Google Becomes a VoIP Provider with Gizmo5 Purchase

Google announced its 4th acquisition of the year with the purchase of Gizmo5. Gizmo5 gives Google the ability to connect VoIP calls from the Internet or from mobile devices, changing the game for Google Voice and Google Wave.

AT&T recently filed a complaint with the FCC charging that Google was violating communications guidelines by blocking phone calls to certain areas. Google’s response was that because Google Voice does not actually provide the backbone that carries the actual calls Google is not subject to those same guidelines. Gizmo5 puts some holes in that defense.

Google Voice has generated a lot of excitement providing a diverse set of advanced voice and messaging capabilities, but without Gizmo5 Google Voice relies entirely on your existing voice services. Google Voice is basically an extended feature pack that you implement with your existing mobile and landline phones.

By purchasing Gizmo5, Google now has its own VoIP capabilities and can beef up Google Voice to compete directly with Skype. The bigger picture, though, is what Gizmo5 provides Google in terms of expanding the unified communications functionality of Google Wave.

I have not been overly impressed with the early release of Google Wave, but the initial demonstration Google used to unveil Google Wave was quite impressive. If Google manages to mature the current Google Wave beta into the Google Wave it displayed for us at Google I/O 2009, and adds in SIP-based VoIP capabilities, Google Wave could be a potent unified communications platform and offer an impressive, cost-effective alternative to existing unified communications systems.

LifeSize Acquisition Moves Logitech into Video-Conferencing

Logitech is a name that most people are familiar with. It is a virtual household word when it comes to things like keyboards, mice, PC game controllers, and webcam equipment. Logitech is not a name, however, typically associated with enterprise-class video-conferencing. That is about to change.

Logitech announced the purchase of LifeSize Communications for $405 million. LifeSize has an established presence providing high-definition equipment for corporate video-conferencing systems. With 9,000 customers spanning 80 countries, LifeSize is not a newcomer to the field.

The move pits Logitech against major players in this market like Cisco and HP. Logitech can take LifeSize and do battle against Cisco and HP on its own, or it could conceivably pair up with Microsoft. A symbiotic relationship between Microsoft’s unified communications and conferencing software and the Logitech / LifeSize hardware could be a win-win for both parties and create a whole greater than the sum of its parts for facing off against Cisco and HP.

Cisco Launches 61 New UC and Collaboration Products

Cisco announced 61 new unified communications and collaboration products today. The massive unveiling demonstrates Cisco’s commitment to the concept.

A Computerworld article on the product launch says:

Allen Cohen, vice president of enterprise solutions, said told Computerworld that today’s new products and Cisco’s recent agreement to buy videoconferencing vendor Tandberg for $3 billion demonstrate that “Cisco is doubling down [its investment] on collaboration.”

I don’t disagree that it shows Cisco is commited, but 61 products??? I realize that a vendor like Cisco can’t create a one-size-fits-all unified communications solution and expect it to work for everyone, but 61 new products?!?!?!

My eyes glaze over just reading ‘61 new products’. I haven’t even gotten to the part where I try to learn what each of the 61 new products does, how they work together, what impact they might have for a business, and what combination of this smorgasbord of products would work best.

I commend Cisco for its commitment, but I think it needs to understand that unified communications and collaboration is about simplification and efficiency. If it requires some sort of calculus algorithm just to map out the available options, customers will just be confused and choose something easier.

IBM Challenges Microsoft to a Cage Match

Its unified communications meets WWF.

IBM had some serious issues during a live demonstration of its UC technologies at the Enterprise 2.0 conference. Its a presenter’s nightmare. I am sure the stuff works better than that and I assume they even rehearsed the presentation just fine. But, during the actual live presentation all of sudden the bandwidth wasn’t there to deliver a smooth experience. C’est la vie.

IBM rebounded from that experience and moved on to issuing challenges to Microsoft. Basically- IBM says its UC solution is superior to Microsoft’s and its willing to prove it in a head-to-head, mano-a-mano, cage match at VoiceCon in Spring of 2010.

What do you think? Will Microsoft accept the challenge? Can IBM hold its own in a cage match with Microsoft UC?

Perhaps IBM can also get Hulk Hogan for a new marketing campaign?

Sipera Has SLiC Solution to Protect Smart Phone VoIP

One goal that many companies and unified communications vendors are striving for is the seamless integration of mobile phones with the unified communications environment.

Sipera, a leading provider of unified communications security solutions, has developed SLiC (Secure Live Communications). SLiC helps security managers manage the privacy, integrity, and other critical security elements related to integrating Wi-Fi, 3G, GPRS, and other mobile technologies into the enterprise communications infrastructure.

According to Sipera, SLiC is the first such solution available to help customers seamlessly combine smart phone and other mobile devices, and allow employees to use VoIP and other cloud-based communications while maintaining security and privacy.

Google Wave Isn’t All Sunshine and Lollipops

OK. I swear that I am not anti-Google or anti-Google Wave, and I promise not to repeatedly bash Google Wave. In all honesty, I couldn’t wait to get my Wave invitation and I am still very excited to jump in and see what its all about. My previous post about being underwhelmed has more to do with what it looks like now during beta testing and not living up to the hype, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t think it will eventually be a very capable product.

That said, there are two sides to the Google Wave coin. Its not all ice cream and rainbows, or sunshine and lollipops. First, the real-time collaboration is a huge benefit and the ability to see others typing as their fingers hit the keys is novel, but do we really need to watch others type…wrong…then backspace….then retype?

Have you ever written a message in anger or frustration? Then you take a step back and a deep breath, re-read it, and decide that there is a more appropriate way to say things so you edit the message before sending it? If you were holding that conversation in a Google Wave the other party would be able to watch as you type what a complete jackass….brain dead moron…..jerk….good person with the right intentions, but poor execution your boss is.

