Posted on 30. Dec, 2009 by Brian Kirk in NetworkIP Blog
Every day is a wonderful day when working at NetworkIP!
OK, so maybe I’m exaggerating a bit; some days aren’t so wonderful and some are even down right tough, but that is true of every job (even Santa’s). However, the holidays truly are a wonderful time of year to work at NetworkIP. No, I’m not just saying that because it’s the time of year when we have our annual rockin’ company party.
It has everything to do with knowing that our relatively small company makes a significant impact in so many lives around the world. As we watch our call counts reach peak volumes during this holiday season, we know that families and friends across the globe are being connected. All of our employees are hard at work every day to ensure that each valued call is connected with quality and clarity.
Knowing that we are trusted to provide these connections makes being part of NetworkIP and coming to work each day so special for me. “Your Connections. Our Commitment.”, is much more than just a tag line for all of us.
So pick up the phone and stay connected to your family and friends during this special time of the year.
Brian Kirk
VP Business Development
NetworkIP and Jaduka
Posted on 07. Oct, 2009 by Brian Kirk in NetworkIP Blog
Given the speed of technology advancements it is imperative that we all keep our eyes and ears open to new opportunities. In my opinion, there has not been anything as exciting as what we have seen take place in the mobile industry in the last 5 years – both here in the U.S. and abroad.
From a prepaid perspective, 2009 has to be the most impressive year yet. It was in early January that Boost Mobile introduced their $50 unlimited plan and from that point forward the “Prepaid Mobile Price Wars” began. Maisie Ramsay just recently wrote a great article titled “Duking It Out In Prepaid” in Wireless Week on this subject. Beyond the price wars, the introduction of smart phones and the demand for mobile applications have really changed the face of prepaid mobile.
Also in 2009 we have seen an explosion in the number of mobile applications developed, and more importantly paid for and downloaded. While Apple’s iTunes store model has been by far the most successful (2 billion applications downloaded to date), Nokia, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Windows have all introduced their application store models in an attempt to gain market share in this space. I foresee the day when having a mobile application for your company is just as important as having a website.
As I leave my hotel room this morning and make the short walk to the San Diego Convention Center to attend CTIA Wireless I.T. and Entertainment my eyes and ears will be open to the many new mobile opportunities that lie ahead for NetworkIP and our customers.
Brian Kirk
VP Business Development
NetworkIP and Jaduka
Posted on 04. Feb, 2009 by Brian Kirk in NetworkIP Blog
An article this morning on mobile commerce – “Survey Says: Retailers Need to Go Mobile” – referenced a recent survey conducted by Foresee Results that reported nearly a third of online shoppers said they used their mobile phone as part of their regular shopping trip. Whether used for calling or texting a friend for advice prior to making a purchase, or for taking a picture of a product with their mobile phone and sending it to themselves to look at it later from home, the mobile phone has become an important tool that consumers use when making purchase decisions. The article went on to explain the need for brick-and-mortar retailers to consider developing and offering mobile applications to their customers in hopes of increasing their sales numbers.
The article concluded by asking its readers, “How else do you think brick-and-mortar retailers could appeal to mobile-enabled shoppers?”
I’m a huge fan of mobile applications and I use my mobile for anything and everything that I can.
At NetworkIP and Jaduka, we have long envisaged that consumers who buy products and services at brick-and-mortar retail outlets will migrate to buying through their mobile phones and hand-held devices. That’s why NetworkIP and Jaduka have deployed a robust, global transaction processing platform that brands can use to engage with their customers both online and offline.
Our platform affords consumers four unique options for purchasing product, activating products, and even renewing existing product subscriptions: via the web, through traditional voice applications (using both automated Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solutions and traditional customer service), through mobile devices and via over 500,000 retail outlets equipped with Point of Sale (POS) capabilities.
Hunter Newby of Internet Telephony Magazine described our platform as “a virtual real estate for a giant digital Wal-Mart!…an IP version of a free-trade zone allowing multiple parties to virtually meet in the middle and transact.”
We agree, and the future, is, indeed, exciting!
Brian Kirk
VP Business Development
NetworkIP and Jaduka
Posted on 26. Jan, 2009 by Brian Kirk in NetworkIP Blog
Last Wednesday at PTC ‘09 in sunny Honolulu, Hawaii, our CEO and President, Pete Pattullo, participated in a Telecom 2.0 panel moderated by Gary Kim of IP Business magazine. Joining Pete on the panel were IntelePeer CEO Frank Fawzi and Jeff Lattomus, Area VP of MetaSwitch.
