Telecom Reseller / Technology Reseller News

“We've been refurbishing and reusing hard drives since 1996,” says Ross Gentle of Ultratec. “When we found out we could work with the Turing Trust donating some hard drives, it was a complete and utter win-win as far as we were concerned.” Ultratec, a U.K. based specialist refurbisher and repairer of Hard Drives and SSDs, is in the business of doing the right thing: every hard drive that can be restored to active use, is another device that’s not in a landfill. Recently, the ASCDI member company, made another good choice. They donated five hundred drives to the Turing Trust. The donation helped the Turing Trust in its work, while Ultratec took steps to make sure the drives were properly wiped of previous data, protecting customers. The entire process protects the earth from the issue of improper disposal of IT equipment, and drives themselves, as we learn in this podcast, are now helping people achieve new goals. In this podcast, Noah van der Linde of the Turing Trust offers a brief presentation of his organization’s work in helping everyone share in the benefits of the digital revolution. We learn how donations, such as the one Ultratec made, can help people, and even entire communities, gain needed equipment for new uses, such as education. Ultratec is part of a long standing ASCDI tradition, dating back to the early days of commercial grade computing, of companies giving back to communities near them and around the world. The ASCDI- The ITAD Association is a non-profit. In a related statement, Joe Marion, ASCDI President, said that the Ultratec donation demonstrates, ESG- Environmental Social Governance, in motion. “Choosing Ultratec and other ASCDI Members is their safest route to ESG because ASCDI covers the E & S in ESG.” The Turing Trust “Founded by Alan Turing’s family, The Turing Trust seeks to continue his legacy by using technology to empower disadvantaged communities. Alan is widely regarded as the father of modern computing, and he saw IT as a tool for solving immense challenges. He also had a passion for helping others: he funded one member of his foster family to work in Africa and sponsored a Jewish refugee’s schooling during World War II. In honor of Alan Turing’s altruistic spirit, we refurbish IT equipment, install a range of educational software and provide it to those who need it most. In the last 13 years we have enabled access to computers for over 169,000 students across Africa, Asia, and the UK. With your help and a great deal of hard work, we believe that one day every child will be able to enjoy the transformative power of technology that Alan envisioned.” - James Turing, Founder of the Turing Trust. Ultratec Founded in 1996, it is a specialist refurbisher and repairer of Hard Drives and SSDs. Globally, it supplies between 600K and 1M drives per year, with over 250,000 drives currently in stock.  Ultratest uses the industry-leading Genesis Solution to ensure that all devices are fully Data Sanitized, in accordance with Industry Standards: NIST 88-800, and are returned to Grade A peak performance. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ultratec/ Website: www.ultratec.co.uk Ultratest Solutions Created in 2018, Ultratest was built on the knowledge gained by Ultratec over 20+ years of buying/selling and refurbishing Hard Drives and SSDs. Ultratest has developed the industry-leading Genesis Solution, a blend of hardware and software that not only Erases Data but can also repair and refurbish devices to return them to a Grade A full-health status.  Ultratest has also designed the Nemesis, a revolutionary solution for the Data Erasure or Networking Equipment, such as Switches, Routers, Firewalls and Access-Points.  Products that are regularly overlooked when it comes to data sanitization.  The solution also ensured that the product licensing remains intact so that the asset value is retained. LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ultratest-solutions-ltd

“I know a lot of your audience may be gun-shy at the prospect of outsourcing’” says Michelle Fiegehen of 24x7 Advantage. “Many MSPs we chat to have had negative experiences with the outsourcer unable to deliver what they promised, so I thought it might be useful to share a specific customer experience.” In this short podcast, Michelle tells us about a case study of a company and their experiences with outsourcing and how this might be a great idea for many MSPs, both as a way to improve their bench of service, and as a white label opportunity. Blog: https://24x7advantage.com/msp/case-study-msp-outsourcing-rightsize-technology/ Email web version: http://139807196.hs-sites-eu1.com/case-study-rightsize-technology Learn more at 24x7advantage.com

A new report from Zayo unveils a concerning trend in Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, indicating a significant increase in intensity and duration throughout 2023. With the average attack lasting 68 minutes and costing businesses nearly half a million dollars on average, the financial toll is staggering. Notably, the shift towards multi-vector attacks adds a new layer of complexity, targeting specific components like IP addresses and email systems with heightened precision, making detection and mitigation increasingly challenging. Industry-specific findings underscore the widespread vulnerability, with telecommunications companies experiencing the highest frequency of attacks, closely followed by sectors such as retail, healthcare, government, and education. In this evolving cyber landscape, characterized by political unrest and hybrid work environments, the need for advanced DDoS protection is paramount. Anna Claiborne, Zayo's Senior VP of Network Connectivity, joins Doug Green to discuss findings from the recent report and how businesses can navigate these challenges. Visit www.zayo.com