Real-time typing has its drawbacks.

What about the ability to chain and forward a Wave well after the fact? Say you start a Wave with a friend and you are venting between the two of you about a third friend. The Wave evolves and later the third friend is inadvertently added to the Wave. That person can go back to the beginning of the Wave, replay it, comment on it, etc.

Once its a Wave its sort of out of your control and the concept of assuming that everything you type will be shared publicly takes on a whole new meaning.

It will be interesting to see how some of the pitfalls of Google Wave are addressed as development evolves and the fully functional Google Wave eventually hits the Internet.

If you are on Google Wave, you can feel free to connet with me at s3kur3@googlewave.com.

Facetime Adds Sophos AV Protection to Unified Security Gateway

Facetime is a respected name in unified communications security. Its Unified Security Gateway, or USG 3.0, appliance allows enterprise administrators to control the web sites and applications that can be accessed by users, as well as monitoring and filtering content for Web 2.0 communications such as webmail, blogs, and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Aside from the goal of protecting intellectual property and sensitive information, the USG 3.0 appliance also provides the tools necessary to maintain legal and regulatory compliance related to network security and disclosing information.

Another threat that enterprise administrators have to contend with is malware and malicious attacks. Mike Rogers, vice president of Global Alliances and OEM for Sophos stressed the issue. “For the first six months of this year, SophosLabs detected 23,500 new infected Web pages–that’s one every 3.6 seconds. This statistic underscores the necessity of ensuring safe Web browsing, which includes virus and other malware protection.”

That is why Facetime is adding Sophos antivirus scanning and malware protection technologies to incorporate into the USG 3.0 appliance.

Google Wave Underwhelming

You know that anticlimactic feeling you get when something doesn’t quite live up to the hype?

Like when you tried to avoid seeing the movie Titanic because a Leonardo DiCaprio love story just didn’t sound appealing and you were already sick of hearing Celine Dion singing My Heart Will Go On, but then everyone in the world but you saw the movie….three times? So you finally caved and saw it and left thinking ‘it was a good movie, but nowhere near worth the attention its getting and certainly not something I’d pay to see more than once.’?

That is how I feel about Google Wave right now.

A few weeks ago when Google unleashed a new flurry of Google Wave invitations I managed to acquire one (thanks again Marcus). It still took forever for the invite to actually arrive in my email, but at least I didn’t have to continue begging, or troll eBay trying to buy a fake invitation.

Once it arrived though it felt like 4pm on December 25th when the feeling sinks in that after months of shopping, and wrapping, and decorating, and Christmas carols, and tons of money….its all over. That was it.

I am not condemning it yet. I understand that it is a beta version, and to be fair I haven’t comprehensively examined it yet. I will definitely be diving in and perhaps it will seem more compelling once I get under the hood and start figuring out what to do with it.

All I’m saying is that after the 90 minute video overview Google unveiled it with, and the hype leading up to getting the invite, it just doesn’t seem very exciting, or like the unified communications competition it has been described as (which I am guilty of as well).

Stay tuned for more in-depth reviews and assessments as I dig in and figure it all out.

Unified Communications? There Is No App for That

OK. To be fair, there are iPhone apps related to unified communications, and even an iPhone app which provides rudimentary integration with Microsoft Office Communicator. The point, however, is that as popular and as functional as the iPhone is it still has some catching up to do in order to be a viable platform for enterprise mobile and unified communications.

I had an iPhone for a few months. I enjoyed it, and I felt like it had a lot of really cool features, but in the end I found the fact that there is ‘an app for that’ for so many things to be more of a distraction and a time-suck than a value. I also missed Office Communicator Mobile and my Office Mobile applications so I eventually traded my iPhone for the AT&T (HTC) Tilt– a Windows Mobile 6.0 device.

New phones are emerging with the potential to challenge the iPhone for rock star status among mobile devices. The HTC Pure isn’t really one of them, but it is the crown jewel of the Windows Mobile 6.5 devices which recently hit the streets. I’m debating holding my breath to see if the HTC HD2 comes to AT&T when Windows Mobile 7 is unleashed, but that seems like a long time to wait for a rumored device on a vaporware OS that may not even be offered through my wireless provider if/when it does arrive.

Back to the iPhone though. The iPhone is the #2 smart phone in America. It is lower on the global totem pole, but as it begins to be offered through multiple providers in China that could quickly change. However, there is a reason that Nokia and RIM have so much of the smart phone market share and it has a lot to do with the ability to integrate with enterprise networks and applications. Until Apple gets an app for that it is going to have a tough time being a serious threat in the enterprise.

The flip side of that point though is that Microsoft could do itself a favor and extend its reach by working with Apple to make that happen. The iPhone is a formidable mobile device and it is hugely popular. Microsoft should develop Office Communicator Mobile and Office Mobile apps for the iPhone to promote the use of Microsoft products no matter what mobile platform is being used.

Free Unified Communications Security Webinar

If you’re free next Wednesday, October 28, you should mark your calendar and plan on attending The Final Frontier: Secure Unified Communications to Any Device in Any Place at 12pm Eastern time (9am Pacific).

Unified communications, like just about any useful technology, can be a double-edged sword. Often, for every benefit or convenience there is a tradeoff of increased risk and exposure. As organizations work to extend unified communications to smart phones and wireless devices, they face even more security and compliance challenges.

The webinar is being presented by Sipera Systems and Aberdeen Research and will include the latest research and industry trends, real-world scenarios from actual deployments, and best practices for deploying unified communications securely.