Business News Holding

Tag: hardware-and-technology

  • GSMA Opens Brand App Challenge for Mobile World Congress 2011

    The GSMA today announced that it is now accepting entries for its Brand App Challenge, a competition in which mobile application developers create “brand apps” for a select group of global consumer brands. Winners will be named at the GSMA Mobile World Congress, which will be held 14-17 February, 2011 in Barcelona.

    Developers will compete by creating customised mobile apps for the participating brand sponsors based on the objectives and guidance provided by the individual brands. The apps will address a wide range of mobile operating systems including Android, Apple iOS, BlackBerry OS 6, HP webOS, Symbian and Windows Phone 7.

    "The Brand App Challenge will create networking and business opportunities which benefit the brands, application developers and the broader mobile ecosystem,” said Michael O’Hara, chief marketing officer at the GSMA. “This competition taps the creativity and capabilities of the mobile application developer community to address brand and industry challenges.”

    Developers can sign up for the Brand App Challenge via an online portal and then upload a brief video demonstrating their proposed brand app. Each brand will select five finalists who will then compete to become the ultimate winner for the respective brands.

    Submissions for the Brand App Challenge will be accepted until 10 January and the finalists will be named approximately one month before Mobile World Congress 2011. The Brand App Challenge winners will be announced as part of the Mobile World Congress conference programme and will receive cash awards for their winning efforts.

    The Brand App Challenge is an integral element of App Planet, the GSMA’s developer-focused programme at Mobile World Congress. Working with App Planet ADC partners such as Google, Nokia, Palm, RIM and Samsung, as well as with its Macworld Mobile partner IDG Expo, the GSMA will target hundreds of thousands of developers worldwide to encourage participation in the Brand App Challenge.

  • 3X Systems to Distribute Private Cloud Backup Appliance to Canadian Computer Resellers

    3X Systems, manufacturer of the 3X RBA Remote Backup Appliance, announced a distribution agreement with Foreseeson Technology, of Richmond, British Columbia. Foreseeson Technology will distribute the 3X Systems portfolio of backup appliances through its network of Canadian resellers.

    By expanding its distribution into Canada, 3X can help more small and medium organizations, as well as divisions of larger companies, to easily and automatically implement secure private cloud infrastructures for complete control, governance, and protection of all of their data in a cost-effective unified manner.

    “3X Systems is very pleased to be able to offer our revolutionary backup solutions through Foreseeson,” said Alan Arman, Founder and CEO of 3X Systems. “Foreseeson’s IT Distribution Division’s expertise in high-availability, disaster recovery, storage, networking and virtualization solutions makes them a natural partner for our Remote Backup Appliance (RBA) products. We look forward to a long relationship bringing value to Canadian resellers and end users.”

    “We are excited about bringing the 3X backup solutions into our IT offerings,” said Brian Cherrin, General Manager, distribution division of Foreseeson. “The 3X RBA enables businesses to easily deploy a private backup cloud that combines the benefits of high-speed, on-premise backup with the convenience of remote backup for true disaster recovery – without monthly recurring fees. Our resellers will be able to offer a robust backup solution at an affordable price-point with the capability of hosting the RBA and managing it for their clients.”

    3X Systems offers three RBA solutions to align with customers’ data volumes: 500, Tera, and Enterprise series. Each enables businesses full data backup and recovery and automatic connection to servers, desktops, and laptops on one appliance. The unique private cloud architecture keeps a client’s data safe, private, quick-to-recover and always in their possession. Sold exclusively through resellers, the 3X RBA product line provides data de-duplication for maximum storage capacity and SSL encryption for total data security.

  • Avaya Expands Business Collaboration for Small and Medium Enterprise Market

    Avaya introduced the new version of Avaya IP Office—the company’s flagship communications solution for small and medium-sized enterprises.

    According to the company,  Avaya IP Office Release 6.1 delivers a host of business collaboration and customer service enhancements "that can improve ease-of-use and worker productivity for SME workers, and generate significant new efficiencies for businesses."

    Avaya IP Office has been recognized for its total cost of ownership (TCO) benefits, delivering savings of approximately 25% in acquisition and ownership costs when compared with a competing vendor solution.