Simplicity is the message. “I think for the enterprise, they definitely need to look for a provider to remove the complexity from you and to provide the flexibility and scalability for your solution,” says Hon Kit Lam, the Vice President of Hybrid Connectivity Services for Tata Communications Network Business. “You may have a lot of complex business requirements, but the network solution you should look for is someone you rely on to provide the simple, like on some basis platform as a service for you.” Hon Kit Lam In this second part of a three-part series, we take a deeper look into the needs of the enterprise and how to manage that complexity. We learn more about Hon Kit Lam’s portfolio, Hybrid Connectivity Services. The message is that the enterprises want simplicity, and yet they also seek, and need, services that are robust and secure. We hear the argument to choose a trusted a source that can step up to these asks. We also hear a somewhat parallel message to the carrier community. Visit https://www.tatacommunications.com/ Read more from Hot Kit Lam Watch Part 1

“I have already had my marching orders from Clark and Joe that I've got to make these panels as interactive as possible so you know we will definitely be getting some impact and questions from the audience and the other service providers,” says Matthew Townend of Cavell. In this podcast we catch a look at some of the exclusive content that will be presented at the Cloud Connections 2024 Conference. The Survey Says: 2023 - 2024 CCA Annual Service Provider Survey - Predictions and Forecasts for the path ahead! Cloud Communications Alliance Matt tells us that almost the very first session of day one, attendees will be the first to hear the results of an annual survey. “We've now been doing that for three years… and with those results you kind of get the heartbeat of what the industry is thinking about.” The survey is famous for providing very detailed information about trends, and the data often packs some surprise findings. The gathered intelligence helps CCA members in gaining a better understanding of their larger business environment. Top Cloud Platforms “Both the CCA and Cavell really focus on practical advice, that help people turn some of the ideas into to action on things they can actually do.” On one panel, Top Cloud Platforms: Innovations Propelling Cloud Adoption into the Future, Matt tells us that, “…we've got the leading Cloud Platform players: Cisco, Alianza, Inc., NetSapiens a Crexendo Company, and Intermedia Cloud Communications. The panel will explore what’s driving growth and how to maintain growth. Visit https://lnkd.in/gnR_iYJB

Fax remains a critical tool in certain industries, but copper service is disappearing, and prices are rising “Here it is, 2024, and we're still talking about faxing," says Bob Webb of ClearlyIP.  “And a lot of folks are still using and relying on faxing. The reason it's become more difficult is because the legacy copper providers have been yanking that copper out of the ground and replacing it with fiber and basically, transparently to the end user, putting them on a voice over IP platform that's not designed to carry faxing. But if you happen to be lucky enough where you rely on fax and you still have the copper, those same legacy providers are jacking up the prices.” In this podcast, Bob outlines Sendfax.to. “Basically, we're going to marry ... multiple email addresses to multiple phone numbers but that's the key because faxing is fundamentally a phone number to phone number communication...” Bob explains how this approach saves money and restore security to fax communications. Visit www.clearlyip.com

How collaboration is going to be sold, promoted, ingested, service supported by firms in the coming years “Change doesn't just knock on the door,” says Janet Schijns, JS Group, CEO. “It practically demolishes the door to make its grand entrance. And the next few years, we're going to ramp up even that pace of change we've all become used to in the industry. AI is the new workforce, automating everything from customer service to network optimization and bringing rapid innovation to our space with varying impacts. Channel partners, even competitors creating integrated solutions that offer more value to end users. And then on top of that, partners working with partners, working with partners, working with partners is now the norm. And with all that innovation, in AI and in collab, there's a laser focus also on security…” “I'm going to be sharing our proprietary research on how collaboration is going to be sold, promoted, ingested, service supported by firms in the coming years amidst all this change.” In this podcast, catch a look at the future and catch a look at this special content to be offered at this week’s conference. “Nobody's talking about the vendor's brand anymore. They're talking about the experience for the customer and many times their own brand.” Visit www.jsgnow.com

