Avaya/Nortel Deal - UC Strategies Podcast

Yesterday's UC Strategies podcast - surprise, surprise - was about Avaya/Nortel. Looks like the big deals are happening, and Silver Lake has become a big spender, first with Skype earlier this month, and now Nortel. This is turning into quite a collection of assets, and it sure will be interesting to see how all the pieces fit together. Not that they have to, by the way, but the possibilities are there.

Anyhow, I couldn't get to the call til late, but managed a few comments near the end. Otherwise, the podcast is great way to hear varying views from some pretty well informed people about the deal, especially what it means for Unified Communications. It's posted on the UC Strategies portal now, and you can access the podcast here.

While I have you, I was also cited about the Avaya/Nortel story in InfoExecutive magazine. Am sure you've had your fill of this story by now, so I'll just pass this along and move on with my day.

Thoughts on Avaya's Bid for Nortel

Seems like everyone in telecom has an opinion about Avaya's long-expected offer to acquire the enterprise side of Nortel. I'm figuring it will happen, but there's a very real chance a better offer will come - maybe from the likes of Siemens, or maybe from a dark horse like Sonus, Huawei or even Cisco. How about a PE-backed mystery buyer?

Lots of possibilities here, but one way or another, it looks like Nortel is over and out in this space. That said, I was pleased to read about DiamondWare being part of the package, and if you don't know why, please check out my earlier posts on them, starting here.

We all have our trusted sources, and by now you've probably done your share of reading up on the buzz around this news. I just want to share two with you here. First is a short article in InformationExec that I was cited in.

Second is a podcast I participated in yesterday afternoon. I recently posted about my expanded involvement with Jim Burton's UCStrategies portal. Part of this involves a podcast based on a weekly roundup call with the other UCS consultants. We did our first one yesterday - it was a bit ad hoc, but Jim pulled it together very nicely. Surprise, surprise - we all wanted to talk about Avaya/Nortel.

So, if you want to hear a rather impromptu roundtable from our group, you'll get a wide range of opinions as to what this deal may hold in store. It's a quick way to get a digest from a lot of well-informed people - and all you need to do is click here and download the podcast.

Well, you're not quite done. After listening, we'd love to hear your thoughts. Then bookmark the site and come visit often. We plan to do these weekly, and I think it's the start of something good.

2008 Year in Photos - Part 2

This post rounds out my photo review for 2008. I posted about the first half of the year yesterday, and here's the rest.

That's it for me in 2008. Enjoy New Year's and I'll be back blogging in a few days.


Toronto Tech Week, Toronto, September




TMC IT Expo, Fall Show, Los Angeles, September

The Three Tenors... Amigos... whatever. How's that for an unlikely group shot? This would have been completely unimaginable a year ago, and it says a lot about how much the industy has changed in 2008.



Andy Abramson's wine dinner - always a highlight at conferences he attends.



BroadSoft Connections, Phoenix, October







Above: Walt Mossberg - what a treat! - and colleague Thomas Howe, winner of BroadSoft's mashup competition


Avaya Global Analyst Conference, Boston, October

Another interesting image you would have never imagined a year or so ago - Charlie Giancarlo leading the team at Avaya.




Ericsson Experience Center Roadshow, Toronto, October




CDN Channel Elite Awards Gala, Toronto, October




KOTRA Showcase - Korean Trade Association, Dallas, November



Just a few of the really interesting products on display - a Kindle-style reader, 3D television, and a mobile video cam that you can strap on pretty much anywhere...







My Dealey Plaza Pilgrimage, Dallas, November

Being in Dallas the day after Barack Obama's election win, how could I NOT do this? I thought it was a great alignment of history, with so many parallels and inspirations to be drawn from JFK. Here are a few highlights from my expedition, and to see/read more, please check out my more extensive photo essay.

Here's my favorite shot - not just for this trip, but for all of 2008. To me, it sums up the spirit of what I experienced that morning. It's bit hard to discern in this format, but the shot was taken in front of the JFK Memorial, with the inscription of his name showing in the cenotaph in the background. Of all the people who happened to be in Dallas on that historic day, I didn't see anybody making connections like this...



Here are a couple more - the infamous Grassy Knoll, and the view of JFK's motorcade route, including the "X" mark where he was shot, and the Book Depository building at the left...





Tekelec Analyst Day, Morrisville, NC, November

CEO Frank Plastina



Cisco C-Scape 2008, San Jose, December





Above: John Chambers holding court, Rick Moran's SMB breakout, Art Hair's presentation about how Disney is using Cisco's solutions - very interesting stuff!

Avaya Canada Analyst Day, Toronto, December

New Canadian GM, Gerard Baglieri