Unified Communications

Cloud

Calabrio gives major analytics upgrade to flagship Calabrio ONE suite

April 5, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on Calabrio gives major analytics upgrade to flagship Calabrio ONE suite
The enhancements include ease-of-use things like flipping the media player from horizontal to vertical, so that it, and the text to speech and associated analytics, run top to bottom instead of side to side, like everything else in mobility.

Networking

Expanded Mitel, Martello partnership bears fruit with new platform support in latest Mitel MPA release

March 25, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on Expanded Mitel, Martello partnership bears fruit with new platform support in latest Mitel MPA release
The extension of Martello’s relationship with Mitel around Mitel Performance Analytics to include assets acquired from ShoreTel both strengthens that partnership and positions Martello well for aggressive growth on other fronts.

Partnerships

Plantronics rebrands as Poly, unveils new product and strategic initiatives

March 22, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on Plantronics rebrands as Poly, unveils new product and strategic initiatives
Poly is designed to provide a new joint identity for the Plantronics-Polycom combination. In addition to new pipeline product announced at Enterprise Connect this week, the company also emphasized new and expanded strategic partnerships which have more joint offerings on the way.

Unified Communications

Video conferencing provider StarLeaf releases Pronto cable solution for instant access to video conferences

March 11, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on Video conferencing provider StarLeaf releases Pronto cable solution for instant access to video conferences
U.K.-based StarLeaf, which sells entirely through channel partners, has some in the U.S. and Canada, but is not well known in North America overall, and is hoping that this new device increases their exposure here.

Unified Communications

New 8×8 partner portal put in place as part of channel revitalization strategy

March 1, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on New 8×8 partner portal put in place as part of channel revitalization strategy
The new 8×8 PartnerXchange Platform replaces a clunky predecessor, and makes it easier for partners to do business with 8×8. It’s part of 8×8 channel chief John DeLozier’s strategy to drive the company’s channel business more effectively.

Unified Communications

VisibilityOne nears entry into videoconferencing monitoring market with public beta launch

February 11, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on VisibilityOne nears entry into videoconferencing monitoring market with public beta launch
VisibilityOne provides a cloud-based videoconferencing service, designed to support multi-vendor environments, and be very simple to install and use. It is slated for general release in early summer, and will be sold through UCC-focused partners.

Artificial Intelligence

Bot enhancements, SMS support and Zapier platform integration highlight new release of Comm100 platform

January 31, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on Bot enhancements, SMS support and Zapier platform integration highlight new release of Comm100 platform
This is the last big improvement to the Comm100 customer experience platform before a next-gen version is introduced in about four months.

Unified Communications

Avaya announces innovative location reporting capabilities for emergency report management

January 23, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on Avaya announces innovative location reporting capabilities for emergency report management
Avaya is a relatively new player in the public safety space, but is intent on disrupting it, and to this end has unveiled a next-gen 911 solution.

Marketing

Avaya to do more joint marketing programs with partners in expanded and more aggressive marketing strategy

January 22, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on Avaya to do more joint marketing programs with partners in expanded and more aggressive marketing strategy
Avaya has announced a new branding initiative in which their solution offerings will be renamed more logically and by function. That’s only one part of where Avaya is going this year on the marketing front, however, with a more aggressive campaign than they have implemented before.

Cloud

Avaya builds out cloud strategy with new private cloud delivery model

January 22, 2019 Mark Cox Comments Off on Avaya builds out cloud strategy with new private cloud delivery model
Avaya’s cloud strategy in the past could never be described as crisp, but major changes were announced at Engage to change that, with new OneCloud branding and ReadyNow enterprise bundles to bring solutions to market quickly.