    The new version of Avaya IP Office expands upon its TCO strengths by enabling installation via a single DVD containing the open standards-based Linux operating system (OS) and key communications applications. Formerly, the OS and IP Office applications had to be installed via several sources and multiple DVDs.

    "This new approach can cut down software installation times by as much as 75%,2 saving on labor costs while simplifying installation. Additionally, when compared to other OS environments, Linux does not require user licenses, driving further savings for Avaya IP Office users," as the company claims.

    Other advancements introduced by Avaya include:

    * Flexible Avaya one-X Portal for IP Office: The solution’s dynamic Web-based desktop communications interface for remote, mobile and office workers features a newly-designed, customizable interface with drag and drop application gadgets. The solution—which lets users manage calls, instant messages and e-mails from one PC-based portal—is more flexible, allowing users to place gadgets (i.e. Directory, Call Log, etc.) wherever they want on their screen. Further customization includes ‘skins’ and branding with a business’ name.

    * Improved Contact Center Reporting: Now, an SME can gauge the success of a customer campaign through location-based business intelligence that analyzes the calls flowing into a contact center, and makes them viewable on a geographic map. This capability provides a visual report of the volume of customer interaction based on each customer’s location.

    * Expanded Video Options: Avaya IP Office expands upon its videoconferencing capabilities, going beyond Softphone-based video to now offer more advanced multi-point HD videoconferencing with up to 4 parties.3 Additionally, it enables video integration with selected third-party SIP phones.

    * Multi-site Management: SME owners can now manage multiple office sites using one consolidated interface and a single log-in. This lets users view and manage all of the key communications parameters (i.e. user rights, hunt groups) of multiple locations (up to 32).

  • Apple's iAd Coming to Europe in December

    Apple announced it will expand its iAd mobile advertising network to the UK and France this December, with Germany to follow in January.

    According to research firm IDC, iAd has signed on over half of the top 25 leading US national advertisers in just four months, with a projected 21 percent share of US mobile display advertising revenue for 2010.

    iAd will launch in Europe with iAds from L’Oréal, Renault, Louis Vuitton, Nespresso, Perrier, Unilever, Citi, Evian, LG Display, AB InBev, Turkish Airlines and Absolute Radio.

    iAd, which is built into iOS 4, lets users stay within their current app while engaging with an ad, even while watching a video, playing a game or using in-ad purchase to download an app or buy iTunes content. Developers receive an industry standard 60 percent of the iAd Network revenue, which is paid via iTunes Connect. "With user engagement times averaging more than 60 seconds per visit, iAds combine the narrative quality of TV ads with the interactivity of digital for something entirely new," as Apple says.

    "We’re thrilled to add leading global brands to the iAd Network in Europe and create even more great opportunities for developers," said Andy Miller, Apple’s vice president of iAd. He added that in just four months, the company doubled the number of advertisers on the network and "thousands of developers now have a valuable new source of revenue."

    Related news
    New iPhone Ad Platform Extends Services—and Raises Questions
    iVdopia Launches Talk2Me Mobile Advertising Solution
    Apple Unveiled iPhone OS 4

  • AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless to Build National Mobile Commerce Network

    AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless have announced the formation of a joint venture chartered with building ISIS, a national mobile commerce network that aims to "fundamentally transform how people shop, pay and save."

    Isis’ initial focus will be on building a mobile payment network that utilizes mobile phones to make point-of-sale purchases. By utilizing smartphone and near-field communication (NFC) technology to modernize the payments process, Isis intends to deliver new levels of competition and value to consumers and merchants.

    Thew company expects to introduce its service in key geographic markets during the next 18 months.

    Michael Abbott has been named as Chief Executive Officer of Isis. Formerly with GE Capital, Abbott is a veteran financial services executive with extensive experience in the payment and technology industries. "We plan to create a mobile wallet that ultimately eliminates the need for consumers to carry cash, credit and debit cards, reward cards, coupons, tickets and transit passes," Abbott said.

    Founding members, AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, collectively provide wireless services to more than 200 million consumers who will have access to the Isis service. Isis is working with Discover Financial Services’ payment network, currently accepted at more than seven million merchant locations nationwide, to develop an extensive mobile payment infrastructure for the joint venture.

