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Alibaba looks set to Launch its Cloud Services in the U.S.

The Chinese commerce firm Alibaba is keen on launching its cloud computing services in the U.S. and this became clear after they announced the establishment of a data center in Silicon Valley.

The Silicon Valley data center (location still unknown for security reasons) is Alibaba’s first center outside China. The Chinese giant claims to have more than 1.4 million cloud services customers in China and its expansion to the U.S. is in line with its plan to expand to Southeast Asia and into Europe before the end of the year.

Microsoft, Google, and Amazon Web Services are among the leading cloud players in the United States and it will be interesting to see how Aliyun (an Alibaba development) will thrive since they are going to offer similar services as the aforementioned giants.

Some of the notable services that they are keen on offering include data processing and cloud storage, load-balancing for companies running websites, data security, and a virtual serve.

Aliyun is yet to announce its prices but they said that their services will be “cost effective”. They also added that there first target will be Chinese companies with American business interests, but they will later develop and ramp up their services to appeal to international companies as well by the end of the year.

March 6, 2015
Best Enterprise VoIP Phone Adapters to Buy in 2016
Here is a selection of some of the best enterprise VoIP phone adapters available on the market right now.
- Cisco Small Business PAP2T-NA Internet Phone Adapter with 2 VoIP Ports
The Linksys PAP2T Internet Phone Adapter enables high-quality feature-rich VoIP (voice over IP) service through your broadband Internet connection.
- Two standard telephone ports for analog phones or fax machines that serve as separate lines, complete with unique phone numbers
- Call Waiting, Cancel Call Waiting, Call Waiting Caller ID
- Caller ID with Name/Number (Multi-national Variants)
Get it now for just $39.99!
- OBi100 VoIP Telephone Adapter and Voice Service Bridge
- Easy to Set-Up Using OBiTALK.com
- Also Supports SIP “Bring Your Own Device” Services like Anveo Callcentric, Voip.ms, etc.
- Calling Features: Call Waiting, 3-Way Calling, Call Forward, Caller ID, Telemarketer and Anonymous Caller Blocking
- OBiTALK Portal Features: Manage Your OBi, Connect to Your Friends’ OBi Devices, Add Services, Download Apps for PC, Speed Dial Up to 99 OBi Endpoints or Phone Numbers
Get it now for just $39.83!
- Grandstream GS-HT702 Handytone 2-FXS Port Analog Telephone Adapter
- 2 FXS port (HT702), supporting 3 REN and single 10/100M Ethernet port
- Advanced telephony features including caller ID, call waiting, 3-way conference, transfer, forward, do not disturb, message waiting indication, multi-language voice prompt, T.38 Fax, flexible dial plan
- Strong security protection of voice/data privacy using TLS/SRTP/HTTPS, secure and automated provisioning using TR069 and HTTP/HTTPS/TFTP
- Support comprehensive voice codecs including G.711 with Annex I/II, G.723.1, G.729A/B, G.726, iLBC
Get it now for just $37.99.
- Cisco Small Business Pro SPA2102 Phone Adapter with Router
- Dual ports to connect existing analog phones or fax machines, or to a PBX system
- Two 100BaseT RJ45 Ethernet interfaces (LAN-WAN) to connect to a home or office LAN, as well as an Ethernet connection for a broadband modem or router (WAN)
- Independent configuration of each line using software controlled by the service provider or the end user
- Strong security with reliable, encryption-based methods for communication, provisioning, and servicing
Get it now for just $99.99!
- OBi202 VoIP Phone Adapter with Router, 2-Phone Ports, T.38 Fax
The OBi202 is equipped with a 2-port router with integrated quality of service (QoS). It supports up to four VoIP services like Anveo, Callcentric, VoIP.ms or a multitude of SIP Internet phone services as well as calls to other OBi endpoints via Obihai’s free OBiTALK network. The OBi202 also supports the T.38 fax standard for reliable facsimile calls over the Internet.

Get it now for just $74.73!
- Cisco SPA112 2 Port Phone Adapter
- Uses advanced voice quality-of-service (QoS) capabilities and the voice Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) stack
- Supports reliable faxing with simultaneous voice and data use
- Includes two standard telephone ports, each with an independent phone number, for use with analog fax or phone devices
- Is compatible with all industry voice and data standards and common telephone features such as caller ID, call waiting, and voicemail
Get it now for just $39.99!

Also check out: Best Enterprise VoIP Phones to Buy in 2015
March 5, 2015
BlackBerry Leap 5-inch Touchscreen Smartphone Released at MWC 2015

It is now clear that BlackBerry, the company that is synonymous with physical keyboard phones, has not completely trashed the idea of a full touchscreen phones.