Alan Rihm is LIVE this week at Cloud Connections 2024 “People can be your biggest competitive advantage,” says Alan Rihm, Fall Forward CEO and Co-Founder. “Or you can waste a lot of time and have a huge amount of turnover and a lot of disgruntled.” In the creative storm of the cloud communications industry, Rihm reminds is, in this brief podcast that organizations are as defined by their people, their talent, and how that talent led, as by the services and products they offer. The two tracks run side by side. Rihm tells us that our technology might be radically different just two or three years from now. But the company culture is also a thing in motion. Will your team look forward, each day to coming to work, to doing the actual work? Will be inspired to see new things in the new technologies?  Or will a poor culture make the least of the most advanced innovations. “We're all about trying to help leaders leverage technology to get the most out of their team.” Alan is joined by Dave Gilbert, Cloud Evangelist at Cavemen Investments LLC. Both Dave and Alan have led organizations up through stages from beginnings, take off to an eventual successful sale. They have seen the seasons of technological changes and the continuity of the human element: the need for the CEO to build a special culture. Alan Rihm and Dave Gilbert are LIVE at Cloud Connections 2024. Today Alan leads fall Forum, helping startups with a venture studio. Visit www.fallforward.com

CCA CPaaSAA CPaaS Special Podcast, Cloud Connections 2024 “AI is synonymous with CPaaS in how it gets deployed in the organization when it comes to anything communications related", Kevin Nethercott of the CPaaS Acceleration Alliance. This week, the Cloud Connections 2024 Conference will offer a panel labeled "Unlocking Revenue Streams: Seizing the CPaaS Advantage" and a second panel called "UCaaS, CCaaS, CPaaS, Security: Crafting the Ultimate Collaboration Suite for Revenue Growth". CPaaS will be a major topic at the event. According to Nethercott, AI and CPaaS, go together. “They're absolutely kind of kindred spirits of a sort. It's hard to do one without the other. And we're seeing global deployments of it in front of contact centers, in front of CCAS. And so, it really is converging everything down to the user. And that's why we really like to focus on the user experience as the critical element of what this technology can be used for.” Last year, CPaaS and AI had a kind of wonder appeal. This year, we are seeing practical applications, what Nethercott describes as commercialization. In this short podcast we learn how those dots are linking up: CPaaS can be deployed to solve customer challenges, and to create revenue. Looking into these opportunities will be a big part of this week’s event. Visit www.cpaasaa.com

“How do you integrate with all the different platforms, whether it's Teams and Zoom and all the other options? How do you bring a cellular or mobile option to a UC provider? Those kinds of things are really important changes that are coming to unified communication providers, collaboration providers.” Mark Lindsey of ECG will be exhibiting answers to these challenges at Cloud Connections 2024. “We're talking about how to integrate in new members of the engineering team to help build those products out and make those kind of new product ideas a reality.” Mark sees the CCA’s annual conference as a place for people share fresh thinking on challenges, learn about new opportunities and come together to build a stronger industry. “It's a great show because the people there are really talking about a lot of new ideas, kind of what's around the bend, around the corner things. Mark also notes how CCA’s event looks at the interface between products, services, innovations, with public policy, regulation, and the law. Visit www.ecg.co

“Increasingly, people are deskless,” says Lee Essex of Tango Networks. “They're hybrid workers. They work from home, they're out in the field, or they just don't have an office anymore.” In this short podcast, Lee previews his coming talk at the Cloud Connections event. “I'm here to help you solve problems. From this point of views, let's just have a chat. You know, you've got a problem, you've got an inquisitive mind, or you want to explore something. Let's do that. Let's have some fun with the session.” Lee will be participating in the Cloud Mobility Revolution: Revealing the Power of Mobile Connectivity session. Lee also tells us about what he and his team at Tango Networks do. “We've done this with a lot of the major UC providers, but recently in the past 18 months to two years, we've been focusing a lot of our work with what I would call the industry leaders for a number of reasons, Microsoft, and Cisco. But we are all about working with those vendors to produce a native mobile experience for their subscribers. And when I say a native mobile experience, it's probably worth me taking just a few minutes to explain why.” Watch this shot podcast and learn about Tango. Attend this session to. Visit https://tango-networks.com/

Glacier Consulting helps organizations with R2, ISO 27001, ASCDI Podcast, We have a niche in R2 “We are a business development consulting company,” says Michael Hutchcraft of Glacier Consulting. “We have a niche in R2 and the related certifications management system certifications, so we're we are heavily involved in used electronics, whether we're talking mobile phones, laptops, tablets, or wearables like watches.” Glacier helps their clients implement maintain and build management systems required to offer these certified services. “I do R2 about 50 to 60 hours a week. It is my specialty. It's my passion of what I work in.” Hutchcraft explains how he helps his clients make the most of opportunities in front of them, while doing the right thing, by keeping many products in service and avoiding landfill. Glacier Consulting is a new member of the ASCDI. In this initial podcast, we learn about Glacier Consulting and how Glacier Consulting is already partnering with the ASCDI community. We also learn about the company’s offerings to the larger IT community. “ASCDI offers so many things. We could probably have a podcast just on what that offers,” adds Hutchcraft.  In keeping with long standing ASCDI community traditions, Hutchcraft tells us that his door is always open to other members. Visit https://glaciercs.com/ ASCDI News Glacier Consulting helps R2 ISO 27001

