I know that many are saying that the phone is dead, at least the desktop and landline phone.  If that is the case then why is the mobile world so utterly controlled by the phone?  First people were going crazy to get their hands on the iPhone 4, now many are incensed to find that it has a flaw.  Nobody seems to care much about the revelation that every single iPhone ever shipped has been exaggerating the signal strength of the carrier, AT&T.  No, it is all about the phone.  It is all about the user interface and the user experience.  I understand.  I feel the same way.

When my Nexus One was not perfect and needed to be repaired because of a hardware issue, I had the option of returning it.  Although having calls dropped and having slow data speed was frustrating, I finally decided to just get it fixed.  Just like the Apple iPhone users, I was too enamored with the phone to give it up.  Now that it has the Android 2.2 software on it, the phone is better.  Sure, there is still a dropped call from time to time, but the user interface is great and the data speeds are fast.  Even as the Nexus One is discontinued, CNET tests show that the Nexus One on T-Mobile has data speeds equal or superior to the newer phones.  Whoopi Goldberg was so disgusted with her iPhone 4, she ran over it with her car, but then she went and bought an Apple 3G instead of going to a competitor. The similarity between the Android and Apple infatuation is the great application suites that come with these phones.  From the stunning displays, to the audio/optical communications tools to the immediate access to information, there is much to like.

Gartner recently said that smartphone sales were up almost 50% year over year. And the latest information from ChangeWave Research shows that the next ninety days will have the most explosive growth in smart phones ever with Apple and HTC (Android) leading the way.  However, Research in Motion, the BlackBerry maker favored by most businesses will see its’ market share erode further.  Why are phones that businesses favor in a funk while consumer phones are in such demand that there are now four week backlogs for all the favorites?  The user interface, the phone itself is driving demand and driving change.  E-mail delivery and simple conversations are not enough anymore.  We want pictures, video, social media and immediate access to information.

Businesses will be adapting to this changing landscape on mobility and on the desktop.  Productivity in the workplace will accelerate when the devices employees use in business match that of the devices used in people’s personal lives.  The business telephone and video manufacturers are providing easy to use high value applications for their user interfaces be they computers, netbooks, display phones or video portals.  The future is bright for the companies that decide that the phone (user interface) is everything.  The businesses involved in bringing these “smart” business communications devices to market will grow quickly and sooner than many predict.  And the improved productivity will help businesses grow faster as well, just like the digital revolution did in the nineties.  The phone may morph into many different types of devices, but the future of the phone is as bright as the new displays on the smartphones.

So Apple came out with the blockbuster iPad tablet, and now everyone and their dogs are making one. Yes, I’m talking about you, Avaya, RIM, and Cisco.

What I find funny is that the PC companies — namely Microsoft and HP — abandoned their tablet projects once the iPad was imminent and proved to be a huge success, but it’s the communications companies that have a hard time letting go.

I’m not saying that the iPad is the end-all of all tablet devices. No, let’s hope not. I do want to see competing devices from Microsoft and HP (especially using the recently acquired Palm webOS). These are the companies that have been in the computing business for decades and have a clue about these devices.

But for companies like Avaya, RIM, and Cisco to venture into the tablet alternate universe is not productive. In fact, I dare say that it’s more of a marketing ploy than anything else — generate buzz, ride the iPad’s coattails, show ‘em we’re hip. After all, it’s not too hard to make one these days: source the cheap hardware from China, slap on the OS (be in Android, Windows, or Blackberry), and announce it to the world.

But guess what? There won’t be companies lining up to buy one of these babies.

You should know better, guys. And I’m not talking about not challenging Apple because you are targeting business users. I’m talking about your denial that communications today is more about applications than about the device. Leave the device to the likes of Apple, Microsoft, HP, and IBM to design and make. You are supposed to be leaders in the communications biz, but why am I still carrying an iPhone and a Blackberry and still staring at my ugly desk phone? Now you also want me to carry your tablet?

We’re all accustomed to the fact that audio capabilities aren’t limited to phones anymore. A lot of the emphasis on these new tablets are about video capabilities, but this is 2010 and we also know that smartphones have the horsepower for video, too. So really, is there the need for a business tablet?