    Barclaycard US, part of Barclays PLC, is expected to be the first issuer on the network, offering multiple mobile payment products to meet the needs of every customer.

    How It Works

    The new venture will enable contactless mobile payment and commerce services using near-field communication technology. NFC uses short-range, high frequency wireless technology to enable the encrypted exchange of information between devices at a short distance. The new system is being designed and built to include strong security and privacy safeguards.

  • Teneo Partners with Veloxum for First VMware Platform Optimisation in UK

    Teneo, an infrastructure optimisation specialist, has announced a partnership with Veloxum, a global infrastructure utilisation solutions vendor. Veloxum’s ACO offering enables VMware platforms users to analyse and optimise all elements of their platform including the server capacity, networking, physical storage and interaction with clients.

    Many UK organisations have invested heavily in virtualisation projects with the promise of cost savings presented as part of a return on investment (ROI) model. To realise these savings, server platforms need to be continuously ‘tuned’ to suit the applications they are running, and without this continual optimisation it can be difficult for organisations to achieve these results.

    Veloxum ACO is presented as a server specialist “in a box”, which pro-actively ‘tunes’ server settings continuously to ensure optimum performance. Through automating this process, organisations benefit from using a Veloxum appliance which can optimise processes within three minutes from cold, compared to using a specialist server engineer who could take up to three days for a single review of server configurations.

    Once analysis of a server is complete, Veloxum ACO uses patent-pending algorithms to calculate the optimum server configuration settings that will improve all aspects of performance. Veloxum then implements and logs these new optimal configurations, and acts as a continuous ‘tune-up’ service to configure elements automatically without requiring any user intervention or specialist skills. Veloxum works across a range of applications and platforms, to help fine tune settings for MS SharePoint, Outlook, Exchange, VMware, Citrix, Oracle and more.

    Veloxum allows organisations to increase guest to host density – to run a greater number of VMware instances without increasing physical server capacity. This can lead to dramatic cost savings in terms of deferred capital expenditure on new hardware and reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in the areas of support, maintenance, powering and cooling requirements. Veloxum customers typically see a ROI period of less than 6 months.

    Piers Carey    , chief executive officer, Teneo, commented: “Teneo has an enviable track record of building partner relationships with global solution providers who can offer game-changing solutions for our customers’ networks and IT infrastructures. Our strong relationship with Riverbed puts us at the forefront of the WAN optimisation market. Veloxum takes the same concepts into the server market and increases the scale of our data centre solution. Veloxum is unique in what it does – examining configuration settings across all elements of a client’s VMware platform and continually fine-tuning these settings to deliver dramatic improvements in efficiency and dramatic cost savings. Veloxum offers a solution that ticks all the boxes – quick deployment, guaranteed performance improvements and fast return on investment.”

    Kevin Cornell, chief executive officer, Veloxum, said: “Teneo is an excellent partner for Veloxum as we know that Teneo has the experience and capability to understand how Veloxum can help VMware users and to successfully implement our ACO solution. Teneo has a reputation on both sides of the Atlantic for working with vendors who are offering cutting-edge technology to solve customers’ network and infrastructure issues. We look forward to introducing Veloxum solutions to Teneo customers.”

    Veloxum was established in 2007 and is based in California. For Teneo, Veloxum adds to a growing list of best-of-breed IT infrastructure, network and application optimisation vendor partners that it serves in the UK.

  • Freescale Introduces Comprehensive Solution for Multi-Service Business Gateways

    Freescale has introduced a comprehensive silicon and software solution for the rapid creation of multi-service business gateway (MSBG) equipment combining services such as data, security, voice and fax.

    Based on the QorIQ P1020 processor, the solution integrates Freescale’s VortiQa Security Application Software and D2 Technologies’ embedded vPort VoIP software, as well as virtualization support from Green Hills Software.

    Designed to help OEMs speed and simplify the development of MSBG equipment, the Freescale solution also works with the P1020 and other QorIQ products to serve as a reference design for a range of additional applications such as unified threat management (UTM) appliances, secured routers, IPS/IDS appliances, VPN routers and secured switches.

