Free SIP Webinar Playback

In case you missed it--or loved it so much you must watch an encore--here is a link to our latest FREE webinar on SIP applications:  http://www.crosstelecom.com/aboutUs/events/20110630_SIPwebinar.asp

As always, I am providing information on our free webinars for two reasons: first, to show you the quality of people and training you can expect from Cross Telecom; second, as a public service to the Federal contracting community.

Comments are welcome! 

Free SIP Webinar

Regular readers of this blog know that Cross offers free monthly webinars on an enterprise telephony topic.  These webinars are not intended as a sales generator, though you can certainly contact me if you would like more information on how Cross approaches any of these webinar topics.  The webinars are a good indicator of two things:

1.      Cross’ technical prowess within our space

2.      Cross’ training capabilities

June’s webinar is our second in 13 months on SIP.  In the world of telephony, SIP has become synonymous with IP dial tone, but that barely scratches the surface of what SIP is capable of. 

For example, did you know that SIP devices are becoming prevalent in the healthcare industry?  Did you know that every time you chat with Yahoo or MSN Messenger you are using SIP? 

In this session we will go beyond basic telephone calls and explore how the openness of SIP fosters a world of applications that have little to do with VoIP.

Webinar: Thursday, June 30, 2011, 10:00 a.m.- 11:00 p.m. CST

Presented By: Andrew Prokop, SIP Architect, Cross Telecom

Register today!  https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/786397848

I hope to see you on the webinar—let me know if you liked it or have suggestions for topics.

Lots of Shoes to Choose from

Since the acquisition of Cross Telecom by Arrow Electronics last month, I'm feeling a bit like Imelda Marcos--lots of shoes to choose from as we plan our next steps.  As I've written about previously, Cross has been a reseller on the Avaya Federal and Avaya Government Solutions Schedules for years.  Now, under our corporate umbrella, there are Schedules held by Arrow and our sister telecom company Shared Technologies.

I haven't blogged much lately--there are many integration activities going on and I have not had much to report.  Our GSA Schedule program is still active and as I learn more and get some decisions back, I will update the blog.  Check back regularly.  For now, here are some links that demonstrate the pretty ridiculous depth and breadth of our capability to serve the telephony and data systems marketplace:

http://www.crosstelecom.com/

http://www.sharedtechnologies.com/

http://ecs.arrow.com/index.html

New Shoes

We have had an exciting, game-changing event at Cross Telecom: I am  pleased to  advise that on May 2, 2011,  Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:ARW) acquired Cross Telecom Corporation (Cross).  A copy of the official press release can be found at www.crosstelecom.com . The impact of this event on our program to develop a GSA Schedule has not been determined.  I will update the blog as we learn more.

Arrow Electronics (www.arrow.com) serves as a supply channel partner for over 1,200 suppliers and 115,000 original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers and commercial customers through a global network of more than 340 locations in 52 countries. Arrow is headquartered in Melville, N.Y.

We are truly excited about this acquisition because Cross offerings complement the unified communications, telephony, and managed services that Arrow offers through its Shared Technologies business - a recognized total-solutions provider and supplier of converged and Internet-protocol telephony technologies. Together, Cross and Shared Technologies will provide an enhanced world-class offering of unified communications services to best serve your needs and the value we will be able to bring to the market will be truly amazing.

Together, Cross and Shared Technologies support in excess of 10,000 Avaya and Nortel customers nationwide with over 9 million ports at 76,000 unique customer locations under current maintenance support contracts.  We support these customers through the combined efforts of 1,500 committed employees of which nearly 90% are in direct, customer facing roles.  We now have the most comprehensive technician coverage map in our industry with over 800 directly employed technicians located in 45 of the 48 contiguous United States.  In addition to this unrivaled local support footprint, we continue our legacy of making communications technology the best it can be through unmatched technical expertise and depth.   Indeed, Cross and Shared Technologies together possess in excess of 4,500 Avaya/Nortel professional certifications. Further, we maintain the highest Avaya Business Partner status possible, not only in our earning the distinction of being Avaya’s only Business Partner globally to have achieved Integration Expert status, but in maintaining our current Platinum Business Partner, Platinum DevConnect Partner, Services Expert, and Services Business Partner of the Year distinctions.

