I’m not sure if you noticed, but 2020 hasn’t turned out how we expected. A global pandemic has killed 130,000 people (and counting) in the USA. We have all been hunkered down avoiding each other (to avoid COVID) leading to record levels of unemployment and economic collapse. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and… Continue Reading
Strategy
Microsoft buys Metaswitch: the best case for telcos
It’s been just over a week since Microsoft announced that they were in the process of acquiring Metaswitch. During that time there’s been little/no new information from the parties involved, but there’s been plenty of discussion in the industry about possible outcomes. Absent any concrete information, in this article I’d like to lay out one… Continue Reading
Microsoft is buying Metaswitch
This morning Microsoft announced that they had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Metaswitch. Metaswitch CEO Martin Lund has also shared an announcement about the deal. There’s very little information available at this stage, and – to be clear – the deal has not yet closed, but I have some initial analysis. Why is… Continue Reading
What financial risk does the coronavirus pose for telcos?
Compared to many industries, the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on independent telcos is relatively small. Restaurants are closed for dining. Hotels are empty. Flights are cancelled. Concerts and events are cancelled. We can and should be grateful that we work in an industry where our livelihood has not instantaneously vanished. But that doesn’t mean… Continue Reading
Prepare your network for 2020 in 6 steps
Do you have any plans for Labor Day weekend? Back in 2011 my plans were rudely interrupted. At the time I was managing the Metaswitch support team responsible for new customer installations, commissioning and migrations. This was a fun job, but mostly fairly predictable – after all we were working on multi-month projects which followed… Continue Reading
Is Hosted PBX + Managed IT a winning strategy?
Most businesses have a choice of voice providers – including one or more local telcos and innumerable over-the-top offerings. So why do your customers choose to do business with you? For many CLECs and independent telcos, the answer is customer service. We’ve all heard the horror stories about the customer service provided by Comcast, and… Continue Reading