“Most of the customer base is coming to you over the open Internet or, in some cases, dedicated Internet, that, in addition to the fact that you don't have visibility on the customer's LAN routinely, causes issues,” says Paul Buss, of Reply Cloud. “What we try to solve is reducing the amount of time that a provider is spending in answering performance questions about LANs and firewalls. and wide area networks and other ISPs that the customer's chosen to reach you through as a channel and bring that to light.” Reply Cloud is a service assurance platform, a member of the Cloud Communications Alliance and an exhibitor at the upcoming Cloud Connections Conference. Buss tells us how Reply Cloud partner with companies, such as the CCA members in a very seamless way, and with white label programs. In this podcast, Buss offers a real-world example, with slides, of Reply Cloud in action. Visit https://www.replycloud.io/

Jonathan Marashlian will be speaking at the Cloud Connections Conference “What California is doing is it's undertaken a rulemaking proceeding to determine whether or not there are different types of voice -over IP service that require a more stringent degree of regulation,” says Jonathan Marashlian. Marashlian is a member of the CCA's Government Affairs Committee that carefully monitors legal regulatory issues in the US, UK, EU and elsewhere, as part of the CCA’s effort to look out for the best interested on the cloud communications industry and the industry’s millions of customers. “Regulation that may impose market entry requirements like licensing might require them to get surety bonds, may even impose transfer of control obligations on certain types of voiceover IP providers.” He cautions that a single state can cause a “snowball effect”. In this podcast, Marashlian gives us a quick update on this and several other hot topics that may, or may already, be impacting cloud communications companies. We get a glimpse of some of the news, on the legal front, that will be discussed at the upcoming Cloud Connections Conference: spam, robocalling, fraud, STIR/SHAKEN, “…call it the whole ecosystem of cracking down on us, bad traffic, bad calls, telemarketing calls.” Marashlian is a telecommunications attorney, and a managing partner Marashlian & Donahue, PLLC, The CommLaw Group https://commlawgroup.com/  and The Commpliance Group  https://thecompliancesquare.com/

Unwanted robocalls and text messages plague the PSTN, wasting time and potentially leading to scams. While the STIR/SHAKEN and Campaign Registry frameworks promise a solution, incomplete and onerous implementation leaves us vulnerable. This podcast dives into the fight against illegal robocalling/texting and spoofing. We'll explore the limitations of STIR/SHAKEN and the TCR, discuss the need for a strong caller name labeling system, and how regulators and the industry can work together to finally silence these unwanted calls. Visit www.telnetww.com

Wildix integration with the new Apple Vision Pro VR headset Wildix recently announced the launch of the revolutionary AI-powered solution, x-hoppers, tailored for the retail sector. This revolutionary tool harnesses AI to transform staff-customer dynamics. From AI-driven theft detection to real-time incident response, coupled with an AI assistant for instantaneous product information, x-hoppers is set to revolutionize the retail communication landscape. In this podcast, Wildix’s Tim Truelove brings u up to date on a set of differentiating products that Wildix is offering to its partner community. Among these are Wildix’s integration with the new Apple Vision Pro VR headset. Tim discusses revolutionizing Sales with AI-Driven Communication - x-bees, a pioneering AI-enhanced sales communication tool. This platform stands as a testament to how AI can elevate sales interactions to new heights. It offers real-time AI support, delivering live feedback, insightful analytics, and strategic managerial interventions. This fusion of technology and human expertise is engineered to amplify sales productivity and deepen customer relationships. x-bees now more AI-fueled offers more features available, including real-time transcription services for instant speech-to-text conversion and seamless saving of summaries and transcriptions directly into CRM systems. We also learn about new phones with new features for a changed workspace and a changed workforce. Visit www.wildix.com