Pete shared with Gary and the audience that NetworkIP formed in 1997 as a Telecom 2.0 company; we built our platform from a “clean sheet of paper” and pioneered a revolutionary business model (at the time) of providing hosted voice applications for customers. Back then, the Telecom 2.0 label didn’t exist, and analysts often categorized us as a CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier).
Now, 10 years later, our core voice and transaction services platform is highly evolved. Our patented software has matured through 8 iterations. Our hosted services model makes it easy for customers to run and manage all varieties and complexities of business applications. And while we process over 25 million API transactions a month, we realize that those APIs are only the table stakes of Telecom 2.0.
For we are all about enabling frictionless transactions and solutions for the enterprise that enable customers to easily and cost-effectively solve complex business problems and drive efficiency, especially in this challenging economic climate.
Pete further elaborated that In 2009, our subsidiary, Jaduka, will be working closely with partners like IBM and initiating new relationships to meet the growing demands of Fortune 2000 companies. We’ll also integrate our real-time transaction processing engine, our billing solution, and provisioning capabilities in ways that save our customers money and enhance their business processes.
Telecom 2.0: that’s where we’re headed.
Brian Kirk
VP Business Development
NetworkIP & Jaduka
Posted on 23. Dec, 2008 by Brian Kirk in NetworkIP Blog
While most companies are reporting lower than expected earnings in 2008, there are some bright spots. NetworkIP has had our best year ever, reflecting a growing adoption of the NetworkIP Jaduka “Intelligent” Platform for telephony, voice/data applications, and feature development.
The Wall Street Journal reports that while software purchases are expected to decline, three pockets of technology will grow: Software as a Service (SaaS), Mobile Productivity Applications, and Security solutions.
We agree. We’re seeing a large increase in the numbers and types of telephony and commerce applications running on the NetworkIP Jaduka “Intelligent” Platform. Adoption of our SaaS solutions and voice API is growing by about a million API calls a month. Our voice API opens call control and transaction processing to businesses, enabling them to more efficiently manage products and accounts in the cloud. In 2009 we expect to see substantial gains as our platform is adopted by thousands of businesses developing applications on popular SaaS ecosystems like Serena.
In 2009 we will be releasing the first of several Mobile Productivity applications, including an iPhone Conferencing application based on Jaduka’s Conferencing API. Just like our Web-based Conferencing solution, the new iPhone Conferencing application will allow users to start and manage conference calls from the palm of your hand. Whether you need to connect to 3 people or 50 people at once, this application will make it easy.
It’s frictionless solutions like those offered by NetworkIP and Jaduka that are connecting people, improving business, increasing efficiency, and delivering significant value and costs savings to businesses. We look forward to 2009 with enthusiasm and vigor.
Brian Kirk
VP Business Development
NetworkIP & Jaduka
Posted on 19. Nov, 2008 by Brian Kirk in NetworkIP Blog
Whether we are currently in a recession is debatable, but whether or not we are dealing with tough economic times right now is not. It was just two months ago that the federal government took over Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae, then came the $700 billion bailout for financial institutions that included Freddie & Fannie, the Dow Jones Industrial average has dropped 4,961 points or 38.29% since this time last year (November 20, 2007), & now the big 3 car manufacturers are requesting a $25 billion dollar bailout. During all of this, the IT & telecom sectors have begun to feel the pinch too. This is evident from layoffs reported by Sun Microsystems, job cuts by Cisco right here in Texas, 10,000 job cuts announced by BT, 3,000 cuts by Motorola, & unfortunately the list goes on & on.
In response to these tough economic times companies need to look to new & innovative solutions that can save them money, time, & ultimately help them succeed in growing their business. We are always looking for ways to grow our business by investing in solutions that save us time & money. Just recently we were featured in an article about how we have used virtualization in order to streamline our systems administration processes all while saving money too.
Many of our products & services result in costs & time savings for businesses & I wanted to share a few in hopes that they may help your business.
Web & Audio Conferencing
Provides businesses with affordable, on-demand conferencing that can be used anytime by simply picking up the phone & dialing a personal code. The service includes a convenient Online dashboard for account management, monitoring live conference calls, & reporting.
Transaction Processing Services
We manage 860 million end-user accounts & we process well over 19 million transactions per day. Our transaction processing capacity is capable of handling over 40 billion transactions per year – more than enough for practically anything that a business could dream up.
