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IN THIS ISSUE
Happy autumn, eNews readers! As the leaves start to fall
and change colors, I am once again happy to bring you another edition of
MetaSwitch eNews. In this issue, I invite you to get to know our new CEO,
Graeme MacArthur in an interview that covers his vision of the future of
telecom, MetaSwitch growth and the path he took to get to where he is. Also
covered in this edition is the latest information on our MarketVisions
"20/20" program as well as recent professional services offerings we have
produced for our customers.
Enjoy!
Cory Boller, editor MetaSwitch eNews
Data Connection Aligns Softswitch and Applications Divisions under Single MetaSwitch Brand
MetaSwitch has strengthened its ability to scale its business as service providers embrace
its softswitch, service delivery platform and applications solutions. Following a merger with the previously separate
Internet Applications Division (IAD) of parent company Data Connection, all the company's service provider products
are now within a single business, under the MetaSwitch brand.
The MetaSwitch management team will be led by Graeme MacArthur as chief executive officer, and
John Lazar as president and chief operating officer. As former chief executive of the IAD, Graeme brings more than a
decade's experience in building relationships with tier one service providers worldwide, while John's leadership of
MetaSwitch to date puts him in the best position to focus on technology development, product evolution, operational
growth, and marketing - where he will continue to work with MetaSwitch customers and the industry in shaping MetaSwitch's
strategy for the future. Chris Mairs continues to provide strategic vision as chief technical officer.
The combination is the natural progression of two divisions that have increasingly been working together
on sales, marketing and product development efforts - most recently with the launch of the MetaSphere service delivery platform.
This innovative enhanced telephony application suite has already been deployed by more than 100 service providers to form the
foundation on which carriers will base their migrations to an IMS-enabled architecture. In total, the newly combined MetaSwitch
organization has more than 320 customers worldwide.
Following a merger with the previously separate Internet Applications Division (IAD)
of parent company Data Connection, MetaSwitch's newly appointed CEO Graeme MacArthur sat down with eNews editor,
Cory Boller, to discuss his new role within the company and his outlook on the future of telecom.
Question: Before we dive into the recent company happenings I would first like to ask you a
little about yourself. How long have you been with Data Connection and what was your role within the company previously?
I first joined Data Connection as an intern in 1984, and then full-time as a software
engineer in 1985 after graduating from Glasgow University with a degree in Computer Science. My career with the company
has taken me through engineering, sales, support - and for the past 8 years I have been CEO of the Internet Applications
Division.
Question: What did you do for employment before Data Connection?
Nothing - I was a student!
Question: What do you like to do outside of work?
I live with my wife and two boys in a village outside Edinburgh, in Scotland.
I'm rubbish but enthusiastic at home improvements, and my sporting passion is golf (being Scots,
it's in the blood).
Question: Who else do you admire who is currently a CEO?
Well, my colleague Phil McConnell, CEO of our sister group in Data Connection,
the Network Protocols Division, of course! Actually, it was Phil who interviewed me when I joined
the company all those years ago. He has a lot to answer for….
More generally, I admire any leader, in any field of endeavor, who inspires his
or her team to challenge, excel, and enjoy themselves - and I despair of any leader who sacrifices that
for short-term commercial gain.
Graeme MacArthur Interview
Corey Jensen
Operations Manager, Vision Net
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By Chris Carabello, Marketing Director, MetaSwitch
Vision Net, headquartered in Great Falls, Montana, is a consortium of nine Montana and Wyoming telephone
companies built to better and more effectively serve their collective needs. Vision Net sought to claim access revenues from
the incumbent IXC on behalf of its geographically dispersed owners through an investment in an access tandem switch with MetaSwitch.
As a result of rapid migration of traffic onto MetaSwitch, Vision Net was able to fuel investment in a next generation IP Network
and deliver positive ROI in a mere 22 months versus its original 31 month projection. It is also well poised for future opportunities
including IP Peering.
The MetaSwitch solution at Vision Net
Partnership with GeoResults helps service providers with successful market
planning, and winning marketing and sales databases.
By Chris Carabello, Marketing Director, MetaSwitch
A Leader in Telecommunications Database Marketing
GeoResults, Inc. is a database
marketing and consulting firm located in Atlanta, Georgia and established in 2001 by experienced telecommunications
market planners and database marketing experts. GeoResults provides business, residential, and customized
database marketing and geo-mapping services. "Our databases and demand estimation models have been used by over
100 telecommunications and cable clients," said Ted Shields, President of GeoResults. "This program allows us to
leverage our expertise to provide detailed market opportunity assessments and sales and marketing databases for
any market in the US."
Market Analysis - Find the Best Customers at the Lowest Cost
Using databases and spatial
analysis tools, GeoResults locates, identifies and ranks high value target customers and target buildings that are within
a given market based on site-specific customer target criteria, including custom scoring of individual business records.
The data enables the assessment and ranking of new geographic or customer segment markets for potential new business
opportunities.
GeoResults' proprietary bandwidth forecasting models can also calculate voice and data bandwidth
demand estimates at the DS0, DS1, DS3, OC3, xDSL, Centrex, and PBX levels for each business customer, aggregate the
target customer bandwidth demand by individual market as well as rank all markets by aggregate bandwidth demand.