Over the coming weeks and months, I will provide updates about our progress. Please know that our focus remains on serving our customers, and our commitment to excellence is unwavering.

April Shoers

Sticking with this blog’s theme of taking steps towards getting a GSA Schedule 70, I could not resist a bad pun on April showers.  Sorry about that.

I will make it up to you by offering you the opportunity to attend our monthly webinar on a telecom topic—for free!  April’s webinar is on E911 Risks of Non-Compliance.  No matter the communications platform (i.e. Avaya, Nortel, Cisco), if you have a single site environment or a multi-site environment (national & international), if you have VOIP, Digital, or Analog devices in your environment, let’s face it: if you even have an environment —you should be aware of E911. 

Your organization should know how E911 legislation affects your organization and what the risk factors are, but more importantly, how you can prepare and get ready for compliance with this important legislation.  Join Cross Telecom to learn from subject matter experts about how to successfully prepare for an E911 engagement and what you need to know.

The webinar is Thursday, April 28, 2010, 1100-1200 hours

Presented By: Samantha Kane, Founder, Kane-Mackay & Assoc.

Bill MacKay, Founder, Kane-Mackay & Assoc.

Tim Gunther, Consultant, Cross Telecom

Register today!  https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/475815624?elq=61ad2e50aede43cc8443b5957575ad86

While these webinars are never a sales pitch, Cross partners with several E911 subcontractors—including ones that have implemented systems on military bases.  If you are interested in discussing this topic before or after the webinar, shoot me an email or just comment on this blog entry.

Step Quickly

Followers of this blog know that Cross has a substantial technical education offering—Cross University:  http://www.crosstelecom.com/crossUniversity/index.asp .  Cross U offers classroom training, on-line self-paced training, and webinars (private webinars for a fee and monthly public free webinars)—all of these will be on our Schedule.

This is short notice but we have slots available for our next class on a topic near and dear to most enterprise telecom and IT managers.   Hollywood seems to be remaking a lot of classic (and not so classic) movies the last few years.  Were they to remake The Graduate, I’m pretty sure the “just one word” Mr. McGuire would telling young Ben about wouldn’t be “plastics,” it would be…SIP!

The great news is that Ben, or anyone else who can get themselves to Bloomington next week, can receive a 2.5 day education on the basics of Session Initiation Protocol for the low, low price of $1,875.  That is well below the micropurchase threshold and within most P-card limits.  Details are here: http://www.crosstelecom.com/crossUniversity/CU_SIP_CourseOutline.pdf

Class starts on April 19—please contact me at dketchen@crosstelecom.com to sign up!  If you sign-up directly, please let me know.

No Spikes Allowed!

If you follow this blog you are probably in Telecommunications for the Federal vertical—either as a vendor or as a Federal employee.  While we are going through the executive review cycle on my team’s recommendations for next steps towards getting our GSA Schedule, I want to share an upcoming event you may be interested in.

The National Capital Chapter of the Independent Telecommunications Pioneers Association (ITPA) is a Washington, DC metropolitan area association of Telecommunications professionals.  Membership is comprised of both Industry and Government leaders. 

Our mission is to:

• Provide leadership and networking opportunities
• Serve our communities through good work
• Add value to sponsor companies and organizations
• Preserve our industry history

We are having a golf tournament at the Army Navy club in Arlington, VA on April 25.  The event includes golf with prizes and dinner.  Sponsorships are available, including hole sponsorships.  Please see our website for more detail and to sign up.  Please send me an email if you do.

Register to play: http://www.itpancc.org/Event_Details.html

Sponsor: http://www.itpancc.org/Sponsorships.html

We support the Capital Area Food Bank, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), and the USO Metropolitan Washington.  A donation is made to these organizations at the end of the Association's term year. 

Membership in ITPA is not a requirement for participation in golf.  I hope to see you there!

More Free Re-steps

For those that missed our free webinar on Data Networking for Voice Professionals, you can catch it on playback from our website: http://bit.ly/gwkXE0.  Watch our CTO in action!

Training is one area we continually hear about from our Federal customers, specifically that it is not easy enough for them to buy.  We will have both classroom and on-line (live and on-demand) training available on our GSA Schedule.

Some of our Shoes

I am very pleased to report that my team has submitted our findings and recommendations to our senior team.  Our executives will review potential upside, cost/benefit, etc. and give us direction and (if appropriate) funding and resources.

