Comms Dealer

Unify has released more details on its Project Ansible platform, reporting that pre-Beta trials with users were already underway. 

After solution reviews at the beginning of this year added additional features and functionality , the company said that the time frame for  Beta trials is May, including an internal roll-out at Unify. 

After Beta trials with customers, general availability will be in October 2014 and the first version will be delivered to customers in a Software-as-A-Service (SaaS) model.

Dean Douglas, CEO of Unify, said: "Project Ansible is our answer to intensive market research that started over two years ago. Based on what users expect from their communications and collaboration behaviour, Project Ansible is the solution to take them there, enabling individuals and teams for the New Way to Work, and we're happy to be driving the conversation and playing a pivotal leading role for this industry."
 
Unify also announced a development to be delivered before the end of 2014 which will include intelligent connectors into on-premise OpenScape Voice (OSV) environments. 

By providing connectors to its communications platforms, Unify said customers will be able to consume rich enterprise voice and video services on the Project Ansible client and allow users to interwork to other voice and video endpoints connected to their existing communications platform. 

This approach will allow current customers a smooth transition to the New Way to Work, said the firm.  

Unify said a third wave of innovation on the Project Ansible development roadmap will include integration to on-premise OpenScape Business and OpenScape 4000 by mid-2015, allowing Unify customers and channel partners around the globe to consume Project Ansible, generating additional investment return on their existing platforms.

These elements allow flexibility for the customer, to choose a pure cloud service, leverage a premise-based solution, or take the best from both worlds as their needs evolve.
 
Ansible is a software offering designed to extend UC supporting recognised industry like bring your own device (BYOD), addressing the role of millennials in the workforce, their requirements of mobility and the rise of the Anywhere Worker.

Unify also confirmed that the solution will officially take the name of the continuing research and development program that created it, and be called Ansible, beginning with general availability shipments in October.
 
A Customers Advisory Council has been formed with more than 40 customers and partners participating, which is helping to shape solution requirements and provide strategic council to the Project Ansible team. Members will be among the first customers to participate in the Beta trials beginning May 2014.
 
"We are positive on the vision provided by Unify's Project Ansible for the marketplace, and are encouraged by progress made on key features and capabilities," said Jerry Caron, SVP of Analysis, at Current Analysis, a leading industry analyst firm. "Project Ansible shows promise to be the kind of solution that can deliver on user expectations for ease of use and true collaboration, and deliver the required return on investment to business and technology managers."
 

Cloud-based UC, contact centre and collaboration solutions provider 8x8 has extended its global reach with the launch of a services platform in a new Hong Kong data centre facility.

Collocated in a facility owned and operated by Pacnet, the new Asia Pacific platform will provide services to 8x8's growing mid-market multi-national customers, many of which manage 'follow the sun' call centre operations.

With the addition of this new facility, 8x8 now maintains data centre infrastructure in five worldwide locations, with the opening of additional facilities planned for later this year.

"This new Asia Pacific footprint allows us to provide our customers with operations in the region with the same reliable, secure and high quality service they are accustomed to receiving from 8x8 here in the US," said 8x8 Senior Vice President of Network Operations and Support Mehdi Salour.

"These customers will gain the strategic advantage of having their communications needs served using the dynamic routing capabilities of our proprietary Geo Routing technology which utilises the shortest/best media path based upon geographic location, ensuring optimal reliability and call quality."

By Clive Jefferys, JMA Network: So the survey said - eight out of 42 countries now have fully positive employment trends, and that includes six out of seven G8s. Poor old France eh? Here in the UK, agencies have seen general placement rates increase by 12.6% and in the services sector by a whopping 30% over the last 12 months.

Business is in Hire Mode and yet in the UK we have such high employment in some form of job or another, that it's got even harder to find the right people! Economists are talking about a new shape to employment trends, so here's my fourpennyworth.

Number One on my list is the power of technology and how it has massively eroded the real worth of labour over the 27 years I have spent in work.

The average wage today has only half the buying power of when I started because IT has automated and in so many cases, totally removed the value of many jobs. I'll use my own company as an example. Compared to just five years ago, we employ only a third of the staff we used to and achieve better results. Every month our total consumption of man hours divided by the number of sales indicates it takes an average of 70 hours of legwork to yield a placement. Yet this equation doesn't even include the 24/7 operation of our software, which replaced five youngsters that used to load CVs for us. They lost their jobs to a single PC sitting in the corner of our office.

I've now become a free career councillor for all my friends and neighbours' children as they graduate from university. However, despite their degrees they are struggling to get on the career ladder. There's plenty of work as a barista or in a mobile phone shop, but long gone are the days when thousands were needed as a runner in the City or an apprentice in engineering now that so much is computer controlled.