The new 5-inch BlackBerry Leap smartphone was announced at the Mobile World Congress on Tuesday.

The Leap is BlackBerry’s first full touchscreen smartphone to be released this year. The last one to be released was the BlackBerry Z3 that was launched in February last year.

Apart from the 5-inch display, this phone also boasts 16GB storage, 8MP camera, 2GB RAM, and a 1.5GHZ processor.

Other impressive feature is the 2,800mAh battery that can power the phone for up to 25 hours and tight security features that include malware protection, encryption support, and the ability to wipe, back-up, and restore data.

Even with this new release, BlackBerry’s list of smartphones and devices is a little thin and even the company President of Devices Ron Louks knows that and so they teased a few more phones that are not yet available for release.

Among the most interesting is the unnamed slider phone that is said to be curved with a slide-out keyboard. Louks went ahead to say that the company is keen on launching 5 new devices this year.

The BlackBerry Leap is set to go for $275.

Also read: Australia’s smartwatch market to exceed $400M by 2018

March 4, 2015
Telsyte: Australia’s smartwatch market to exceed $400M by 2018

With some 370,000 smartwatches sold in 2014, Australians are warming to wearable computing with the market poised to exceed $400 million by 2018, according to new research from emerging technology analyst firm Telsyte.

According to Telsyte’s Australian Smartphone & Wearable Devices Market Study 2015, the smartwatch market is expected to grow by at least 50 per cent in 2015 due to the arrival of an Apple Watch.

Samsung, an early entrant in to the smartwatch market is the current market leader.

Watch jewellery is a mature market with around 40 per cent (more than 7 million) of Australians (age 16 and above) wearing a watch almost every day. Notwithstanding the challenges, smartwatches have the potential to disrupt the traditional market as people consider wearable devices an extension to their smartphone and apps they use for fitness and communications.

Telsyte Managing Director Foad Fadaghi says smartwatches will become more appealing to consumers as new stylish and featured devices enter the market, with the 25 to 44 year-old age group representing the best sales opportunity in 2015.

“There is a lot of anticipation for the Apple smartwatch and our research indicates half of all smart fitness band users are looking to upgrade to a smartwatch, creating a potentially vibrant new product category” Fadaghi says.

Telsyte research showed that over 800,000 smart wristbands such as those made by Fitbit and Garmin were sold in 2014.

As with smartphones, consumers consider ease of use, pricing and battery life the most important attributes of smartwatches. Many current smartwatches have been criticised for their short battery life and limited unique usage scenarios.

Telsyte’s research found the top three applications people want from a smartwatch are to (1) check the time and date (2) use it as an alarm clock or a reminder alert, and (3) read messages, including e-mail.

Smartphone sales mature as hand-me-down devices shake up the mid-market

According to Telsyte research, there were 16.8 million smartphone users in Australia at the end of December 2014 with sales of just below 5 million units in the second half of 2014.

This was around 10 per cent less than Telsyte expected over H2, despite very strong iPhone 6 sales.

Telsyte Senior Analyst Alvin Lee says the iPhone gained market share in H2 2014, but the overall share trends are likley to change again as an Android-users upgrade cycle in expected to commence in early 2015.

However, Telsyte has recognised increased competition to Android device by older model iPhones, typically received through a “hand-me-down”.

“The durability of handsets and the hand-me-down phenomenon is impacting the market, along with a flood of second hand iPhones cutting into sales of mid-tier Android handsets in the second half of 2014,” Lee says.

Telsyte estimates 1.3 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus units sold in Australia last year, with the iPhone 6 outselling the iPhone 6 Plus, at a ratio four to one. Despite this Telsyte believes the demand for phablets or larger form factor smartphones is growing and will represent around a quarter of smartphones in use by 2019.

February 26, 2015
Waitan’s StellaHunter: World’s First SSD with Remote Secure Erase and Self-Destruction

Waitan, a manufacturer of ruggedized solid state drives (SSD) and military grade SSD controller ICs, announced its StellaHunter series rugged SSDs with unprecedented methods of executing military secure erase and self-destroy function via remote control, access and command based on its proprietary technologies.

The StellaHunter series rugged SSDs are based on Waitan’s proprietary military grade NAND flash management algorithms and ASICs that also feature AES-256 bit hardware based on-the-fly encryption, on-the-board UPS, and ATA command based military secure erase methods.

It comes with unit capacity up to 4TB in 2.5″ SATA III (6.0 Gbps) form factors.