So here’s my advice: Abandon your tablet projects and hire more developers and UI experts to focus on applications. If you insist on a tablet, then OEM it from somebody who knows it better than you. Partner with the tablet makers to ensure your app is well-designed for their device. But for the sake of business please stop it with the tablet business.

But before you get too excited, Apple’s implementation of video calling — dubbed FaceTime — doesn’t quite work over a cellular network. FaceTime requires both parties to use the iPhone 4 and only over WiFi.

Now that I’ve dampened your interest in this, please continue to read on… Because Apple has set up a toll-free line to help iPhone 4 customers test FaceTime.

Thanks to overwhelming demand (again), the iPhone 4 has sold out everywhere on launch day. That means your fanboy buddies and family members probably don’t have one yet. So how could you test the nifty FaceTime feature?

Just call 1-888-FACETIME and an Apple representative will gladly accept your video call! He or she will also happily walk through some tips on using FaceTime, or just shoot the breeze for a while. But just don’t take up too much of his or her time because after all, Apple has to run a tight ship in its contact centers.

I got to try it (yes, my buddies are iPhone 4-less) and must say that it was an amazing (magical!) experience. Not so much for the cool factor, but just how easy and high-quality the whole ordeal was: call a number, tap “FaceTime,” and GO!

My guess is that Apple will keep incorporate this beyond the FaceTime test offering. With the success of the iPhone 4, I’m sure many users will appreciate the ability to video call an agent whenever they call Apple support.

And with Steve Jobs already publicly offering FaceTime to anyone who wants to adopt it, it will just be a matter of time before mobile video calls becomes popular. If history is any indication, Apple is the company which has the chops to make new tech adoption happen and happen fast. (Apple led the way in: GUI, color graphics, built-in LAN, built-in sound, floppy drive, built-in CD-ROM, all USB, etc…)

For example, Esnatech demonstrates why the iPad can be a companion in the office with the release of its UC Client software which works with all the major PBXs.

Here’s the press release:

Richmond Hill, ON, Canada – June 10, 2010 — Esna Technologies Inc. (Esnatech), a market leader in enterprise Unified Communications, has launched a version of its market leading Mobile Unified Communications software for the newly released Apple iPad device. The mobile UC software, UC Client delivers fixed-to-mobile convergence for a wide range of wireless devices with enterprise PBX systems such as Cisco, Avaya, Mitel, Nortel, Iwatsu, AASTRA, Toshiba, eON, Shortel, Asterisk, etc. UC Client provides a complete communications and collaboration solution for mobile users, integrating enterprise presence, mobility, unified messaging, and enterprise voice to mobile devices. The integration of unified communications on wireless devices such as the Apple iPad will dramatically increase the ability of mobile and roaming users to connect to their office and communicate as if they were at their desk. Esnatech has released a version specifically for Apple iPad users so they can link their iPad device to their enterprise voice network/PBX and leverage their iPad as their office communication device.

“With the release of our newest Mobile UC Client software for Apple’s iPad, we provide iPad users with the opportunity to experience full, rich, and live enterprise communications directly on their iPad,” said Davide Petramala, Vice President, Business Development at Esnatech. “Integrated with the Esnatech UC server platform, Telephony Office-Linx, iPad users can manage all of their office communications such as find me/follow me, presence, and instant messaging directly from their device. This once again demonstrates Esnatech’s market leadership in interoperability as we extend our UC services to any telephone system, any business application, and now to any mobile and wireless device including Apple’s iPhone, the iPod touch and now the iPad.”

With the new Mobile UC Client software, users of Esnatech’s Unified Communications platform will have access to the following features directly from their Apple iPad:

• Users can manage their office presence and integrate with enterprise presence solutions such as Microsoft® Live Communications Server and Google® Talk
• Users can define their presence and availability even while on their Apple iPad
• Users are able to view the presence and availability of colleagues in their office
• Initiate and/or participate in enterprise instant messaging sessions with full logging and security
• View complete call history, including real-time view of inbound, outbound and missed calls to/from the office
• Initiate and manage live office calls directly from the Apple iPad, acting as a remote control for their office PBX
• Unified messaging integrated natively in the iPad email application where users can view, manage, and respond to voice and fax messages

The new mobile application installs the Apple iPad and connects through IP to the Telephony Office-LinX™ platform, that is connected to both the enterprise PBX/email platform and business applications. Users will have the ability to view their workgroups and see who is online and available. With access to real-time status, users can then choose the best way to communicate with co-workers. This will dramatically improve the connectivity of wireless users to their office environment and improve productivity by delivering anywhere, anytime access to critical resources.

