Business News Holding

Blog

  • Tadiran Telecom Launches Next Generation Call Center Solution

    Tadiran Telecom, IP business telephony and communications supplier, announced the EMEA and APAC launch of the Composit Contact Pro (CCP), its next generation call center management solution for the Coral ACD call center.

    IP based CCP is the newest member of Tadiran’s call and contact center solutions. Once deployed, system supervisors are able use the CCP to monitor call quality and service in real-time with call center status information like:
     
    • number of calls and average wait time in queue,
    • available agents in relation to the TSF (Target Service Factor),
    • talk/handling time,
    • agents on private calls,
    • deviations from the TSF,
    • average time before abandonment


    "Improved efficiency and service has long been the cornerstone of the call center management market, and the CCP system addresses the changing needs of organizations in today’s competitive markets,” said Shmuel Golan, Acting Vice President of Sales & Marketing.

    CCP system managers can oversee performance and adherence to cost objectives by monitoring features such as the performance and activity of agents and groups, call distribution and traffic statistics as well as call results.

    Managers can also utilize web based historical reports (Business Object world-leading reporting tool) to analyze trends and patterns over a defined period of time, and use the information for strategic planning and follow up to ensure a positive customer experience.

    The CCP system will replace the legacy MIS system.
     

     

  • West & Central African Com: Global Crisis Affects African Market

    VIDEO INTERVIEW: William Saad, Managing Director of IHS Nigeria, was interviewed at the recent West & Central African Com conference held in Abuja, Nigeria.

    He talks about the infrastructure sharing and explains how the operators can reach the rural areas in a cost-effective way.

  • Digital Realty Trust Launches Pod Architecture Services

    Digital Realty Trust, the wholesale datacenter provider, has launched a new offering called POD Architecture Services(SM) to provide design and construction services to companies that own or want to own their own datacenter facility, and would like to leverage Digital Realty Trust’s datacenter expertise and resources.

    This new product offering will enable customers to license Digital Realty Trust’s datacenter design packages, benefit from the Company’s procurement supply chain, and utilize the Digital Realty Trust team’s proven Gating Process(SM) for enterprise control throughout the construction process.

    Michael Manos, DRT’s Senior Vice President of Technical Services claims that these services fill a gap in the market between a pure do-it-yourself approach and leasing wholesale space from an outsourced provider. “Many companies want to own their own datacenter, but they do not have the internal skill set and experience to successfully tackle a construction project with the scope and complexity of a major datacenter facility”, he said.

    By using our POD Architecture Services(SM), customers can utilize everything from the company’s blueprints to its relationships with vendors – as well as the expertise that the manager brings to the process.

    Digital Realty Trust’s fee-based POD Architecture Services(SM) also enable companies to license Digital Realty Trust’s Turn-Key Datacenter(SM) design package, including its proprietary Design Engineering Guidelines, schematics, one-lines, BOMs, project/site basis and airflow modelling.

    “As customers increasingly adopt modular approaches to datacenters that speed time to market and lower upfront costs, blueprints such as those from Digital Realty will be in demand in both hosted facilities as well as customers’ own facilities”, said Michelle Bailey, Research Vice President, Enterprise Platforms at IDC

    Digital Realty Trust owns, acquires, redevelops, develops and manages technology-related real estate. The company is focused on providing Turn-Key Datacenter(SM) and Powered Base Building(SM) datacenter solutions for domestic and international tenants across a variety of industry verticals ranging from information technology and internet enterprises, to manufacturing and financial services.

  • TextMagic Releases New Bulk SMS Gateway API

    TextMagic, a provider of online text messaging solutions for businesses, developers and consumers, announced the release of its new Bulk SMS Gateway API.

    The company claims it will facilitate innovation by developers to integrate text messaging services into new and existing web and back-office custom applications, potentially reaching more than three billion active SMS text message service users.

    Developers can connect to TextMagic’s Bulk SMS Gateway using the HTTP API or Email to SMS service. To help developers new to TextMagic’s software and framework, the company has published a detailed, searchable online manual available here.