Based on users’ application scenarios and availability in different capacities, the remote controlled secure erase and self-destruction function can be executed via satellite communications, cellular communications, Wi-Fi communications, or combinations of two or more of these methods.

User can opt to pre-set an SSD drive to be reusable after secure erase, or to be permanently destroyed after self-destruction.

The StellaHunter product family is designed for military, defense and aerospace applications that require high security, high reliability, high ruggedness, and long endurance, such as:

– Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV).
– Military, defense, air force and marine systems
– Aerospace and aviation computers
– Rugged Computing, Industrial / Embedded PCs
– Disaster Recovery, Public Security, Government Systems, Fault Tolerant Applications
– Remotely operated outdoor and indoor stations for various type of applications

February 23, 2015
Best Enterprise VoIP Phones to Buy in 2016
Here is a selection of some of the best enterprise VoIP phones available on the market right now.
- Ubiquiti UVP UniFi VoIP Phone
Enterprise VoIP Phone with 5″ touchscreen powered by Android. The UniFi VoIP Phone is part of the UniFi Enterprise System. The UniFi Controller software is bundled with the UniFi VoIP Phone at no extra charge – no separate software, licensing, or support fee.

Get it now for just $185.99!
- Grandstream GXV3275 Multimedia IP Phone
Grandstream GXV3275 combines 6-line IP video phone with a multi-platform video conferencing solution and the user experience of an Android tablet to offer an all-in-one voice, video, data, and mobility solution. The GXV3275 features a 7″ capacitive touch screen that runs Android, offering full access to the hundreds of thousands of Android apps in the Google Play Store – including business productivity apps such as Skype, Microsoft Lync, Salesforce1, and Go To Meeting.

Get it now for just $213.47!
- OBi1032 IP Phone
The OBi1032 is a business-class color IP phone with support for up to 12 lines and up to six SIP, Google Voice VoIP accounts and one OBiTALK VoIP service. It sports full-duplex speakerphone with built-in class D amplifier and audio equalizer as well as a dual ethernet ports with Power over Ethernet (PoE) Support. External 12v power supply included

Get it now for just $199.99!
- Cisco SPA525G2 5-Line IP Phone
Casio SPA 525G2 is the industry’s first integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth IP phone. The integration with Cisco Mobile Link enhances the SPA 525G2’s Bluetooth functionality, allowing it to be used as a hands-free device associated with a mobile phone. With a 3.2-inch color LCD screen, the SPA 525G2 is an excellent choice for businesses that need and enhanced user experience with a hosted IP telephony service, and IP private branch exchange (PBX), or a large-scale IP Centrex deployment. This phone includes a 1-year warranty and is eligible for Cisco Small Business Support Service, which provides additional investment protection.

Get it now for just $182.00!
- Grandstream GXP2200 Enterprise Media Phone
Built with advanced security protection for privacy, this enterprise application phone features broad interoperability with most 3rd party SIP based devices, IP PBX and major IMS platforms. The GXP2200 is an innovative smart desk phone loaded with tremendous value for Web-integrated business communications as well as unprecedented power for advanced custom business applications development and personalization.

Get it for just $229.00!
- Polycom 2200-12375-001 Soundpoint Ip 335 Hd
The Polycom SoundPoint IP 335 phone is designed to bring a high-quality, cost effective solution to cubicle workers/call center operators through advanced telephony features and HD Voice technology, making voice communications more effective and productive. Utilizing its high resolution backlit display, RJ-9 headset port, and Polycom HD Voice technology, the SoundPoint IP 335 phone delivers a business grade telephony endpoint at an entry-level price.

Get it now for just $115.00!
February 18, 2015
Zerto Hits Triple-Digit Growth Once Again
Cloud and virtualized data recovery company Zerto announced that it surpassed 2014 targets, recording 140 percent revenue growth while doubling its customer base to 800 customers in 38 countries.

To support this international growth, the company opened multiple new offices including offices in the United Kingdom and in Australia.

Zerto also increased its partner base to 500 worldwide channel partners and 170 cloud service providers.