Least Cost Routing & iQT
By combining our Least Cost Routing (LCR) engine with our patented iQT technology we can monitor & analyze ever call in real-time & automatically remove carrier routes that do not meet strict quality standards. The result is the best possible ratio of quality & pricing for terminating your calls.
By using these & many other products & services you can save your business money & precious time that can be better spent focusing on your core competencies & your customers.
Brian Kirk
VP Business Development
NetworkIP & Jaduka
Posted on 29. Oct, 2008 by Brian Kirk in NetworkIP Blog
Believe it or not, I like Wiki’s definition of Cloud Computing the best. Wiki defines Cloud Computing as a general concept that incorporates Software as a Service (SaaS), Data as a Service (DaaS), Web 2.0 & other recent, well-known technology trends, in which the common theme is reliance on the Internet for satisfying the computing needs of the users.
The best example of Cloud Computing that comes to mind & the ones I use most often are Google’s Mail, Talk, & Doc Applications. Why do I use these applications instead of similar applications already installed on my PC? The answer is simple, these Cloud Computing tools allow me to access my e-mail, message with colleagues, & edit documents, spreadsheets, & presentations regardless of the PC I’m using & the city/state/country I am in. Simple said, they offer me a convenient solution to communicate & work that doesn’t involve me taking my PC everywhere that I go.
When Amazon officially released their Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) earlier this year many companies (especially start-up companies that had yet to invest millions of dollars into their IT infrastructure) jumped on board. EC2 offered far more than a hosting solution. EC2 gave companies & software developers access to all the computing power they needed to run their applications at a cost far below what it would cost to procure & maintain the computing power on premise. To note, EC2 is just another piece of Amazon’s Web Services (AWS) offering.
Even with Google & Amazon’s play in the cloud, few were treating Cloud Computing as a mainstream approach to IT. Following Microsoft’s announcement of Azure, its long-anticipated Cloud Computing strategy, earlier this week at their Professional Development Conference I believe that Cloud Computing will become more mainstream. While many reports from Microsoft’s conference suggested that the news largely unfazed show attendees; I think this news will rattle the cages of Google, Amazon, & will awake the “regular” PC users who will think that it is cool that they can now work on their Word documents for work at home without having to take their work PC home.
Microsoft’s dominance in productivity software — Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, & Excel — remains strong, with market share based on revenue of at least 95%, according to data released in late 2007 by research firm International Data Corporation. Google Docs & Spreadsheets & even OpenOffice, which is an open source suite of tools that users can download for free, will continue to chip away at Microsoft’s market share, but the reality is that they still have a very long way to go before Microsoft will become scared. With Microsoft now making their Office suite more accessible, they are positioning themselves to maintain control of their existing user base that may otherwise eventually migrate to online tools because of their convenience factor.
Along with the online convenience factor I think this move to Cloud Computing also shows Microsoft’s realization that more users are beginning to user their mobile phone to write & edit documents, spreadsheets, & presentations. When doing such work from a mobile phone it makes more since for a user to manage their files in the cloud & use software that is also accessible to them in the cloud. Just this Monday, the Wall Street Journal wrote an article about how the mobile phone looks to be replacing the laptop. There is so much truth to this article & Cloud Computing is going to make this shift to mobile even easier for the consumer.
The hype about Cloud Computing is this. Businesses will turn to the Cloud mostly because the costs & resources to manage a large IT infrastructure far exceed the costs to make use of the Cloud. Software developers will turn to the Cloud because they can quickly obtain the environment needed to develop & deliver their applications. The “regular” PC users will turn to the Cloud for applications because of convenience & because the Cloud supports their applications for use on their mobile phone.
At NetworkIP & Jaduka we will continue to support the advancement of Cloud Computing by making both our telephony infrastructure & transaction processing engine available to the masses.
Brian Kirk
VP Business Development
NetworkIP & Jaduka
Posted on 23. Sep, 2008 by Brian Kirk in NetworkIP Blog
I was reviewing my notes from last week’s Mobilize conference & I found myself asking where was Apple? This 1-day conference featured eight panel discussions with talent from the major mobile network providers, the mobile device manufactures, the mobile operating systems, & a variety of companies that specialized in mobile application development & marketing. The panel discussions consisted of topics ranging from the development of mobile applications with Location Based Services (LBS), to the hurdles associated with mobile carriers, to investment strategies in the mobile market space. Regardless of panel topic, I noted a recurring theme throughout. Not one panel discussion could avoid bringing up Apple & what they had done with the iPhone. It felt at times like the entire conference consisted of people asking how do we keep up with Apple, or is Apple’s approach the right approach to take, or what will Apple do next?