    “TextMagic’s SMS Gateway API now helps developers capitalize on the continually expanding text messaging market by allowing them to enhance existing applications or create new custom text messaging applications to cost-effectively send and receive SMS messages, check the delivery status of text messages previously sent and more,” said Priit Vaikmaa, marketing manager of TextMagic Ltd.

    Developers can also send large group text messages, build 2 Way SMS systems, communicate in any language and create sub-accounts to manage multiple API users, among other capabilities.

    In addition to the release of the new API, TextMagic is further facilitating the integration of text messaging into software applications with the release of open-source client libraries prepared for Java, Ruby, Python, Perl and PHP. The libraries take over the responsibility of communication with the API and serve as text messaging middleware which is both well documented and easy to install. Thee initiative will be soon extended to other popular programming languages.

    To begin using the TextMagic Bulk SMS Gateway API, developers can apply for a free trial, or buy SMS credits at https://www.textmagic.com/products/api.

  • Clearwire to Launch 4G Service in 10 New Markets in the U.S.

    Clearwire Communications announced the official launch day of CLEAR 4G service in 10 new markets across the U.S. on September 1, 2009.

    The company’s CLEAR WiMax wireless broadband services will occur in Boise, Idaho; Bellingham, Wash; and eight markets throughout Texas, including: Abilene, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Killeen/Temple, Waco and Wichita Falls.

    Clearwire’s 4G network is now available in four markets, with the expected September 1st launches adding an additional 10 markets, and the company plans to bring CLEAR to 80 markets covering up to 120 million people by the end of 2010. In addition to the markets recently announced, consumers and businesses can purchase the company’s 4G services online and at various retail locations in Atlanta; Baltimore; Las Vegas and Portland, Oregon.

    Some of the additional markets planned to launch in 2009 include Chicago, Charlotte, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Honolulu, Philadelphia and Seattle. In 2010, Clearwire plans to launch 4G service in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Houston and the San Francisco Bay Area among others.

    Clearwire’s 4G service, called CLEAR offers fast mobile Internet, similar, butt different, to that provided by Wi-Fi. CLEAR uses a 4G technology called WiMAX, that provides up to 3 Mbit/s broadband speed (although Clearwire claims that it can provide up to 4 MB/sec for downloads and 500 kilobits/sec for uploading).

    Clearwire currently provides 4G service, utilizing WiMAX technology, in four markets and provides pre-WiMAX communications services in 50 markets across the U.S. and Europe.

  • IPsmarx Technology with Encore Networks to Deliver Global SS7 Connectivity


     

    Encore Networks announced that IPsmarx Technology, VoIP solution provider, has selected Encore’s SP-201-Z Signaling Gateway to deliver C7 to ISDN protocol conversion and other VoIP based solutions to Long Distance carriers and global operators.

    The SP-201-Z is an advanced signaling gateway that facilitates out-of-band interoperability between incompatible voice networks, as well as providing interworking capabilities between legacy TDM voice networks and VoIP networks.

    IPsmarx is dedicated to delivering customer management and billing solutions for carriers, VoIP Calling Card Operators and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). With locations throughout North America, IPsmarx provides Internet Telephony Service Providers (ITSPs) in 63 countries with fully integrated turnkey solutions to deploy and run applications like wholesale, residential VoIP, calling card, and termination. Encore joins other industry leading IPsmarx partners including Cisco and Quintum Technologies.

    “Many types of out-of-band signaling protocols exist globally while many countries have different protocols simultaneously in use within its networks,” said William Pourmajidi, Technical Support Manager of IPsmarx Technology. “With its extensive list of seamless protocol support, the SP-201-Z breaks down the barriers presented by these different protocols and enable the flow of information across any network.”

    “By adding the flexible signaling conversion capabilities of the SP-201-Z to their product portfolio, IPsmarx offers customers the opportunity to customize signaling solutions for their specific needs minimizing the risks of entering new international markets,” added Bill Ferguson, Encore Networks Vice President of International Signaling Sales.

  • West & Central African Com: “Customer Relationship Management is at the heart of the operator’s activities"

    VIDEO INTERVIEW: Abdoulaye Sarre, Chairman and co founder of PCCI Group, was interviewed at the recent West & Central African Com conference held in Abuja, Nigeria.