     "This flexibility helps to extend R&D value and shorten time to market. Since the QorIQ family scales from single to many cores, the solution addresses a broad range of performance and energy efficiency requirements," as the company claims.

    Acording to Freescale, their QorIQ processors deliver "ultra-high" performance to enable the flexibility and scalability to run a large number of services simultaneously. Products based on the MSBG solution can run security applications on one core while running office applications on a second core, giving service providers the flexibility to easily add or subtract office features.

    “Freescale’s MSBG solution brings together the elements a small office needs to function – e-mail, fax, print, conference, WLAN and other capabilities – and then integrates those elements with traditional security and gateway functionality,” said Sathyan Iyengar, vice president of Software Products for the Freescale Networking and Multimedia Group. “Our suite of pre-integrated office services is optimized to take advantage of multicore technology. It helps hardware providers speed time to market and enables a more cost-effective and flexible business model.”

    D2 Technologies’ embedded vPort software allows the solution to deliver the high voice quality, efficiently tuned system implementation and broad OS support necessary for manufacturers to incorporate state-of-the-art VoIP capabilities in their MSBG products.

    “The introduction of the joint Freescale-D2 MSBG solution to the market is timely, as an increasing number of small- to medium-size businesses are choosing to deploy a single, integrated device to replace legacy equipment,” said Doug Makishima, chief operating officer for D2 Technologies. “Additionally, market studies are showing a steady increase in the SMB market’s migration to VoIP technology. OEMs and ODMs looking for a rapid and cost-effective way to tap into these trends now have a solution based on multicore processors that shortens the development cycle for high-performance and economical offerings.”

    Freescale’s MSBG solution includes:

    * The QorIQ P1020 processor, which provides cost and performance scalability to support different product SKUs and multiple users; the low-power operation of the QorIQ product also enables simplified, fanless thermal design for higher reliability and low system-cost end products
    * VortiQa software with Stateful Packet Inspection Firewall and NAT
    * VortiQa performance optimized IPsec Virtual Private Network (VPN) with Quality of Service (QoS) and Traffic Management (TM)
    * D2 Technologies optimized voice features such as G.711, G.729AB, G.726 Voice Compression, G.168 Echo Cancellation, Packet Loss Compensation, Tone Detect/Generate and Jitter Buffer
    * D2 Technologies advanced telephony features such as 3-Party Conferencing, Call Forwarding, Call Waiting/Caller ID, Call Return, and Speed Dial

  • IPsmarx Announces Completion of Interoperability Testing with 360networks

    IPsmarx has announced a referral arrangement with 360networks, a full service wholesale provider of Private Line Transport, VoIP, IP, and Local Access (T1/DS3) services on its wholly-owned fiber optic backbone. Through this arrangement IPsmarx will recommend 360networks’ IP and Toll Free Origination services to complement IPsmarx Class 5 and IP-PBX Solutions.

    According to IPsmarx, following the successful completion of interoperability testing between the two companies, IPsmarx’ existing entrepreneurial and calling card operator customers can now utilize 360networks’ Wholesale VoIP Origination services to "grow into new markets, offer more services and decrease the initial investment to get started."

    Steve Cardwell, vice president of sales at 360networks, stated, “We are excited to have completed interoperability testing with IPsmarx so their customers can now easily deploy our wholesale VoIP services in conjunction with IPsmarx’ award-winning solutions.”

    “This interoperability relationship with 360networks furthers our mission to fully support our clients as they enter the VoIP market,” says Andrea Lopez, Technical Sales Representative for IPsmarx. “Giving our clients many options for DID providers and termination suppliers allows them to expand their businesses and become more competitive.”

    According to IPsmarx, their solutions are "modular, scalable and flexible." This gives clients the opportunity to customize solutions to their needs or offer multiple services from one platform. IPsmarx helps service providers minimize the risks of entering a new market by providing security, technical training, support and a reliable billing platform.

    Meeting IPsmarx’ specifications, 360networks is compatible with IPsmarx’ SIP Based Calling Card solution that helps entrepreneurs and existing calling card operators manage and grow a successful calling card business. Features include; a variety of recharge options, home services to set up customer accounts and an E-store site to sell services on-line. Service providers can also offer a Class 5 Solution which provides value-added services to become a residential IP phone service company with features such as conferencing, voicemail and calling packages.