I scanned the list of conference attendees that was handed out at the beginning of the conference & there wasn’t a single person in attendance from Apple; nor was anyone from Apple participating in any of the panel discussions or keynote presentations given that day.
So here I sat in a room full of very talented people from some very reputable & large companies who could not help but analyze Apple & what Apple has done to the mobile market.
I find myself asking why Apple would have been there. Apple has set the standard. They’ve raised the bar with mobile devices & mobile application development & distribution. As a result, we find ourselves trying to catch up to Apple. While we sit here discussing how Apple approached the mobile market, they continue to innovate. I’m sure from time to time that they find themselves at conferences looking for answers to questions & to get a feel for a market. Of course they appear to do their own research in many other ways. Apple doesn’t wait for an industry to shift, they shift an industry.
Can other mobile device manufactures & mobile operating systems surpass Apple? Is today’s release of Google’s Android operating system on HTC’s G1 an example of this or will Apple continue to shape the mobile industry?
Brian Kirk
VP Business Development
NetworkIP & Jaduka
Posted on 26. Aug, 2008 by Brian Kirk in NetworkIP Blog
We are excited and proud to announce that NetworkIP has been recognized by Inc. and included in the 2008 Inc. 5000, which represents the 5000 fastest-growing private companies in America. For more than 27 years, the Inc. 5000 has served as a benchmark for the most innovative, dynamic and successful companies in the nation and we believe that this recognition speaks volumes of what we have achieved at NetworkIP over the past 10 years.
Much of our growth this past year is contributed to additional volume achieved by our existing customers, new services being offered by Jaduka and from our strategic partnerships with companies such as Cisco, Dell, and Nortel Networks. As a result we have been able to offer a wider variety of telephony services with great quality and at a low cost!
We want to thank our customers for trusting us with their businesses and following our lead in developing strong and reputable brands for the consumer. And of course we couldn’t have achieved this level of success if it weren’t for our talented team of employees! We owe a big thank you to them for all of their hard work and dedication to perfecting the solution we offer today.
Brian Kirk
VP Business Development
NetworkIP & Jaduka
Posted on 28. Jul, 2008 by Brian Kirk in NetworkIP Blog
I commented last week on how many businesses are turning to innovative telephony services such as conferencing to avoid the high costs associated with employee travel. Today while reading about Netflix’s second-quarter net income, which climbed 3.8%, I thought to myself “How did they do it?”
In the middle of googling for other reports about Netflix it hit me – technology is saving their business!
As the price of gas continues to rise, so do the cost of going to the movies. As a result, more consumers are staying at home to watch movies & many of them are renting those movies through Netflix. Unfortunately for Netflix, higher fuel prices are also driving up the costs to deliver movies to the consumer’s mailbox. Netflix’s margin is already pretty thin & those margins can be completely eaten up if you have a consumer base that is exchanging movies almost as fast as they get them. Netflix’s subscritpion model allows their users to exchange as many movies as he/she wants per month & their subscription fee stays the same. This model works very well for the consumer & until recently worked for Netflix too.
Rather than drastically changer their model & risk loosing existing subscribers, Netflix responded with an innovative solution using technology to their advantage. This new solution actually provides more to the consumer & cleverly works in Netflix’s advantage too!
First Netflix began offering a “Watch Instantly” option from their website. Users were allowed a certain amount of hours per month to watch streaming movies to their PC for free. Netflix realized very quickly that this feature resulted in the shipment of less movies to their consumers because they were watching more movies on-line. The costs for Netflix to offer live streaming videos versus mailing movies was significantly less & they quickly removed any maximum on the amount of viewing hours they offered to their users in hopes that the number of shipments required would continue to drop while usership would continue to rise.
Netflix also just announced a deal with Microsoft to stream movies directly to a user’s Xbox 360 game console. It obvious that Netflix is looking to offer their consumers as many options as possible to view movies as long as it doesn’t involve shipping that movie to the consumer. Again, the rationale being that as more users view their movies on-line, the less likely they are to order their movies through the mail & the net result is higher margins & ultimately more profits for Netflix.
Each day I imagine more things that companies can do with technologies to save their company time, money, & resources. One of my greatest pleasures at work is seeing so many companies actively taking advantages of the technologies that we & Jaduka have developed to save money & improve their business processes with communications.
Brian Kirk
VP Business Development
NetworkIP & Jaduka