GeoResults also assists customers in the area of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) by
determining customer profiles, highest revenue producing and profitable customers, location of customers, and
market share by industry sector. This information is extremely valuable for new market entry and new business
procurement.
Turning Data into Revenue
By using GeoResults' spatial analysis tools to identify
the closest buildings to its Coax cable plant, a leading MSO was able to identify over 600,000 SMBs it was able
to serve. GeoResults then developed a Target Business Attractiveness Proximity Report that combined Proximity
and Building Density, allowing its Marketing and Sales teams to target those business prospects that were in the
best buildings and closest to existing Coax facilities.
"Many of our service provider customers are beginning to offer new products and enter new
territories. Having access to GeoResults to better understand the target market opportunity is an invaluable
step to a successful market entry," said Andy Randall, Vice President of Marketing at MetaSwitch.
For more information about GeoResults and MetaSwitch MarketVisions' 20/20 Vision Program,
visit the MarketVisions section on the Customer Portal or contact your account team.
By Paul Drew, VP Professional Services, MetaSwitch
The MetaSwitch Professional Services group provides a number of different services to our customers
including network analysis, design and reviews, translations updates, subscriber migrations, branding of user interfaces,
project management and custom development. The group has now completed over 100 engagements for customers with another
50 underway. Some examples of recent actions include the following:
EATEL
http://www.eatel.com
EATEL provides local phone service, long distance, television and Internet solutions to more
than 30,000 customers in Louisiana and provides a bundle of high-speed Internet access, high-definition television
with TV on Demand, and phone services. EATEL has deployed the MetaSwitch switching solutions and unified communications
platforms to roll out a portfolio of advanced, converged services to business and residential customers, including TV
Caller ID.
MetaSwitch Professional Services group has provided a number of different services to EATEL to
support their deployment, including the integration of their OSS system with the MetaSwitch management server, custom
enhancements to the MetaSwitch management API, development of a custom script to bulk update charge numbers, IP network
design and migration services to enable EATEL to expand their network from an integrated to a distributed softswitch.
i3 networks
http://www.i3net.com
i3 networks is a wholesale network provider and aggregator that offers a variety of solutions from
unbundled network elements such as origination, termination, E911 and NOC services to complete solutions for VoIP or
line-powered voice using the MetaSwitch distributed softswitch.
i3 networks offers wholesale services in a very large service area and regularly requires translation
updates to add new LATAs or rate centers. MetaSwitch Professional Services is providing i3 networks with translation services
to support the updates to the translations, add new service areas and keep the existing translations up to date with
the Telcordia Local Exchange Routing Guide (LERG®) on a monthly basis.
More about Professional Services at MetaSwitch
MetaSwitch recently announced that it achieved several significant telecommunications
marketplace milestones:
- More than 500 of the company's award-winning softswitch / media gateway systems have
been deployed by more than 250 service provider customers
- MetaSwitch solutions are serving subscribers in 50 U.S. states, Canada, Latin America,
Europe and Asia
- MetaSwitch now counts as committed customers nine of the top 50 U.S. ILECs, including
such leading providers as Windstream and CenturyTel
MetaSwitch has amassed an enviable track record. In the last three years, the company averaged a
quarter-to-quarter increase in systems shipped of 23 percent. Over the last year alone, customer deployments accounted
for an average of 400,000 new media gateway ports added each quarter.
Three new Marketing classes arm service providers with the intelligence and resources to successfully
develop and sell new products in 2008 and beyond.
Introduction to MetaSwitch Features and Applications is a 2 day course that aims to empower product managers
and customer facing staff with a comprehensive understanding of the residential and business features and
capabilities of MetaSwitch from a less technical perspective, but with a hands-on approach. Armed with this
information, product managers, sales, marketing, and customer support staff can be better prepared to develop,
market, sell, and support more robust product bundles that leverages the complete capabilities of MetaSwitch and
MetaSphere.
Marketing VoIP to Consumers is a one day course
designed to provide effective, market-tested strategies and specific, actionable
tactics and tools in order to support a service provider's ability to succeed
in the highly competitive residential market. The key Marketing functions
of Product Development, Pricing, Market Segmentation and Communications
are all explored, leveraging research and competitive analysis for products
such as IPTV, Fixed-Mobile Convergence, Unified Messaging, and VoIP in both
defensive and offensive business models. Pivot Media, a leading consumer-oriented
Telecom market research and consulting organization is supporting delivery
of the class.
Marketing VoIP to SMBs is a one day course utilizing
the combined experience of MetaSwitch and Savatar, a well known strategy
and technology consulting firm, to provide critical data from the most current
quantitative, qualitative, and competitive market research that will drive
successful development and deployment of products for the SMB, including
Business IP Trunking and Hosted IP PBX. Product pricing and packaging, End-user
Marketing, Sales Training, and Channel Development modules come to life
through a series of invaluable tools that leverages insights from the research.
The three classes will be offered Monday through Thursday, January 14th - 17th in Alameda. Customers can attend
individual classes or the entire Marketing Boot Camp for greater savings.
Contact your Account Team or visit the training pages
on the customer portal for more information.
Wireless Internet Access in the Friendly Skies
American Airlines has recently announced that they will soon be offering passengers wireless
connectivity on their flights beginning in 2008.
Read more about wireless in the skies.
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Copyright © 2000 - 2008 Data Connection.
MetaSwitch is a registered trademark of Data Connection.
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