In 2014, the company also reached the following milestones:
- Closed a $26 million round of Series D financing. New investor Harmony Partners led the financing, with participation by all current investors, which include Battery Ventures, Greylock IL (now 83North), RTP Ventures and U.S. Venture Partners.
- Introduced offsite backup capabilities, as part of Zerto Virtual Replication 3.5, a new model of data protection combining replication, continuous data protection (CDP) and long-term retention at the target site.
- Announced Zerto Virtual Replication for Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Hyper-V, bringing the same level of enterprise-class data protection to customers regardless of their underlying infrastructure. Some additional features of Zerto Virtual Replication for AWS and Hyper-V include:
  - Hypervisor agnostic replication – including from VMware vSphere to Microsoft Hyper-V and from VMware vSphere to AWS
  - No snapshots – Zerto Virtual Replication uses continuous data protection to minimize impact on the production environment
  - Automated orchestration of disaster recovery processes for application consistency
  - Simple management interface for KPIs and reporting on DR failovers and tests
- Increased the number of channel partners in the Zerto Alliance Partner Program – which enables companies to implement this powerful approach to BC/DR – by more than 83 percent to 500.
- Launched online partner training empowering more than 1,250 channel partner training certifications earned; 810 technical, 440 sales.
- Launched new partner portal.
- Grew the channel team at Zerto to include Channel Account Managers and Field Marketing Managers worldwide helping to support the growing channel ecosystem.
- Expanded the Zerto Cloud Ecosystem to 170 cloud providers who are revolutionizing DR by using Zerto Virtual Replication to power their cloud DR offerings.
- Expanded its customer base across new verticals including finance, healthcare, manufacturing and oil and gas.
In 2015, the company is planning to focus on improving IT service continuity by supporting the ability for enterprises to move application workloads successfully between any hypervisor, cloud or storage environment.
February 13, 2015
Hike Messaging App to Offer Free Voice Calling Provided by Zip Phone

Hike has spread its wings in the messaging app market. The Indian messaging app company has acquired Zip Phone, a US based VoIP service provider. This is a big deal for the company as the CEO explained that Hike users have been requesting the free calls service technology. Hike and Zip phone have not disclosed any financial details so far.

Hike’s CEO said that “Zip phone’s technology will allow us to bring free voice calling to the market much faster. Incidentally, this is one of the top requested features from our users as well.” Hike plans to incorporate this feature in its messaging app.

Even with the over 35 million users, Hike hopes that more smartphone users will start using the app. Zip is accessible to many people as its available for both iOS and Android platforms and it uses Wi-Fi network to enable phone call.

Anuj Jain, the CEO for Zip Phone commented on the deal saying, “As a start up enthusiasts, I had been keeping a close eye on hike and its developments and I am excited to now be part of one of the biggest and fastest growing startups in the Indian internet space and finally, building for India.”

With over 90% user base from India, Hike claims it handles over 10 billion messages every month. The company claims that that last year it raised $65 million through funding led by Tiger Global.

Though the company is doing well mostly in its place of origin, it needs to gain a worldwide user base so as to compete with other messaging apps like WhatsApp, Line, and WeChat. The acquisition of the new app could help it get more subscribers worldwide.

February 5, 2015
COMPANY PROFILE: Speedflow – telecom services provider and VoIP software developer
Founded in 2004, Speedflow is already a well-known telecom services provider and VoIP software developer.

The company’s telecom portfolio includes wholesale and retail premium VoIP A-Z termination services that targets transit carriers and corporate subscribers.

Among its customers you can find Tier-1 national, global carriers, ISPs, corporate carriers and residential VoIP providers.

Speedflow’s constantly expanded network includes points of present in Europe, Hong Kong and the USA. They have established direct routes to prime destinations throughout the world. That enables them to provide their clients with the best VoIP rates available.

Speedflow is a well-known developer of reliable and stable software solutions for Voice over IP providers which lay in foundation of its VoIP termination services. Namely, MediaCore a Class 4 Softswitch and CallMax a Class 5 Softswitch

Speedflow’s VoIP Solutions
- MEDIACORE
MediaCore is an innovative multifunctional class 4 switching and billing solution.

MediCore softswich is scalable and designed specifically for the wholesale VoIP providers.

According to the company, the “unprecedented” data integrity and security in their products are guaranteed by transparent role setting for database access and on-line access monitoring. “Even during service procedures, support don’t have access to commercial data. Native firewall, clustering and backup mechanisms handle today’s security threats.”

Here is what MadiaCore has to offer:
- end-to-end solution with modular structure;
- session border controller functionality;
- SMS support via SMPP protocol;
- user friendly and functional Web Interface;
- native SIP — H.323 protocol converter;
- multi-level security mechanism;
- regular free updates;
- 24/7 technical support.
Learn more about MediaCore.
- CALLMAX
CallMax is a Class 5 Softswitch for VoIP retail. It is the modular structure solution that comprises IP PBX, Calling Card and Call Shop platforms.

CallMax solution has integrated billing and convenient Web Portal for end-users. It comprises the following modules:
- Hosted/Virtual IP PBX
- Calling Card Platform
- Call Shop
Each of the modules is a full-fledged platform managed separately or all together as a Complete Set.

