7 posts tagged “the gabby geek”

Ken Camp and I write a blog on Stardust Global Ventures, our joint business venture. Today I happened on an article discussing Unified Communications, something Ken is quite familiar with and in fact has written about for quite a long time. Ken is probably the best authority on how to actually define Unified Communications that exists today.

Below is a re-post of his article and a link to what I think should be a really exciting discussion on Talkshoe by a number of leaders in the Unified Communications Arena.

I hope you will join us as we open up the topic for an informative discussion. What is Unified Communications anyway?

Unified Communications - Dispelling the Myths

Sheryl, my partner and fiance, called my attention to an interesting question this morning. It's not the first time recently I've seen this question raised in conversationbut the question seems to take many forms. My friend Jon Arnold asked just a week ago Is VoIP Really Happening?

Here's a snip from the Information week story that got me started on this thread.

Is Anyone Actually Implementing UC?
Posted by Eric Krapf, Jul 17, 2008 09:51 AM

A debate has been going on over at No Jitter about whether enterprises are actually adopting Unified Communications (see here, here, here, here, and here). I tend toward the skeptical end of any conversation about how widely a hot new technology is actually being adopted, but I do see a few signs that enterprises are at least paying attention and, where possible, looking for an opportunity to get their feet wet.

I was chatting with a consultant yesterday who told me that in his last three engagements, he'd put Unified Communications into the specifications as an option for the companies to include in their RFPs, and in all three cases, the companies jumped at it. The reason? Business differentiation, i.e., the hope that UC could provide a new competitive advantage. This, by the way, supports a theory that Chris Thompson of Cisco (NSDQ: CSCO) expounded to me at VoiceCon Orlando, that during difficult economic times, it's actually easier for enterprises to make investments in "aspirational" technology than that which is "perspirational".

To me, that says the UC message is getting through to enterprises. There's no guarantee that every company will ultimately make the ROI, in whatever way the individual user company calculates that ROI. Maybe the bids will come back and the business case just won't be there.

[Read the whole story here]

I've been following VoIP from the beginnng and unified communications since before the term came into popular use, and I feel like I have a distinctly different viewpoint.

We write and provide an eJournal series, Unified Communications
in Realtime, here at the Realtime Unified Communications Community that gets added to our Digital Library each month. It's also distributed through other channels.

In the three-part series for next month we've been working on a set of brief articles about the intersection between unified communications and social media. As part of that, I tried to explain what unified communications is to set a foundation for the discussion. Here's an excerpt from the soon-to-be-published piece -

Unified Communications - A Broad Definition
Unified communications is an interesting phrase that's come into widespread use in the past year or two. Many companies have made efforts to brand it as their own, but it's really a mindset tied to the journey of network convergence.

When we're connected effectively, we're more productive. Many working professionals are also more creative. With easy access to the tools we use to perform, our work is simpler. We're able to focus on the work they need to do. We perform at a higher level. Just as companies focus on their core competencies, we as people perform better when we put all of our energy into our primary work objectives

One of the biggest drivers of this increased productivity in the past ten years has been what we call convergence. Convergence is another one of those vague buzzwords that means many things to many people, but there have been some clear and distinct phases

Phase 1 - Voice and Data Converge on the Wire
Convergence really took hold as a concept in the late 1990's. IP became the most widely accepted transport technology for data traffic. Around the same time Voice over IP (VoIP) came on the scene as potentially disruptive technology for telecommunications.

Prior to this, most large companies often managed multiple networks - one for voice and another for data. In many cases, these networks were supported by different administrative and operations groups.

Integration of voice and data onto a single wired circuit infrastructure helped many companies reduce costs and improve the bottom line. The convergence of network technologies brought efficiency gains in many different business areas.

Phase 2 - IP Takes Center Stage as the Convergence Protocol
The convergence of the physical network onto a single circuit was the start of something that's still in motion. Voice over IP (VoIP) provided yet another catalyst for change. It was ballyhooed as the end of telecommunications as we knew it and the signal that the legacy telephone companies would be out of business.

VoIP hasn't matured in the way those wild prognostications foretold but it has become the stable foundation for telecommunications infrastructure. VoIP proved to be an enabling technology that has changed our way of thinking about voice. VoIP pointed the way to voice as simply another service of the network.

