SametimeBlog

Sametime Integrated Solutions with Avistar and Interactive Intelligence (TechTalk)

2011-04-14T15:46:58-04:00

#ucoms

IBM Business Partners are invited to join IBM on April 20 at 11am ET for an upcoming IBM Collaboration Solution TechTalk, "IBM Lotus Sametime Integrated Solutions with Avistar and Interactive Intelligence" (IBM PartnerWorld membership required). For this session we'll present two more integrated Partner solutions for IBM Unified Communications and Collaboration:

Avistar provides a 100% desktop software video conferencing solution that integrates with the IBM Lotus Sametime platform. Avistar supports thousands of users in a virtualized desktop environment that resides on IBM infrastructure at a fraction of the cost to alternative hardware solutions on the market.
Interactive Intelligence has partnered with IBM to provide innovative call center software and IP telephony products and services. For the contact center, the enterprise and the remote and mobile workforce, our standards-based all-in-one IP platform unifies every aspect of business communications. Interactive Intelligence offers a flexible, easy-to-manage alternative to proprietary, hardware-centric solutions.

Speakers will include: Brent Wolfe, WW ICS Business Development Executive; Carter Williamson, Strategic Account Manager, Avistar Communications; and Tim Ross, Strategic Account Manager, Interactive Intelligence. The session will be hosted by John Allen, Lotus Sales Enablement Manager.

Please visit the IBM PartnerWorld Event Finder to learn more. (IBM PartnerWorld membership required)

Constellation Research Demystifies the Cost Structure for UC

2011-04-14T08:46:22-04:00

#ucoms

Constellation Research recently published a report, "Best Practices: Demystifying The Cost Structure for UC Solutions", by Elizabeth Herrell. This report identifies how leading vendors price their UC solutions and identifies what is included as core and optional for leading UC vendors. It also includes some positive comments about the IBM Unified Communications and Collaboration solution and our pricing model. We encourage you to take a look (subscription required).

UC Summit 2011: IBM Keynote video now available

2011-04-13T12:46:01-04:00

#ucoms

Following up to our earlier post from UC Summit 2011 linking to Caleb Barlow's podcast interview, the folks over at UC Strategies have now posted IBM's Tuesday Keynote Session. Caleb talks about some of the key trends that are impacting the Unified Communications marketplace, and how UC enables you to become a more social business. Your feedback is always appreciated.

UC Summit 2011: the IBM video blog

2011-04-13T10:03:22-04:00

#ucoms

Not only am I catching up from Enterprise Connect 2011, but also from another excellent Unified Communications industry event that IBM attended recently, the UC Summit 2011. Much like Enterprise Connect and Lotusphere, we remembered to bring our video cameras to record some video of IBM Business Partners, and industry pundits, on what they were up to at the Summit, and what was on their minds when it came to IBM Unified Communications and Collaboration solutions and IBM Sametime. Here's a few videos for your viewing pleasure.

Blair Pleasant

Samantha Kane

Jim Burton

Brian Cuppett from Scan Source

Phil Salm from CDW

Jeff Stillings from Jabra

Rex Harris from Audiocodes

Tim Ross from Interactive Intelligence

Enterprise Connect 2011 - IBM Business Partner videos

2011-04-12T15:04:52-04:00

#ucoms #enterprisecon

Cleaning up through some leftover actions from the excellent Enterprise Connect 2011 event a month ago, I found some videos taken by our irrepressibly upbeat Brent Wolfe, Worldwide Business Development Executive for Unified Communications. He had the wherewithal to bring his portable video camera and captured a few IBM Business Partners showcasing their technologies on the Expo Show Floor. I just posted them to YouTube and embedded them here, in no particular order.

Rob Romano from Radivision

Mark from Psytechnics

Rolf from Iscoord

John from Plantronics

Vidyo

Kurt Kruger from ShoreTel

Paul Davis and Matt from Polycom

TeamPolycom 2011: IBM wins Open Collaboration Network Partner of the Year (NA) Award for Sametime Integration

2011-04-11T18:14:52-04:00

#ucoms

At TeamPolycom 2011 last week, it was announced that IBM had won the Polycom Open Collaboration Network Partner of the year - North America - award! This is in recognition of our work as one of their key business partners, and of course of the great work our business development and product development teams have done. This is great recognition that IBM Sametime can be a first class participant in meetings using a Polycom MCU or a Polycom end point. The award comes with a nice trophy that we've taken a picture of, above. You can read more about the awards on Polycom's website here.

This follows on the heels of the January announcement of Polycom's win of the 2011 Lotus Award in Enhancing Business Value Through UC2 Solutions category at Lotusphere 2011. Clearly good things are happening between our two companies, and we look forward to working with Polycom to deliver real client value.

UC Strategies' UC Summit podcast interview with IBM's Caleb Barlow

2011-04-06T13:29:23-04:00

#ucoms #ucsummit

Our friends over at UCStrategies, following up from last week's excellent UC Summit 2011, published a podcast interview with IBM's Caleb Barlow, following his keynote presentation at UC Summit 2011, discussing market momentum for IBM's social business software and IBM's partners in the unified communications space. Money quote:

"... at the end of the day, the things you do in social whether that is updating somebody’s Facebook wall, a tweet, or the internal equivalent on Connections, these are forms of communications, just like what you would have with a audio conference or video conference or a chat."

The IBM keynote, along with other updates from the event, have also been published to their site. UC Summit 2011 was a great opportunity to meet with unified communications resellers, consultants and other channel participants. And La Estancia Resort in La Jolla is a beautiful mediterranean locale to host an event, I hope it's there next year again.

