CTLink - Unified Communications: The Leading Authority

Looking For ROI From Customer UC

Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Customer contacts play an important role any enterprise business and UC will affect how customers interact with both enterprise personnel, third-party support, and automated business process applications. For this reason, hard issues surrounding the implementation of "Customer UC" will be discussed by a panel of UC technology providers at an upcoming conference in L.A. this month.

Cisco’s PostPath Announcement

Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Cisco announced its intent to acquire PostPath, which provides email and calendaring software and is seen as an alternative to Microsoft Exchange and Outlook.

Smart Wallet Applications For Mobile Devices Will Drive Consumer and Business UC

Sunday, August 24, 2008
New financial services for consumers with mobile smart phones will become a major driver for both "Consumer UC" and enterprise "Customer UC," as end users end up using them as a "Smart Wallet" for business communications as well as for personal contacts.

A consulting firm specializing in voice, data, video & wireless communications and collaboration

Jim Burton is Founder and CEO of CT Link, LLC. Burton founded the consulting firm in 1989 to help clients in the converging voice, data and networking industries with strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and distribution issues.

In the early 1990s, Burton recognized the challenges vendors and the channel faced as they developed and installed integrated voice/data products. He became the leading authority in the voice/data integration industry and is credited with "coining" the term computer-telephone integration (CTI). Burton helped companies including Microsoft and Intel enter the voice market and helped AT&T (now Avaya), Mitel, NEC, Nortel, Siemens and Toshiba with their CTI strategies.

In the late 1990s, venture capitalists turned to Burton for help in evaluating potential investments in IP PBX start-ups. He went on to help these and other companies with strategic planning and partnering, including NBX (acquired by 3Com, Selsius (acquired by Cisco), ShoreTel and Sphere Communications.

In the early 2000s, Burton began focusing on what he believed were emerging technologies that would have an even more profound impact than IP on the converging voice and data industry.