Phase 3 - Unified Communications
This convergence of voice and data networks has continued around the globe for the past several years. Today there are many networks that still haven't fully converged. The process continues, and for many companies, the end of the road is nowhere in sight.

Convergence became the term used to describe the integration of data, voice and video onto one unified network. These network services used to all use separate networks. Today they share the resources of the corporate network and the Internet.

In the past two years, the word convergence has given way to the phrase unified communications. For most people, unified communications simply means the fully converged network, supporting data, voice and video.

That's unified communications of today, but the journey doesn't end there. There are mission-critical business applications that will integrate more tightly through Communications Enhanced business Processes (CEBP). These include:

• Enterprise Resource Management (ERP)
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Supply Chain Management (SCM)
• Sales Force Automation (SFA)
• Human Resource Management (HRM)

There will always be room to further integrate for efficiency. One key added area that's seeing a lot of current improvement is integrating people with voice recognition technology. The user interface will always be a key component of how we enhance the way people use computerized resources.

In the Information Week piece, Krapf asks is anyone actually implementing UC? I'd rephrase it differently - Is there anyone who isn't implementing UC?

Unified communications is a buzz phrase like convergence. It means different things to different people. In today's business environment, VoIP is prevalent. Jon asked is it really happening, but I'm often hard pressed to find places where it isn't happening.

Unified Communitations is everywhere. Think about it. Voice services, video services and voice mail have converged onto a single unified platform - an IP network and our computers or other devices. Without unified communications, you have no social media - no Facebook, no Twitter, no comprehensive integration. Without unified communications, the web as we know it is a pipe dream. It had email and static web pages.

Web 2.0, the phrase we've all heard a million times is unified communications. Without UC, there could have been no Web 2.0. Unified communications, like VoIP, isn't a product you write a check for and buy. It's not a single product you implement and move on. It's not as complex as vendors make it sound.

Unified communications in a foundation mindset of a single, integrated platform for doing business. Simple.

Sheryl and I are in the process of augmenting our work at Stardust Global Ventures. Our GeekSpeekTV has been very popular, but with the hectic moving process we've had to endure lately, it's been difficult to produce our regular shows. We're now in the process of incorporating Stardust Radio into our portfolio.

Stardust Radio

The latest in the evolutionary process you all have been somewhat privy to, is now live. Stardust Global Ventures is the new site that author, speaker, analyst, Ken Camp and I share.

I hope you will give it a look, and listen to some of the podcasts/blogcasts. We are both talkers, but as a hyper connected partnership, we offer some new insight in the world of technology.

The interview I did with Ken Camp, author, analyst, speaker, is out today. It was a fun interview and one I feel privileged to have been granted. Mind you, as a friend I would expect no less! LOL!!!!

The most interesting part, ok maybe the most whacky part, was the interruption of his dog, Zoe. Apparently she would like to be a star. :)

Tomorrow I am interviewing Chris Brogan of Podcamp fame as well as Grasshoppers. Great idea, grasshoppers. That interview will go up onsite next week.

Monday I have been given an opportunity that's sort of once in a lifetime. I have been granted an interview with Peter Csathy of SightSpeed. That's thanks to a friend of mine but Peter is a great guy. His company is also great. Check them out! www.sightspeed.com I highly recommend this product if you're interested in video conferencing. It is the only video conferencing software that started with a video platform. Our interview will be completed using it, so drop by my site when I update with that one.

So...most of you are aware I was starting a new podcast. It finally reached fruition yesterday. I'm very pleased to announce my first podcast is completed and up on my website. An Incidental Interview.

My new podcast centers around interviews with friends, business acquaintances, and in general people who are known and unknown in the world of technology.

The first interview is with the creator of my music. He's an extremely talented man and someone I am proud to know as a FRIEND! Dan Lynch and I have worked together on other podcasts and he's brilliant! He composes music for podcasts...well he wants to and mine is an extension of his desire to do that. A way to broadcast his talents if you will. Dan also uses linux and has a lot of skill with the tech side of the OS.

Anyway, please give a listen to my new podcast. I have another interview comleted and ready top post with Ken Camp, author of the Book IP Telephony Demystefied. I'll plug it again before it comes out. Be prepared!

