News Briefs

Posted: 2/2003

News Briefs

* SBC Communications Inc. and
Cisco Systems Inc. have announced a marketing and sales agreement for a
new class of managed business services that combine Cisco’s equipment and SBC’s
transport and networking services. The two companies will jointly develop an
indirect sales strategy for the services and to support the managed service
offerings.

Cisco will become the preferred
provider for SBC’s IP telephony, network and customer premises equipment (CPE)-based
IP virtual private networks (IP-VPNs), security, storage networking, hosting and
wireless local area networks (WLANs), to be gradually deployed from now until
2004. SBC will bundle the equipment, transport and services, and will manage
those packaged solutions on an end-to-end basis for customer, it said.

* Boingo Wireless Inc. has
launched a new master agent program for its wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) services,
which are mobile, high-speed, wireless Internet services. The program targets
companies that sell wireless and data services to consumers or enterprise
customers — these can be brick-and-mortar retailers, "e-tailers" or
sales organizations, says Boingo.

The company already has signed eight
master agents: Global Wireless Data LLC, Leaps-n-Bounds, Letstalk.com Inc.,
Myrateplan.com LLC, Portable USA, Telebright Corp., TIC Enterprises LLC and
Wireless Outlet Inc.

The Boingo Wireless Wi-Fi network
for business travelers is a collection of "hot spots" in hotels and
airports, plus hundreds of cafes and other public locations.

 * NetLedger Inc.
has launched channel programs for its hosted application services, including the
Oracle Small Business Suite, NetSuite, NetCRM and NetLedger Advanced Accounting.
The company says there is no hardware to procure, no large, upfront licensing
fees and no complex setups, allowing companies to be up and running in a matter
of minutes.

Partners can leverage advanced
customization features to streamline the workflow of both front and back offices
for their clients, and to customize NetLedger’s products to meet the needs of a
vertical market.

The channel offering has three
prongs: The NetLedger Solution Provider Program, for systems integrators and
VARs; the Certified Consultant Program, a credential program for technical
consulting professionals who specialize in recommending, implementing and
supporting NetLedger applications; and the NetLedger Trusted Advisor Program,
for industry consultants, CPAs and financial advisors, educators and
professional service providers who want to recommend NetLedger applications.

* Pingtel is launching the
Pingtel Solution Provider Program to support distribution partners who supply
the SIPxchange IP PBX and Pingtel xpressa phones to enterprises. The program is
designed for resellers, system integrators and service providers that market and
sell telecommunication systems and services.

Pingtel offers resources, including
development assistance, interoperability testing, deployment support, service
agreements, sales referrals and joint marketing programs. It also assists its
partners with sales training, lead sharing, special pricing on demonstration and
evaluation products, prospect profiling and qualifying tips, assistance on large
accounts, pre- and post-sales resources and ongoing product support.