enforced. Even the GAO is behind the FCC's auction ability.

ASIDE:: Sinclair has an alternative plan for TV spectrum here.

Peter Radizeski is a telecommunications consultant and analyst with RAD-INFO INC. Service Providers have called on RAD-INFO INC for assistance building a channel, improving sales, managing online marketing efforts, and overall company strategy. Contact RAD-INFO INC at 813-963-5884 or http://rad-info.net

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AT&T Archive Video
On Rad's Radar
Monday, 30 January 2012 13:42

From the AT&T archives: "A fascinating animated film explaining the perspective of the Bell System made during the legal challenges of the 1970s from both the government and other phone companies. "

The MackNell Quandary from 1975 about the greatness of monopoly. I guess this was propaganda before AT&T was broken up.
Read more... [AT&T Archive Video]
 
2 Challenges You Face
NSP Strategist
Monday, 30 January 2012 13:06

According to this article, 'Customer loyalty, according to consulting firm Protiviti, is at the top of business challenges that non-financial services firms will face in 2012. Other challenges include managing supply chain risks, privacy and security issues, and attracting and retaining top talent."

I think the big 2 in 2012 will be Retention and Security.

In security, we have hackers everywhere, including inside the organization. To wit, this Windstream employee who stole numerous accounts to buy stuff. Then you have the 24M Zappos accounts that were hacked. Security is something to take seriously -- and to make certain that your customers take seriously.

The other challenge is Customer Retention. I face it all the time. Circuits come off term and clients bounce for a few dollars, even when they didn't have a single billing issue or outage.

Part of that is my not having a retention plan in place. Proactively calling customers 90 days before the circuit expired to discuss their needs, growth, etc.

The article mentions "there is one other critical element to customer retention – customer service." However, if there are no issues - billing or otherwise - the customer won't call, so how do you provide service? Thank you notes, phone calls, surveys, and needs analysis. Provide Value Upfront!

I liked this tidbot from the article: "Studies have shown that IT customers are more interested in reliable technology and efficient customer service than getting the best price. For managed services providers (MSP), this requires explaining the value of the services upfront and continuously showing proof of that value to maintain the customer relationship."

These are just two things to think about - security and retention - for 2012 as we close out month 1.

Peter Radizeski is a telecommunications consultant and analyst with RAD-INFO INC. Service Providers have called on RAD-INFO INC for assistance building a channel, improving sales, managing online marketing efforts, and overall company strategy. Contact RAD-INFO INC at 813-963-5884 or http://rad-info.net

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4 Examples of PR for PR Sake
On Rad's Radar
Monday, 30 January 2012 07:23

Here are 4 examples of press releases just for the sake of press releases. That is, just to fill the online PR machine with your name and keywords to help your

EarthLink releases software to help retailers focus on core business. Nice headline but the rest of release doesn't really say how EarthLink's one-source solution for telecom helps retailers do that (specifically). A specific case study would have been better for all concerned. It would have been a spotlight on a customer for EarthLink while demonstrating how the retailer utilized the services.

Cbeyond announces a new Master Agent, CMS. There sounds like a template that could be used for any master agent or carrier.

VoIP Supply Announces Results of Customer Experience Survey. I like the guys at VoIP Supply but a press release about how your customers like you? That's just humorous.
Read more... [4 Examples of PR for PR Sake]
 
It's a Mobile Monday
On Rad's Radar
Monday, 30 January 2012 06:51

It's a mobile Monday as I get set to pack up to head to ITEXPO East 2012 in Miami Beach.

Yahoo was being Yahoo! this morning as it announced - in the same breath - that it has launched a "Mobile First" mindset, then shut down 10 mobile apps. Granted, some of them were not doing well (like Yahoo itself), but it's schizophrenic to do it on the same day.

Patent house Klausner Technologies sues MetroPCS for Visual Voicemail Infringement. That's always fun - and profitable for the patent house. Hopefully, in this case, it doesn't mess up the consumers' experiences.

AT&T is now supporting DISH Network at the FCC on its deployment and usage of spectrum in the 2 GHz range that it acquired from bankruptcy court via TerreStar Networks and DBSD North America. In the Fierce article, it is suggested that the support is because AT&T has eyes for DISH spectrum. And as you have read, the rumor mill has AT&T bidding on DISH - for less than what T-Mobile would have cost. It will depend on the FCC rules on the spectrum.

Both Verizon and AT&T had bad quarters. AT&T attributed its $6.7B bad quarter to its $3B T-Mobile acquisition break-up fee. Some of it may be due to having too much focus on the merger you thought for certain was going to pass. VZ blamed pension liabilities on its loss. Windstream changed its pension accounting method.

Not for nothing, but the pension liabilities that VZ and CenturyLink (via Embarq) owe SHOULD have been funded all along -- not in lump sum, quarter killing fashion. I wonder if this is a boat anchor that will sink them?

While AT&T whines at the FCC about a "clear spectrum policy", can I remind that of a few things? One, you have spectrum. Deploy what you have! And try not to mismanage it this time, so your top execs don't have to explain it to Congress again! Two, what spectrum do you want auctioned off? There simply, at this time, isn't any. You and your ilk have bought it all up, horded it, did not deploy it, and screwed the pooch that is mobile data networks in America. Your pals at CTIA didn't plan well for the future either. Did you think that the spectrum was unlimited?

In more AT&T whining, there is this article about the roaming rules and how Sprint is free-loading. My understanding about spectrum was that deployment was required - with an expiration date. What happened to that? Where is the enforcement?

In cool news: Sprint has a $100 7-inch ZTE Android tablet coming out!
Read more... [It's a Mobile Monday]
 
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