All of you who have supported me should know...if I haven't told you enough, I'm awed by your consideration and support. There could be no greater friends than the ones I have met her at VOX and on Jaiku. You all probably know who you are. :)

One more thing...so you don't think I'm slipping....I recorded the podcast in stereo and forgot to smush it all up together. Use both ear plugs, ok? LOL

You know I have my boy back. I forgot to mention that in the background of that picture happens to be my ex husband. Enough of that.

So...my podcast. Yes, I do have one. Some of you know and some are even subscribers! If you subscribe you know my podcast has been techsercise. Fitness for geeks and a little chit chat as well. It's changing. I'm picking the brain of a friend who happens to be a fellow voxer/jaikuer/facebook/ buddy. LOL. Anyway, it just so happens he also is an author, and all around nice guy. I don't thik I'd have the guts to attempt what I'm about to if I didn't have a ton of support, not only from him but from members of feebleforce/NWD. These guys are absolutely the most support anyone could ask for.

So, wanna know how the format of my podcast is changing? I had a revelation and was going to try and get guests onto the feeblforce podcasts. When I realised how many of us there are and how difficult it already is to not talk over each other with sometimes 7 people talking all at once I nixed it and ddecided I would do one on one interviews. Sort of 'incidental interviews' if you will. With some big players and some small players. All in the technology field. I'd like to give a little plug to some of my friends, not that I can accomplish much but I have a big enough following that it's better than doing nothing would be. I'm so excited. Everyone thinks I have the ability to take interviewing and make it comfortable. I just want it to be fun!

So, please pay attention...go check out my intro to the change at The Gabby Geek I still have to come up with the show title...having hard time with that but hopefully it will pop into my brain. I didn't want to be too close to Shel and Scoble's book but I really liked Casual Conversation. If any of you have good ideas you don't mind I snag, shoot 'em to me.
My new podcast should be up as soon as my first BIG NAME is interviewed! And I would have done it last night but our schedules didn't mesh. That I and I just got home.  Wish me luck...I need it.

Vancouver, BC here we come. We leave tomorrow morning. My podcast will still come out Tuesday. Please listen and send EMAIL! LOL (That will make sense when you hear the podcast) sheryl's podcast

I have been instructed to keep my visit to the Lab quiet. As I don't have a HUGE readership of my blog I assume this is relatively safe.

I'm SO FREAKING EXCITED! I get to MEET Leo Laporte!!!!!! Alright, now I've said that and gotten it out of my system we'll talk about what the kids had to say:
Melissa wants to know if the cast and crew of The Lab are as excited to meet me as I am to meet them. I assured her 'of course they are' wink, wink! David wants to know if Leo is going to autograph something. Jeremy could care less if we do this. He just can't get over calling my website 'the gabby geek'. Mathew is only interested in the fact that we are coming to visit him. Michelle thinks it's cool her mom is 'tech'. Ron's work mates...they want to know will we get our picture taken with Leo and everyone and can a copy be placed on the bulletin board at work. My friends all want Leo to put me on tv somehow for some reason. And my stalker friends want me to be the next host! LMAO!!!!!

Beyond all this, I am anticipating a great shopping event while in the city. Also lots of good food which I will come home and promptly have to work extra hard to work off! I believe I will be meeting 'just another perl hacker' and if you know much about perl you'll know who I am talking about. You could always google it. ;o) (That's what someone told me once)

I hope to have tons of pictures, a new phone, great experiences, and lots of fun to post to you all here when I get back. A ton of memories for a mom who has had lots of fun and sees it all coming to an end along with the summer. I know I've had a ride. I know the god's smiled on me for a brief moment and all my years staying home keeping it all together have paid me back with this great opportunity. I also know I probably have VERY low expectations but let's be real. People really are only visiting my sites because of this supposed Leo connection. You guys have been here from my blogging beginning. You all know I'm a nobody and will remain that way. I'm not dynamic, I'm too old, I have no talent and I don't KNOW anything. I'm skating along on someone else's coat tails. I'm not sure who but someone let me on and they're gonna jerk it out from under me very soon.

So, I just want you to know...I'm going to have a BLAST. I'm going to come home and share about it. And I'm going to come home to my husband and children with a memory that has to last me forever because that's life. :o)

Wish me luck and good fortune!

Sheryl

I can't even believe it. I went there and there it is for all the world to see. I'm shocked!!!! And a special thank you to striker/Miles! OMG I feel like saying, "It's such an honor."  Is that too beauty pageanty? LOL
Amazing. Look for The Gabby Geek!

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