Friday Funnies and April 1st Humor

2011-04-01T17:09:16-04:00

I'll let the link speak for itself. Here, have some fun.

Gartner PCC: Join IBM (and UC) in booth 5, Mar 28-30

2011-03-24T11:22:19-04:00

#ibmexperience

Join IBM at the upcoming Gartner PCC Conference, March 28-30 in Los Angeles. If you're at the event, stop by the Exceptional Work Experience demonstration in IBM Booth (#5), or attend sessions featuring IBM clients. Visit the Gartner PCC site here for more information.

The Real World of SUT: a Lotus User Group Webcast Apr 6

2011-03-24T11:09:44-04:00

#ucoms

Don’t miss our upcoming Webcast for Lotus IT professionals, presented by David Price, IBM Unified Communications and Collaboration Practice Manager at Meridian IT, sponsored by Meridian IT and Plantronics. Register Here.

Whether you’re just thinking about deploying or just curious about the benefits to your company, you’ll want to check out this Webcast from David Price of Meridian IT. Meridian has been certified by the leading communications and collaborations vendors such as Plantronics, IBM, Cisco, Tandberg, Radvision, Shoretel and Polycom and has in-the-trenches experience with Sametime and SUT roll-outs. This presentation will feature real world examples of what they’ve seen and what you should know as a Lotus admin, voice architect, systems engineer or IT manager. You’ll hear how IBM's offerings differ from traditional telephony vendors and you’ll get first-hand tips on what you should expect when working with system integrator. David will demonstrate ways to lower your investment, improve collaboration, and enable your work force to operate remotely with optimum productivity. Plus, you’ll come away with the knowledge to effectively communicate the benefits of SUT to others in your company, including your CFO.

Plus, everyone viewing the Webcast is automatically entered in a drawing to win a Plantronics Voyager PRO UC wireless Bluetooth headset.

The Webcast is free but requires pre-registration.

IBM UC in the news: Italy and video, Australia goes UC + social

2011-03-16T10:15:52-04:00

A couple of news mentions this week for IBM unified communications. Our first story comes from Italy, where Business magazine published a feature story on how unified communications technologies, such as videoconferencing, can increase process efficiencies and reduce costs. IBM client Terna, the Enel Business Unit that manages the national electric network, is highlighted.

Computerworld Australia also published an article on an uptick in unified communications projects and the bundling of social capabilities bringing added benefits to clients. IBM's Mike Handes is quoted throughout the article:

"One of the neat things about social software is that if you’re going to support a distributed workforce and you’ve got people working across different geographical boundaries, it [UC] combined with social networking brings that force together through collaboration,” [Mike Handes] told Computerworld Australia.

Upcoming Podcast 03/14: Intelligence at the Human Edge: The Next-Generation Experience with Plantronics Headsets

2011-03-11T09:37:27-05:00

#ucoms

As part of an ongoing BlogTalkRadio series, please join Caleb Barlow on Monday March 14 at 8pm Eastern for "Intelligence at the Human Edge: The Next-Generation Experience with Plantronics Headsets". Caleb will be talking with Jeffrey Siegel, Vice President of Strategy & New Business Development at Plantronics, about how quality of experience starts with a good headset, the latest trends in headsets, what to look for in a headset, and what the future holds as wearable audio devices become more intelligent.

Caleb Barlow on BlogTalkRadio: IBM Unified Communications and Collaboration

2011-03-10T15:06:04-05:00

#ucoms

Caleb Barlow, IBM Director of Unified Communications and Collaboration, has been working the media angle hard since joining our team. Just the latest example after Enterprise Connect, is his appearance on BlogTalkRadio's Unified Communications channel. You can listen to the podcast right from here.

Listen to internet radio with Caleb Barlow on Blog Talk Radio

Caleb Barlow on IBM UC in Enterprise Connect Vidcast

2011-03-10T14:59:33-05:00

#enterprisecon #ucoms

More good stuff coming from Enterprise Connect last week: Caleb Barlow, IBM Director of Unified Communications and Collaboration, spoke with No Jitter from the Expo Floor on IBM's unified communications strategy. You might want to turn the volume down a little; that show floor was loud!

Social Media and Unified Communications - How do they relate?

2011-03-09T16:02:04-05:00

#ucoms #enterprisecon

As we blogged about way back in November 2010, unified communications is a core component of becoming a social business. And social media needs unified communications to help turn socializing into action. While we may have been ahead of the industry a little bit in making this connection explicit, much of the conversation at Enterprise Connect last week was dominated by Social Business and Social Media and how they're related to UC. Now comes this blog post from Carousel Connect as well, where they discuss IBM's social business initiative within the UC context. Whether you're trying to provide a more exceptional customer experience...

Now that you are listening more effectively, give [customers] more ways to interact with you. On-line chat and customer service solutions integrated into your contact center are proven to substantially improve customer satisfaction levels. Providing customers with the types of social interactions and collaboration they have become accustomed to will pay dividends both in cost savings and happier customers.

...or an exceptional work experience...

An overlooked toolset in corporations is ‘Group Chat”. Many businesses are bastions of “tribal knowledge” where a few employees know the answers to problems that are asked over and over again. Setting up “topic-based” group chat rooms (think Facebook-like simplicity) that employees can join and which are moderated by internal subject-matter-experts (SMEs), can speed reaction time and build up a powerful knowledge base very quickly.

...what's important is that UC is placed within a broader context of collaboration in the enterprise.