Networks Reimbursement Program (SCRP), an initiative designed to Remove Replace and Dispose (RRD) of certain non-US equipment. Regulatory agencies urged rural carriers to buy less expensive products to speed connectivity to sixty million Americans who live in rural areas and smaller towns, that are often left behind by a lack of connectivity. Later, the same agencies began to urge the same players to replace many of the same products as security, including national security issues mounted. Congress launched a program designed to help with those replacements. Many rural carriers have small subscriber bases, serve modest income customers and simple lack the cash and capital to abandon long term investments before their (usual) time. Congress funded the replacement program, however, only partially.  In this podcast Summit Ridge Group’s Armand Musey walks us through the problem. Due to the lack of full funding from Congress, many participants have been stuck waiting to approve and start the Rip & Replace program. In many areas of the country, the work required to replace the telecom equipment takes several weeks or sometimes months. If wireless carriers’ emergency shutdowns aren’t accounted for, there will be major disruptions in service across the country as many carriers will be forced to go bankrupt to make these repairs. Summit Ridge Group is the leading financial and business valuation consulting boutique focused exclusively on the telecommunications, media, and satellite industries globally.

Mary Clark is the New President of Numeracle “Whether it's a call or a text message or an email, our vision is to restore trust, says Numeracle President and COO, Cathy Clark. At the recent Enterprise Connect 2024 event, Numeracle, an innovator in Verified Identity and Entity Identity Management for communications, announced a series of innovations and initiatives designed to specifically help enterprises preserve and improve the value of their contact centers and other parts of their communications complex, by ensuring trust and transparency with every phone call made.  “We can help make sure that enterprises are not mislabeled to spam when they're trying to reach consumer, that they're appropriately labeled and get through to that consumer.” Clark is Numeracle’s new president. In this podcast, Clark shares her insights as person with a deep background in the telecom industry and perspective on the problem of solving fraud in communications and returning trust to all calls. Trusted Logo and Name, Test How You’re Being Seen Clark explains how Numeracle’s approach ultimately places a logo, the trusted brand logo of the enterprise, on the phone of the customer or call recipient. “You will see the logo and the reason for the call and the name of the company, giving the person on the other end, that consumer, myself, my kids, my parents, your parents, the opportunity to feel more confident in answering that call.” Numerical also offers Number Check, where organizations can test how their calls are delivered and displayed on consumer devices, utilizing screenshots of real phone calls across all top 3 wireless carriers. Channel Opportunity Clark also reaches out to the partner community with an opportunity. Organizations have huge investments in their brand and companies of all sizes need to be able to reach customers, clients, patients, students, citizens, vendors, and contractors via calls that will be answered and texts that will be seen and read. https://www.numeracle.com/contact-us.

“When you think about the big pillars today, flexibility, mobility, AI…. these are going to be pillars for your productivity and collaboration at a workplace in the future, says Vandana Thomas Principal Group Product Manager Microsoft. In this podcast, Vandana shares with us how AI is being applied, almost as a loyal companion, eager to help with everyday projects, while quietly working across and being accessible from, many platforms. “Let's say I'm on LinkedIn or I am writing a Word document and I have a few thoughts. But if I want to structure the thoughts well, to use a certain tone, a fun tone and a somber tone, a formal tone, I can let Copilot know and Copilot can create the content to suit the needs.” Vandana tells us she used it in connection with this upcoming conference.  “I, in fact, used some of it to create my bio for the Cloud Connections Alliance. Vandana Thomas will be at the upcoming Cloud Connections conference and will be speaking on Cloud Mobility Revolution: Revealing the Power of Mobile. In this short podcast we catch a glimpse of her thoughts on this key topic and learn a little bit about Microsoft’s approach. Microsoft seems determined to take AI and mobility, together, to deliver a seamless step(s) forward.

“Our solution is to provide the simplicity,” says Hon Kit Lam, the Vice President of Hybrid Connectivity Services for Tata Communications Network Business. “Our solution is to provide simplicity to consume all those connections between the cloud, between data centers, and even between their offices.” In this podcast, first of a series of three, we get an overview of Tata Communications and their approach to the paradox of modern communications, where a series of decisions and layers of technology may have made the network more complex, while enterprises need to be able to use simplified process to communicate to people, be they customers, employees, partners, investors, vendors, or contractors. “It's more complicated at the background and we try to also make the complicated things simple for them to use.” Hon Kit Lam We learn how Tata Communications is using AI to deliver simplicity at the user level. “The complexity itself can be addressed. However, the platform they need to select needs to have the intelligence, and to be open for the customers to consume with the API. They also need to have the muscle… they need to select the providers with the muscle plus the intelligence.” In this podcast series we learn how Tata Communications endeavors to deliver both. Visit https://www.tatacommunications.com/ Read more from Hot Kit Lam