Point Two is about how to build a real career. You have to choose something that can't be run by software. If you don't you'll either remain low paid or eventually be replaced by technology.

Whatever industry you pick, you need to know how to sell yourself to other people, something that software can never match. It's why the service sector is so big in our economy. We have near full employment because so many people are needed as delivery drivers, on supermarket checkouts, or sorting boxes somewhere. However, these are not jobs that will allow you to save enough money for a decent mortgage deposit.

Looking specifically at our sector, Point Three is about what has happened to in-house recruiters over the last year. From being a safe place in a storm, it's rapidly become a thankless task.

Even the big outsource companies are struggling as the supply of candidates has become so fragmented. Professional white collar recruitment can only be mastered by the organisations that focus 100% on finding the match.

Meanwhile in-house recruiters are run ragged by conflicting responsibilities that overlap into HR and wider company issues. Agents have the time to find the candidates and when they do, can offer more than one employer to entice their interest and turn them into an active jobseeker.
My fourth and final point is prompted by an excellent programme on the Beeb - all about London and its dominance of the economy.

The crux of the issue seems to be the size and networking potential of its population, and it pointed out that London's main competitor is now the Liverpool-Manchester-Leeds Strip. I certainly agree, as this exactly matches our own client base.

However, the marked difference between these conurbations is the quality of their transport links. Our resourcing in the North West is constantly frustrated by poor public transport links and Manchester town planners should take heed! I seriously think the strength of Central London is that everyone can pop out for a few pints and a chat with colleagues after work, and strengthen their creative potential.

So my profound advice for job seekers this month is twofold: Learn to do something that computers can't. Move to a big city where everyone can get to work easily and talk to each other on the way!

Sennheiser has unveiled the Mobile Business Series Pro (MB Pro) premium Bluetooth headsets for business use.
 
Sennheiser's multi-connectivity Mobile Business Series Pro headsets offer business professionals high definition audio quality with the ability to seamlessly manage calls when connecting to different laptops, smartphones or tablets.
 
The MB Pro 2 binaural series is the first product range to incorporate the Sennheiser Room Experience. By externalising the sound from the user's head, Room Experience gives callers the impression that they are talking to a person in the same room. 

According to Sennheiser, this more realistic sound gives users a more natural and comfortable listening experience and reduced listener fatigue for all-day users. This new feature can be activated and de-activated on the headset as the user requires.
 
Jane Craven, Director of Sennheiser Telecoms Sales, said: "Today's business professionals have to deliver the highest quality work and be ever more time-efficient in the face of multi-platform work environments and frequent travel commitments. The MB Pro Series meets all these different requirements." 

Skills gaps, high demand and concerns surrounding staff retention are driving pay rises in the IT arena, according to the latest ReThink Recruitment IT directors' survey.

The IT recruitment consultancy also found a gap between resourcing capacity and expected activity in its survey of over 1,500 director level professionals.

Figures in the seventh annual survey highlight that salaries have continued their upward trend after a challenging period during the global recession.

The majority of directors (65%) reported salaries grew in the last twelve months, with a further 95% reporting contractor rates had either increased or remained stable during this time.

This rise in pay looks set to continue throughout 2014, with 27% of those surveyed predicting contractor rate rises and 69% expecting to increase permanent salaries.

As the competition for talent continues to increase in a limited pool of specialist skills, this trend is to be expected. With staff retention remaining a critical concern - 66% of respondents stated this was a significant concern - salary increases look set to continue over the coming months.

The results of the report also identified a gap between predicted workload over the next year and the capacity of current resources.

The majority of those surveyed (77%) expect to see an increase in workload over the next twelve months. While this remains on par with 2013 figures, the comparison between this and budget forecasts suggests IT departments are set to continue working in a 'more for less' environment.

With only 47% expecting a rise in budgets, it's perhaps unsurprising that 52% of directors do not feel they have the capacity to increase output with current staffing levels.

This has also led to a rise in the number of organisations offshoring work, with those expecting to utilise this resource rising from 21% in 2013, to 35%.

Michael Bennett, Managing Director at ReThink Recruitment, commented: "The results of this year's research have built on the promising figures returned in the last edition and give plenty of cause for optimism for IT departments in 2014. This follows on from the positive findings from the KPMG/Markit Tech Monitor report that revealed the UK tech sector recorded its best growth performance for almost a decade in the fourth quarter of 2013.

"Initial signs suggest stability is returning to the market, but there is clearly some way to go yet before full confidence returns. IT directors face growing competition for talent which is driving salary increases across the board. Recruitment within this arena also looks set to be highly active with 49% of those surveyed planning to increase headcount, mirroring recent reports from KPMG and Markit, which will be further exacerbated by the gap between demand and resources identified in our survey.

