CTLink - Unified Communications: The Leading Authority

Getting to the Core of Unified Communications (Part 3)

Friday, May 18, 2012
In the Post-PC Era, advocated by many Unified Communication vendors, it seems that most services will be provided from some distant cloud, using features on devices employees bring to work managed by a service provider who splits bills between what is work and what is private. In this world, being a Value Added Reseller (VAR) or Systems Integrator (SI); it can feel as stuck between a rock and a hard place. Yes, I am exaggerating it a bit, but pushing what is happening to an extreme is a good way to identify what needs to be done, what competence is needed and who will be your competitors and partners for the future. However, there are opportunities; they lie in the land in between each point of integration, where standard clients meet business processes, where front-office meets back-office and where innovation meets legacy.

Cisco Customer Collaboration - Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Friday, May 18, 2012
As contact center customers look for solutions that are easy to deploy, manage, administer, and purchase – whether an on-premise or hosted solution – Cisco is refining some of its core products to meet these needs. At the same time, it’s offering solutions that are also easier for its partners to sell and manage. Cisco is working to make customer collaboration simpler for its customers and partners, which should ultimately make them all more successful.

UC Summit 2012 Takeaways – It’s Only UC, But I Like It

Wednesday, May 16, 2012
This was my first UC Summit, but as you may know, I’ve been following this space for some time. So, what can I add that hasn’t already been said? My overall takeaway is that it’s time to rewrite the rules. More to the point, there are no rules, nobody’s really in charge, and nobody really knows the right answers. Could there ever be a more perfect storm of uncertainty and opportunity at the same time in this market?

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.