CallMax offer the following management features:
- Prepay / postpay options
- Resellers / subscribers personal profile
- Individual & shareable balances for activated services
- Credit limit control
- User account management
- Integrated top-up mechanism
- Automatic invoice generation engine
- Compatible with various processing systems (PayPal, credit card, etc.)
- Advanced report generation tools
Learn more about CallMax.
- ACCUCORE
AccuCore is a ERP system for VoIP business automation and optimization. It has rate management and financial analysis features, invoicing, as well as report generation tools.

Developed for VoIP business, AccuCore contains:
- incoming and outgoing invoices management;
- clients’ data and equipment, IP-addresses, contacts management;
- automatic suppliers’ price-lists uploading with error verification;
- e-mail notifications and price-lists delivery tracking on every client;
- new VoIP rates application into billing and routing systems;
- test-numbers database for all routes with automatic search engine;
- automatic price-list generation based on suppliers’ price-lists;
- actual targets and offers storage;
- built-in NOC TT.
AccuCore generates reports by IAS and GAAP standards. Speedflow has also developed its own system of “informative and convenient reports,” which is said to show all parameters of business processes and simplify financial analysis.

Learn more about AccuCore.
- PAY-N-GET
Pay-n-Get is a processing system for prepaid services distribution. It’s a perfect solution for calling card providers that eliminates the need for scratch cards.

Pay-n-get is designed for mobile top up, PIN codes selling, electronic voucher and prepaid airtime distribution.

Pay-n-Get allows refilling balances of:
- Mobile operators
- VoIP carriers
- Internet providers
- Cable / Satellite TV providers
- Utilities providers
- Other pre-paid products and services
Learn more about Pay-n-Get.
- SERVICES
Speedflow offers a wide range of additional VoIP services for telecom companies which are concerned about their business growth.

Telecom services:

– VoIP Wholesale Termination
– VoIP Premium Termination
– VoIP CLI

Software services:

– Class 4 VoIP Solution Rent
– Class 5 VoIP Solution Rent
– CDR Comparison

To help startup VoIP companies and to empower established ones with business agility, Speedflow offers softswitch solution for rent (hosted softswitch).

VoIP providers can either rent the software only or use the turn-key solution, which includes VoIP Softswitch as a complete set installed on company’s dedicated servers at reliable data-centers with necessary internet bandwidth. Speedflow offers flexible VoIP softswitch rent conditions depending on the traffic volume.

Speedflow also offers a CDR comparison service which gives the customer the ability to settle all debt disputes with its partners.

Customer Care Services:

Customer care is one of Speedflow’s priorities. They provide qualified support at all times starting from the first quote request through to their software application.

Speedflow customer services include:

– Consultations
– Presentations
– Installation
– Trainings
– Technical Support
– The backup option
– Regular Updates and Upgrades

Learn more about Services.

Check out the company’s overview video:

Learn more on Speedflow website.
January 30, 2015
Seagate’s New Inexpensive Cloud Storage Favors Small Businesses

Google Drive, One Drive, or Dropbox have all become popular with cloud storage but there is a new wave blowing – that of personal cloud data storage and to this end Seagate has stepped in to provide Personal Cloud service.

The storage giant showcased its new Iaas, Infrastructure-as-a-Service products at the CES 2015. According to Seagate, their aim is to provide storage services to individuals who wish to access music, photos, and videos anytime anywhere and they will be able to do so using their phones and tablets. Small businesses can also benefit from the service as they are able to securely store, retrieve and share data stored on the personal cloud drive.

Small businesses are bound to benefit from this service more than individual customers. Why so? For starters, the storage space. The personal cloud line offers 3-5 terabytes while the personal cloud 2 bay line gives 4, 6, and 8 TB.

Here is another reason, for security reasons. Personal cloud 2 bay can be set up in RAID( Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks) 1 mode or better yet, it is possible to use all storage for file storage.

The device is compatible with the Apple Time Machine and continously and automatically backs up windows and mac. Apart fom the storage devices being NAS, they can also compliment public cloud service when configured. Better yet, they can automatically back up to the popular providers like HiDrive, DropBox, Amazon S3, Baidu, Box, and Yandex disk. The device has an option where it can be synced to Google Drive, Baidu and DropBox.

Additional apps can be installed as the device has a built-in app manager. BitTorrent Sync, ElephantDrive and WordPress can all be installed. Also, the software development kit enables third-party developers to come up with their own services or to intergrate such with web based and other cloud services.

This service is benefitial to individuals but more benefitial to small businesses. Considering businesses are out to reduce their cost, this would work well for them as its inexpensive.`

January 26, 2015