While we await adjudication, I will be posting detail on what we intend to list on our Schedule.  I am available to clarify these to any of my Federal followers as well as potential teaming partners.  The first listing is a set of Professional Services for two product types from the Avaya portfolio, Contact Center Express (including Customer Relationship Management integration) and Self Service (IVR):

CCE/CRM:

•                     Configure and Install CCE Software

•                     Multimedia Queuing – SMS (text), Chat, and Email

•                     Out of the Box and Custom Screen Pops/Web Applications

•                     Custom Routing

•                     Custom Toolbars

•                     Custom Softphones

•                     Integration to multiple customer databases

•                     Customized Agent Interfaces

Self Service:

•                     Configure, install, and implement Interactive Response hardware and software (IR is manufacture discontinued but if customers have current IRs, we can help)

•                     Configure, install, and implement Voice Portal hardware and software in both H.323 and SIP environments

•                     Configure, install, and implement Enterprise Wide License Server software

•                     Configure, install, and implement Loquendo Speech Recognition Server (ASR) software and Text to Speech Server (TTS) software

•                     Develop, test, and deploy touch-tone only and speech enabled Self Service Applications using recorded announcements and/or TTS

•                     Modify, deploy, and test existing Source Code

•                     Create, test, and deploy Web Services for database integration

Whether we will list these as bundles of tasks with a set price or within labor categories with an hourly rate remains to be seen and ultimately will be driven by market demand. 

I could write volumes on the evolution from Call Centers (where customers could call during business hours to complain) to multimedia- and social media-driven Customer Collaboration Centers, but the key here is that the Federal Government has many “customers,” and has spent much time and money on channels for these customers to access information.  The services listed above are a sampling of what Cross Telecom can do to enhance and enable the Government’s ability to execute on this customer support model.

First Real Step Re-revisited

We are formalizing a package of recommendations for submission to our senior team, several of whom attended and actively participated in Federally-focused Avaya event last week.  We all believe that Cross having its own Schedule will enable us to drive even more value to Cross and to Avaya, who recognized us as a Federal Business Partner of the Year for the eighth or ninth time in a row at this event.

I want to thank everyone who has commented on this blog and its content; several blog followers contributed real value to our effort and one of whom may well continue contributing into our future.  I will continue updating this blog as we make progress on our Schedule.  Anyone pursuing their own Schedule—or competitors trembling with fear at the thought of Cross having one ;-)  —should keep coming back as I will blog on the experience and dynamics of working on the proposal package and hopefully the negotiations/award phase.  I am willing to share my experiences with this  project to anyone as well.  I am optimistic we will have a positive outcome before the buying season hits—and I think it will hit hard this year.

Step Towards Validation

I saw a presentation by a very professional and credible consultant today which included some forecasted stats from a reputable source.  The prediction was for a 7% CAGR for professional services in the Federal vertical over the next 5 years.  This is one of the key sets of services we will be putting on our Schedule.  This was welcome validation of my team's efforts so far.  I was less pleased the same forecast called for less use of GSA Schedules, but it is still a huge opportunity.

REMINDER: FREE TRAINING TOMORROW

This month’s FREE webinar is being presented by our Chief Technology Officer, David Lover.  The topic is Data Networking for Voice Professionals.  The Government buys billions every year in data networking equipment and services—some to drive pure data traffic, some to transport Voice over IP traffic, and a lot to do both.

In this session, we'll get into the basics of cabling, switches, and routers. We'll talk about IP addressing, explaining things like subnet masks and default gateways. We'll also explain what VLANs and QOS tags are and why they're important to voice communications. If you're new to data networking or need a refresher on the basics, this session is for you.

As always, this webinar is not a sales pitch for the data products we sell or the services we sell to support the technology.  This is an educational service we provide with no obligation or hard sell.

The webinar is Thursday, February 24 at 11 EST.  The link to register is:

http://bit.ly/e5E0mU

I hope you can attend and see the quality of technical education resources that soon will be available for easy purchase On Schedule.  If you attend, please send me an email or post a comment on what you thought of it.  Thanks!

Step Back (To Where We Once Belonged)

Well, it seems announcing a decision is a great way to spur discussion.  Since we posted on February 2 that we had “decided” to aggressively pursue being added as a subcontractor to an existing Schedule, we received some very compelling arguments that such an approach would not be prudent—not at this juncture or any other!

