Here we go again! As I do each week, I am really enjoying bringing our readers a quick round-up of the blog coverage I didn’t manage to get to during the week prior.
In addition, here at SMB Nation, we are already gearing up for our annual fall event to be held Oct. 10-12 in Las Vegas at the Rio! We have designed a brand new Web site specifically for this event, which you must check out today. For additional information on the new Web site, our cool XP Migrations video produced by Bigger Brains, and our fall conference, check out our blog post here. Hurry up, and get your registration in, as we are less than three weeks away from this event!
Please take some time to peruse a few snippets of information that we didn’t get a chance to bring you last week….let us also know if there was something we might have missed, which is not mentioned in this entry…because as you know…we love news!
1.) MOTOTRBO Anywhere Bridges the Communication Gap to Mobile Devices: Motorola Solutions, Inc. announced that work teams can now connect on a new level with MOTOTRBO Anywhere. This new solution builds on the success of the MOTOTRBO digital two-way radio portfolio to extend reach, enhance choice and increase flexibility.
MOTOTRBO Anywhere allows workers to communicate with MOTOTRBO radio users and talk-groups with an easy-to-use application on their Android or iOS smartphones, which connects via a wireline gateway to the MOTOTRBO radio network. Organizations can now leverage their reliable MOTOTRBO network to extend communications to other mobile broadband devices to improve collaboration and efficiency.
2.) Verizon Launches Partner Advisory Council: Verizon said last week that it is expanding the Verizon Partner Program to include a Partner Advisory Council.
According to Verizon Enterprise Solutions Vice President of Channel and Medium Business Janet Schijns, the council was formed to further empower the company to meet the growing demand for cloud, advanced mobility, strategic communications and intelligent networking solutions for medium business.
The newly appointed Partner Advisory Council consists of the following members, who will serve for a one-year term with key advisors such as the chair and co-chair, serving a two-year term:
-E. Gene Esopi (chair), president Sova
-Kevin Thigpen (co-chair), executive vice president of Sales, ActSoft
-Darryl Senese (executive advisor), vice president of Carrier Services, Atrion
-Mike Shonholz (executive advisor), director of Sales, CDW
-Gina Pigott (advisor), chief executive officer, Teledomani
-Garry Hopkins (advisor), president, National Comnet Services
-Ken Mercer (advisor), vice president of sales, Telecom Brokerage
-Dan Marsh (advisor), managing director, Portfolio Communications
-Adnon Dow (advisor), vice president, Synnex
-Colin Willer (advisor), channel development manager, NetMotion Wireless
-Alan Dabbiere (advisor), chairman of Air Watch
-Mike Armstrong (advisor), vice president of Sales Engineering of Global Communications Group
3.) Comcast Business Adds New Mobility Features for SMBs: Comcast Business announced new capabilities for Business VoiceEdge, a cloud-based PBX solution for SMBs, that extends its unified communications (UC) and video calling features to today’s increasingly distributed and mobile workforce. Now users can benefit from having their UC features easily managed from their iOS- or Android-based mobile phone.
Whether for a small or large business, mobility is a key driver of productivity. According to Gartner, mobile application use in the workplace will double by 2015. The mobility features of Business VoiceEdge can increase a worker’s ability to communicate, collaborate, innovate and deliver better customer service – all while away from the desk.
4.) Channel Commitment Fuels Tegile Systems’ Sales Success: Tegile Systems said that its 100-percent channel sales approach has been a key component to the company’s successful go-to-market strategy, which has resulted in record sales over the past quarter. With no direct sales force in place, Tegile relies on its partners’ storage expertise and relationships with their customers to close new business.
Launched in March 2013, the Tegile Channel Partner Program now includes a new Flash Advantage Partner Portal that helps better train its partner sales teams, makes sales tools more readily available and enables immediate online quoting.
5.) Comstor Elevates Cisco-Dedicated Portfolio with Hosted Collaboration Solution: Westcon Group said that its Comstor business unit has signed a new partnership with collab9. The agreement empowers resellers to develop significant new revenue streams based on cloud-based collaboration technology from Cisco.
Built on the Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution (HCS) platform, collab9 is ideally suited for Comstor’s Cisco Advanced Collaboration Architecture Specialization (ACAS) and Advanced Unified Communications (AUC) partners. The Cisco powered service ensures rapid market entry for cloud-based collaboration, while eliminating costly investments in data center start-up, hardware/software, personnel, 7x24 NOC requirements, and the audit and authorization process.