    The IPsmarx Multi-Tenant IP-PBX Platform empowers VoIP Providers to deliver robust VoIP services to their SMB and enterprise clients. With abundant features and streamlined customer management, IPsmarx’ IP-PBX Platform integrates billing, call routing, and e-commerce into one unified solution.

  • Clearwire and Sprint to Launch 4G in NYC, LA and SF This Year

    Clearwire and Sprint today announced plans to launch their respective 4G mobile internet services in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco later this year. Each of the companies will offer 4G services under their own 4G brand.

    Clearwire, Sprint and Time Warner Cable will each launch commercial 4G service in New York City on November 1. The service in Los Angeles will be launch on December 1. In cooperation with Comcast, the companies will launch 4G service in the San Francisco Bay Area in late December.

    The 4G customer experience from Clearwire and Sprint is similar to Wi-Fi but without the short-range limitations. The network uses wireless 4G technology that differs from Wi-Fi because it provides service areas measured in miles, not feet. Outside the 4G service area, dual-mode 4G/3G modems keep users continually connected by leveraging Sprint’s 3G data network.

    According to the companies, customers in these three cities “will now be able to increase their mobility and productivity in many ways: from instantly downloading large files to get work done on the run, to browsing the web just like at home from across the city, or watching online videos and movies nearly anywhere around town.”

    Subscribers will also be able to purchase a wide range of 4G devices, including: compact USB modems, numerous Intel embedded WiMAX laptops and netbooks, portable Wi-Fi/4G hotspots, and other wireless devices, all aimed at making lives in 4G cities more mobile and efficient.

    Related news
    Sprint and Virgin Mobile Introduce "Beyond Talk" Unlimited Data Prepaid Plans
    Sprint Announces First 4G Handset in the U.S. – the HTC EVO 4G
    MWC 2010: Interview with Anton Porter of ClearWire

  • Broadvox and Cypress Communications Announce Merger Agreement

    VoIP and unified communication service providers – Broadvox and Cypress Communications – announced the signing of a merger agreement.

    While both companies deliver a hosted VoIP and hosted unified communications solution, neither customer base is expected to be affected by the merger. Customers using Cypress’ C4 IP product and those using Broadvox’s GO!VBX will see no changes in their current feature sets, phones, or technology platforms. The Cypress C4 IP solution is ideally suited for enterprises, while GO!VBX primarily targets SMBs.

    According to Stephen L. Schilling, CEO and President of Cypress Communications, “The merger positions the combined Broadvox and Cypress company as a broad-based market leader, serving both carriers, SMB and SME VoIP segments. The combined company will boast one of the largest VoIP networks and will continue to provide 24×7 support and service for the more than 10,000 business customers and hundreds of thousands of users each and every day.”

    Cypress will gain access to Broadvox’s network backbone for direct origination and termination of voice traffic to more effectively serve the needs of its expanding customer base.

    Broadvox will benefit from the increased utilization of its network backbone and the ability to enhance its carrier, SMB and SME offerings with the Cypress Communications’ unified communications suite of services.

    The closing date of the merger is subject to certain terms and conditions customary for transactions of this type, including regulatory approvals. The companies announced that the finalization of the transaction is expected within 60-90 days. Because the two companies are privately held, no other merger details will be made available.

    "We are excited about this opportunity to enter into a merger agreement with a leader in unified communications as a service," remarked Andre Temnorod, Chairman and CEO at Broadvox. "The new, combined company will be in a position to expand its ability of providing high-quality and innovative services to our target markets and this strength will be a key to our continued future success. While we look forward to finalizing the transaction, it’s important for our customers, partners and other stakeholders to know that it is ‘business as usual’ at both Broadvox and Cypress Communications."

    Hosted unified communications provider Cypress Communications is known for helping to define the unified communications as a service (UCaaS) category and has been providing hosted communications to small and mid-sized businesses and enterprises (SMBs and SMEs) for more than 25 years.

    Broadvox has nearly a decade of experience in providing SIP Origination and Terminating services to carriers. In 2007, Broadvox began offering SMBs and SMEs various SIP Trunking products and this year expanded the offering with virtual PBX hosted services.