The longer term implications of that approach were not really understood by the team, but they are now.  This is a prime (pun intended) example of why we started this blog—to leverage the collective knowledge of our industry to fill the gaps in our understanding of the many intricate and at time conflicting rules.

We are now evaluating our Schedule options, and there are some very good ones.  We are also evaluating one of the major bid information services.  The next 60 days look to be action-packed and that is really exciting given how many companies go into hibernation in the first quarter.  Keep coming back to this blog if you are interested in us and in stating your opinion—comments are always welcome!

More Free Steps

Last month I posted a link to our free webinar on Avaya Contact Center.  Our monthly webinars put our training capabilities on display for everyone to see—including our competitors.  Training definitely is going on our Schedule and in many cases fits under the P-card threshold, so it is really easy to purchase.

This month’s FREE webinar is being presented by our Chief Technology Officer, David Lover.  The topic is Data Networking for Voice Professionals.  The Government buys billions every year in data networking equipment and services—some to drive pure data traffic, some to transport Voice over IP traffic, and a lot to do both.

In this session, we'll get into the basics of cabling, switches, and routers. We'll talk about IP addressing, explaining things like subnet masks and default gateways. We'll also explain what VLANs and QOS tags are and why they're important to voice communications. If you're new to data networking or need a refresher on the basics, this session is for you.

As always, this webinar is not a sales pitch for the data products we sell or the services we sell to support the technology.  This is an educational service we provide with no obligation or hard sell.

The webinar is Thursday, February 24 at 11 EST.  The link to register is:

http://bit.ly/e5E0mU

I hope you can attend and see the quality of technical education resources that soon will be available for easy purchase On Schedule.  If you attend, please send me an email or post a comment on what you thought of it.  Thanks!

Stepping in our Own Footprint

Is there a need for social media integration services in the Federal space?  I sure hope so, because that’s one of the services we plan on putting on Schedule.  It seems like articles about social media and its vital importance are everywhere—to the point where I’m already looking forward to the next hot term since “social media” is used as much as “synergy” and  “thinking outside the box” used to be.  A quick search on GSA’s website found their Social Media Directory: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/171365

The Department of Defense has a similar listing: http://www.defense.gov/registeredsites/socialmediasites.aspx

The easy conclusion is Yes, the Federal agencies have adopted social media—by default there should be a demand for services around social media.  But there’s a huge difference between having a Facebook page or Twitter feed, and integrating these into an Agency contact center to improve the customer experience and reduce costs.  That’s what we can do and want to do for Federal customers, and on Schedule. 

Still, we recognize the fun factor of social media too and utilize this ourselves.  For example, we spice up our email announcements about products, services, webinars, etc. with contests (and good technology prizes!).  We also have a very popular monthly video blog by our Chief Technology Officer David Lover: The Countdown, which is 15 minutes of technology goodness, http://bit.ly/3UZDh

If you know of an example where a Federal agency has used social media to add value to its business, please post a comment, thanks!

First Real Step

The team met today and we are leaning heavily towards subcontracting on an existing Schedule—the right Schedule—as our first real step in this effort.  The points favoring this approach are:

1.      Cheaper cost of entry – whether it is measured as opportunity cost or hard dollars to bring in a consultant, the cost to join an existing Schedule appears to be much cheaper than getting our own.

2.      Time to market – even the best case for getting our own Schedule will be measured in months, whereas joining a existing Schedule should be transacted in weeks.

3.      Less risk – while we are not novices to using a Schedule (we have reseller status on several manufacturer Schedules), we lack experience in managing one.  Leveraging an existing Schedule will allow us to learn the intricacies.

We are open to the possibility that we may prefer subcontractor status and stay that way indefinitely.  This could also be a tester for getting our own Schedule, and a partner will have our services to generate revenue until that happens at some future time.  The search is now on for Schedule holder with whom we can partner.  We are looking to join the team of a Schedule holder with complementary and related services.  If you are a Schedule 70 holder and think we might be a good fit for you, send me an email: dketchen@crosstelecom.com.  You can learn more about what we do at www.crosstelecom.com.