In an industry where talented specialists are always in high demand, it will certainly prove challenging for many directors to keep their top performers and, indeed, attract new experts. While the UK economy continues to show signs of positivity, it seems the IT arena still has a number of challenges to contend with. The next year, then, looks set to be extremely busy for IT professionals."

Channel Telecom has launched a trade offer giving channel partners a free Polycom IP331 phone for every end user seat license sold for the Channel Telecom hosted telephony service on a minimum 24 month contract.

Matt Donaldson, Sales Director, said: "This is another example of Channel Telecom offering our partners that extra help to close sales that is so vital in a highly competitive market. There is a boom in the uptake of hosted telephony as customers realise the big financial benefits and the working flexibility the service offers. The offer of a high quality IP phone for every user license is a definite deal maker."

Phybridge has joined the Cisco Developer Network as a Registered Developer within the Unified Communications technology category. In addition, Phybridge's UniPhyer has successfully completed interoperability testing with Cisco Unified Communications Manager, 7.1.

The Cisco Developer Network unites Cisco with third-party developers of hardware and software to deliver tested interoperable solutions to joint customers.

Members of the program share Cisco's strong commitment to customer service and satisfaction and are required to undergo interoperability testing based on criteria set forth by Cisco.

With offerings such as the Phybridge UniPhyer, customers can more quickly deploy a broad range of Cisco Compatible business applications, devices, or services that can enhance the capabilities, performance, and management of their Cisco network.

Despite forecasts that users of mobile video calling services such as Skype will increase to over 130 million users by 2018, question marks remain over the potential for mobile video calling to generate revenues in its own right, a new report from Juniper Research has found.

The report observed that as with many OTT services, only a small proportion of mobile video calling users pay for the service directly. OTT mobile video calling players are therefore widening their service offering and opening their client bases to third games parties or developing their own apps in a bid to increase monetisation options.

"The role of mobile video calling is becoming clearer," said the report's author Anthony Cox. "With a number of OTT players having gained a critical mass of users through the provision of free video services, those players are now introducing an array of premium products or creating revenue-share partnerships to create a viable revenue stream."

The report also found that new standards such as WebRTC (Real Time Communication) will improve integration of mVoIP functionality into websites and mobile Apps, paving the way for the development of new services such as direct access to sales call centres from websites.

Logicalis has named Richard Aston as Vice President of Services with a remit to expand Logicalis' Services business in the UK as the company continues to align its service offerings under a single portfolio brand, Optimal.

Aston joins Logicalis from Fujitsu where his most recent role was Head of Solutions and Architecture. He has over 25 years experience in the industry with a background in all aspects of IT operations from data centre services, operations and management through to service delivery and solution development.

He said: "Organisations today want to gain maximum business value from their investments in IT and to have cost-effective and efficient services that will deliver real value to their customers and stakeholders.

"They are also looking to drive innovation and business advantage through the appropriate use of IT technology and services, and Logicalis has a capability that can be leveraged to help them achieve this goal."

Venus Business Communications has launched a support package for Voucher Scheme resellers operating under the Superconnected Cities initiative, a government grant scheme designed to incentivise SMEs to upgrade to high speed connectivity.

The scheme provides individual businesses with £3,000 to offset the associated installation of infrastructure and runs for just a year.

Venus Director Brian Iddon said: "This is a great government scheme that resellers need to be aware of. Venus is already one of the registered providers for the scheme and we would encourage other retailers to join. There are great opportunities for resellers to increase volume with good margins with infrastructure cost barriers being removed by the scheme."

The scheme invites businesses to get quotes from suppliers registered with the scheme. The business then applies to their local authority under the scheme for a connection voucher. Once the work is complete the voucher is redeemed for £3,000. The Superconnected Cities scheme facilitates installation of either Next Generation Access (NGA) technology or a Business Grade Connection delivering speeds of over 24 Mbps.

"We have designed a fibre leased line package specifically for resellers registered with the Superconnected Cities scheme that offers competitive prices," added Iddon.

"The package helps resellers to get the most out of the high anticipated volumes the scheme is likely to create across the UK. As a network operator we can support resellers registered on the scheme allowing them to deliver a high speed uncontended connection that will deliver a symmetrical service."

The Government predicts that the scheme will stimulate many SMEs to install the best connectivity infrastructure they can.

"As businesses seek to future proof their IT to deliver high speed connection, resellers and the supporting network operators need to be ready to deliver the anticipated high demand across the UK," added Iddon.