    He talks about the importance of customer relationship management and he thinks that in the near future more and more operators will outsource their CRM operations.

  • Intel partner applies for WiMAX allocation in South Africa

    Broadband provider, iBurst, has applied to ICASA to extend its WiMAX allocation to 30MHz of frequency spectrum in the 2.6MHz and 3.5MHz ranges. This allocation will be used to support its plans to increase download speeds and to roll out nomadic WiMAX services.

    iBurst was one of the first providers in South Africa to launch a commercial WiMAX service. The iBurst WiMAX network went live in 2008 and has since grown to over 200 base stations in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town, making it the largest commercial WiMAX network in South Africa. iBurst plans to roll out additional WiMAX base stations over the next year.

    WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability Microwave Access) is a new generation technology that is a wireless alternative to leased line and ADSL services, and offers connectivity to small, medium and large businesses. iBurst’s current WiMAX solutions are perfect for businesses that want a wireless alternative to ADSL or Diginet at their premises.

    Although it is not a portable or mobile solution as it requires the installation of a fixed antenna, businesses are able to choose between a broadband (best effort) and a dedicated (assured) solution to accommodate for a range of applications and requirements. Nomadic WiMAX, by contrast, gives business’ and individuals more freedom to roam within WiMAX network coverage and still enjoy the same level of high-speed Internet access as they do at their office or home. Since it is faster to install at the customer’s premises and uses cheaper embedded equipment (for example, a chip in a notebook), nomadic WiMAX will help iBurst to roll these connectivity services out to more people countrywide. However, the additional 15MHz of spectrum is key in deploying nomadic services.

    "The fixed WiMAX offering from iBurst has seen widespread adoption in the parts of South Africa where it is available, giving users a high-speed alternative to fixed-line technologies," said iBurst CEO Jannie Van Zyl. "But provided we are able to secure additional frequency spectrum from ICASA, we will be able to make this technology even more accessible by activating the nomadic version of the WiMAX standard across our network. The network is ready, we are ready. Now we just need the spectrum."

    iBurst’s parent company, Wireless Business Solutions (WBS), recently signed a commercial agreement to jointly roll out WiMAX products with international technology giant, Intel. Intel has been a major driver of both Wi-Fi and WiMAX adoption. In terms of the agreement, Intel will embed WiMAX capability within a range of devices while iBurst will provide the connectivity between the devices and iBurst’s WiMAX network. Although the agreement has been signed, the network and WiMAX enabled laptops will only be available later in 2009. Recent compatibility tests conducted with Intel showed that these devices are now ready to be deployed if the spectrum allocation is increased to 30MHz.

    Van Zyl said "We believe that nomadic wireless products that bundle hardware and access technologies will help more South Africans to get online. In addition, it will help us to make internet connectivity available wherever and whenever our customers need it. Accessing the spectrum we need to roll out nomadic WiMAX is essential if we are to maximise the potential of this technology."

    iBurst was originally issued with 15MHz of WiMAX spectrum by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) in July 2006. WiMax implementations across the globe have demonstrated that at least 30MHz of spectrum is required in order to provide end users with the speeds and quality of service which can be achieved on the WiMax technology. Accordingly, WBS is applying for additional spectrum to take it to the 30MHz level. WiMAX is a family of technologies based on the IEEE 802.16 wireless standards with the iBurst network implementing the later 802.16e standard. Most other WiMax networks in South Africa still deploy the older 802.16d standard.

  • Teradata Announces Availability of Its Newest Database for Enterprise Intelligence

    Teradata Corporation, the company solely focused on data warehousing and enterprise analytics, today announced general availability of Teradata 13, which includes Teradata Database 13, Teradata Tools and Utilities 13, services and partnerships.

    Teradata acts as a single data store that can accept large numbers of concurrent requests from multiple client applications. Teradata Enterprise Data Warehouses are often accessed via ODBC or JDBC by applications running on operating systems such as Microsoft Windows or flavors of UNIX. The warehouse typically sources data from operational systems via a combination of batch and trickle loads.