Step Together

Like many forward-thinking companies, Cross Telecom hires the best people, regardless of location.  We have many home-officed staff members, enabled by the latest communications technology (we better—that’s our business!).  The Cross GSA Schedule development team is scattered across the country but has been successful in collaborating on the effort.

Next week we will be meeting and I expect to have a productive session with a long list of action items.  We have received tremendous feedback from the Federal contracting community, and really need to sit down together and sort through it all, then put together a plan and schedule (a Schedule schedule…).

On a separate topic, last week I got my copy of Mark Amtower’s new book Selling to the Government.  Given Mark’s frank and conversational writing style, this is a lightning-fast read and I have had to force myself to put it down and think about what I just read instead of plowing into the next chapter.  I suspect I will re-read this book many times, and cite some of the ideas as we continue with our initiative of getting a Schedule.  I’m a big fan of having a professional library (even in this age of eBooks)—right now the two books on my desk are Mark’s and Multiple Award Schedule Contracting by Chierichella/Aronie. Mark’s blog has been added to the Blogs of Interest section on this page. 

Quick Step

I received some very positive off-line feedback about our idea to test the waters by becoming a sub under another company’s Schedule.  Internally, this concept has been well-received also.  The challenge now will be to find the right such partner—one whose Schedule has offerings which are similar and complementary but not redundant.  While I’m sure I will have no problem finding volunteers who meet these criteria, I want a prime who will do more than just markup my services. 

So we have two tracks working—subbing to someone else and continuing towards our own.  Any thoughts on this are welcome, as always.

Side Step

We have had some great conversations this week with folks who suggested an interim step as we assess if it makes sense to have a Schedule: the concept is to be added to an existing services Schedule as a subcontractor and utilize the Schedule holder as a prime.  This idea is obviously not novel, as we work through primes on other vehicles (CONNECTIONS, SEWP, OEM Schedule 70, etc.), but as a temporary measure and barometer for gauging our ability to sell our services on Schedule, it seems to be a low cost of entry approach.  Additionally, this prime has other services companies as subs on its Schedule, so the teaming and business development opportunities expand exponentially.  That’s the part I like.

I would love your thoughts on this strategy.

Tomorrow I will be at the monthly meeting of the Independent Telecommunications Pioneers Association (National Capital Chapter) at the Pier Seven Restaurant in D.C.  If you attend regularly, come find me and we can chat. If not, $40 gets you a nice lunch and a speaker, who is always a Federal employee of some stature.  Check out http://www.itpancc.org/Home_Page.html for details.

A point of clarification on my last post: the free technical webinar on Thursday is not purely a Q&A session as one might conclude from my description of it.  There will be a formal technical preso with time allotted for Q&A.  It is not too late to sign up!

V/r,

Dan

Give Me Free Steps

I have received some inquiries regarding what services Cross intends to list on its GSA Schedule.  As an Avaya Platinum Partner, an Avaya Platinum Development Partner, and the 2010 Avaya Services Partner of the Year, Cross has on staff a rich palette of communications-related professional services resources.  Additionally, Cross has a substantial training service suite including on-line and lab capabilities.

As a service to the industry, Cross provides a free monthly webinar on an Avaya-related technical topic.  These are NOT sales pitches, nor are they rebranded manufacturer presentations.  This month’s free webinar topic is:

The New Avaya Contact Center Control Manager Solution

Thursday, January 20, 2011 at 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM CST

Presenter: Charles Trautwein, Context Center Specialist, Cross Telecom

Sign up at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/756460104?elq=d1393e70d29f4b4db21ea693ce448143

ACCCM delivers seamless integration and centralized administration to Avaya’s Contact Center Suite (such as Avaya Call Center Elite, Business Advocate, Avaya Communication Manager (CM), Interaction Center, Contact Center Express, Intelligent Customer Routing, Proactive Contact, Call Management System, Voice Portal/Integrated Response, Work Force Optimization, and Application Enablement Services).  ACCCM complements AACM with a range of functionality and operationally-oriented administration tiers, effectively streamlining management of all Avaya contact center operations.

Simply put, if you have an existing Avaya Contact Center, you should spend an hour participating in this webinar.  The presenter will take questions.

I think you will see the depth of technical prowess Cross has to offer, and why I think we need a GSA Schedule: to make it easy for Federal Avaya technology users to gain access to our resources.