5 Must-Read Telecom Stories, March 20
Each week Talkin’ Cloud compiles a list of must-read telecommunications stories for readers who are looking to stay on top of what’s going on in the fast-moving telecom industry.
This week’s column features the following companies from the marketplace: Vonage (VG), 8×8 (EGHT), Verizon Enterprise Solutions (VZ), Sprint (S) and Synergy Research Group. These stories have been gathered from Talkin’ Cloud’s Telco Hub database of telecom news and other news sources. And if we missed something, feel free to leave a comment below. We might just add it into the mix.
Here’s this week’s list of 5 Must-Read Telecom Stories, March 20.
Vonage Buys SimpleSignal for $25.25 Million
Vonage will acquire Dana Point, California-based unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) provider SimpleSignal for $25.25 million, approximately 1.5 times SimpleSignal’s estimated 2015 revenues. Alan Masarek, Vonage’s CEO, said the SimpleSignal acquisition “further positions Vonage as a leader in unified communications.”
8×8 has unveiled the “Elite Touch” professional services program to help enterprises deploy cloud communications services. Elite Touch follows a five-phase process, 8×8 said, “to ensure a customer’s services are online quickly and to provide the training and ongoing support required to deliver long-term maximum value.”
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Verizon Announces Next-Gen and Global Expansion of Cloud Unified Communications & Collaboration
Verizon Enterprise Solutions has added Cisco Collaboration Meeting Rooms to its unified communications and collaboration-as-a-service (UCCaaS) solution. Anthony Recine, Verizon Enterprise Solutions’ chief marketing officer, said offering the new UCCaaS capabilities could help his company expand globally.
Sprint has announced Workplace-as-a-Service, a set of communication and productivity tools for businesses. Workplace-as-a-Service provides companies with site-by-site integration and implementation, audio and video conferencing support and other workplace productivity technologies. Sprint also noted that Workplace-as-a-Service “can save customers time and money by eliminating most unnecessary upfront capital expenditures for hardware or software.”
Cisco Leads Microsoft, Avaya In Enterprise UC Collaboration Market
Cisco Systems (CSCO) set the pace in the enterprise UC collaboration market during the fourth quarter of 2014. New Synergy Research Group data revealed Cisco’s enterprise UC collaboration market revenues rose 9 percent between the third and fourth quarters. In addition, Microsoft (MSFT) ranked second in the enterprise UC collaboration sector; the Redmond, Washington-based technology giant’s market revenues increased 2 percent in the fourth quarter.
What are your thoughts on this week’s top telecom newsmakers? Share your thoughts about this story in the Comments section below, via Twitter @dkobialka or email me at dan.kobialka@penton.com.