    Teradata 13 enables data to stream up to two times faster into the data warehouse. Simultaneously, tens-of-thousands of variables can be analyzed directly in the database. The high-speed data loading and analysis do not interrupt or slow each other, providing agility for business users. The loading of data at high speed has been made possible by using specialized tables to support businesses that accumulate massive data volumes like retail and financial services.

    The query optimizer interprets a query and determines the most efficient way for the database to process it providing business users with a rapid response to their queries. Database administrators and application developers don’t have to be involved, because these enhancements deploy automatically.

    “A data warehouse must deliver analytical muscle, not just scalable storage. Teradata 13’s ability to balance complex workloads is key to this effort. The addition of geospatial and temporal capabilities will provide Teradata customers with entirely new opportunities for business models.” said Scott Gnau, head of development, Teradata Corporation.

    According to Gnau, “Teradata customers will be able to improve the processing of selected geospatial queries by as much as 20 times by integrating and analyzing geospatial or location data along with customer and operational data in-database. Geospatial processing is the latest process that is executed in parallel inside the Teradata Database along with in-database OLAP (On-Line Analytical Processing) and in-database data mining with SAS. The integrated geospatial data and the high performance of Teradata Database will add a significant new data dimension for customers seeking to increase the intelligence of their enterprise.”

    For customers using OLAP for standard business analytic queries, some type of queries are supposed to run up to 20 times faster on Teradata 13. The Teradata Database patented “intelligent scanning” innovation, eliminates the need to scan data whenever possible, unlike some vendors that focus on brute force, which wastes resources by unnecessarily scanning rows and rows of data.

    Teradata is a massively parallel processing system running a shared nothing architecture. It is offered on Intel servers interconnected by the proprietary BYNET messaging fabric. Teradata systems are offered with either Teradata-branded LSI or EMC disk arrays for database storage.

  • HTC opens Android Market in South Africa


     

    Leaf International Communications, the sole distributor of HTC in South Africa launched three phones, Touch Pro2, Touch Diamond2 and the Snap for the local market.

    The Leaf team presented their new offerings to the media at Central Grill in Fourways. The company also confirmed the Android Market, Google’s mobile application directory, will be available to South African users from August 2009.

    “HTC was the first to launch Android-based handsets in South Africa during May 2009,” said Stephen Strachan, marketing director at Leaf. “At the time, the Android Market was unavailable to local users and, while we have developed a local application portal, it is great that consumer demand has resulted in Google allowing local users to access this popular global portal. Leaf, together with HTC is exceptionally proud to bring the Android market to the South African consumer”.

    For the first time, HTC Magic and HTC Dream handset owners have access to literally thousands of free applications. They can download a complete spectrum of apps, ranging from functional downloads to those designed purely for fun. The assortment is limitless and consumers can choose between a variety of gaming applications, business & social networking tools and a multitude of other exciting content for download direct to their HTC Android handsets.

    HTC Pro2

    The new HTC Pro2 runs off the windows Mobile 6.1 professional operating system and will be upgraded to Windows Mobile 6.5 when released. The phones features 3.6-inch touch-sensitive screen with ultra sharp WVGA resolution, an internal GPS antenna, Bluetooth 2.1 stereo that has enhanced data rate and a micro SD card slot which offers expandable storage. The PRO2 makes communication more natural thanks to HTC’s new Straight Talk technology.

    Touch Diamond2

    The slim 13.7mm handset features a 3.2-inch touch sensitive screen with ultra sharp WVGA resolution. The Touch diamond 2 also has an internal GPS antenna which is GPS and A-GPS ready, Bluetooth 2.0 with enhanced Data rate and micro SD card for storage. The Touch Diamond2 runs off Windows 6.1 which will like the PRO2 be upgraded to Windows 6.5 operating system once it’s released.

    HTC Snap

    The New Snap seamlessly integrates the familiar features of Microsoft windows and an exceptional mobile web experience. The HTC Snap operates the flexible Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 standard platform. The HTC Snap also includes an internal GPS antenna that is GPS and A-GPS ready, Bluetooth 2.0 with enhanced Data Rate, Wi-Fi and A2DP for wireless stereo headsets.