The new Mobile UC Client software for the iPad is available as a FREE download for a limited time from the Apple Apps Store. It can be accessed directly from any user’s device or from iTunes. Simply search for Esna or UC Client.

About Telephony Office-LinX™

The Esnatech Telephony Office-LinX platform is already tightly integrated with Google Apps and Android, Microsoft Exchange and Windows Mobile devices, IBM Lotus Domino, Novell GroupWise, Apple Mac OS, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Research in Motion BlackBerry and Nokia Symbian devices. The gateway server can be administered directly from an organization’s Microsoft Management Console or through Terminal Services over the web. Users can be managed through Active Directory and Group Policy.

About Esnatech

Founded in 1989, Esnatech’s mission is to provide communication solutions that are simply the best way to communicate! Esnatech’s solutions empower organizations by giving them the flexibility to conduct business at anytime, from anywhere so they can manage the information they need, when they need it! Esnatech markets and distributes its products through OEM and VAR partners in 28 countries worldwide.

Follow ESNATECH:

TWITTER: http://twitter.com/poweredbyesnauc

YOUTUBE: http://youtube.ca/ucommunicate

ESNA UC BLOGS: http://esnatechuc.blogspot.com | http://unified-comm.blogspot.com

FACEBOOK: esnatech link

PRESS ONLY INFORMATION:
Davide Petramala | VP Sales & Marketing, Esna Technologies Inc.
Tel: 905-762-5914
Email: davidep@esna.com

Perhaps this is a blessing to the competitive and sometimes hostile UC landscape. Jobs realized how UC technologies were fragmented and lack interoperability (and to his dismay, filled with “fugly devices”), and had the pull to bring top executives from each vendor to the same table in Cupertino to work out an all around win-win deal. It took months and countless stealth meetings — even when VoiceCon Orlando was just around the corner. Apple advised the executives not to leak this under any circumstance, especially when they were all to be present in Orlando. “Pretend that you hate each other,” was Jobs’ suggestion, according to an unnamed source at these secret meetings. Surprisingly, the deal remained a secret until now.

What these vendors have agreed on is to develop their products — PBXs, IVRs, UC servers, SIP phones, SBCs, etc. — to run on the iPad exclusively. Supposedly Avaya, Cisco, and Microsoft engineers, with the help of Apple, have already developed a few proof-of-concepts in Apple’s labs. The iPad multi-touch interface should prove to be a hit… Imagine performing MAC (that’s “moves/adds/changes”) on the PBX by tapping and dragging extensions. Or enabling presence using the built-in geolocation service (either Wi-Fi or 3G). Or dialing using the on-screen soft buttons on an iPad SIP phone. Or configuring the SBC with gestures to establish trunks. And of course, all of these tasks could be performed in either portrait or landscape mode! The possibilities are endless — only limited by the developer’s creativity…

Initially there were concerns about the iPad’s horsepower — can it really handle SIP and VoIP without sacrificing usability and stability? Apple assured the vendors that there won’t be a problem, and if so he would gladly provide more iPads (at a discount, of course) to form some sort of undocumented cluster architecture commonly seen in database design. No wonder there’s a shortage of supply, right?

Official press release below:

CUPERTINO, California—April 1, 2010—Apple’s magical new iPad will be available in all 221 US Apple® retail stores and most Best Buy stores this Saturday, April 3, beginning at 9 a.m. Starting at just $499, iPad lets users browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ user interface. iPad is just 0.5 inches thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds—thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook—and delivers up to 10 hours of battery life.*

“iPad connects users with their apps and content in a far more intimate and fun way than ever before,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We can’t wait for users to get their hands and fingers on it this weekend.”

Apple retail stores will offer a free Personal Setup service to every customer who buys an iPad at the store, helping them customize their new iPad by setting up their email, loading their favorite apps from the App Store, and more. Also beginning Saturday morning, all US Apple retail stores will host special iPad workshops to help customers learn more about this magical new product.

“But there’s one more thing…”

Apple is pleased to announce major strategic partnerships with Unified Communications (UC) vendors, including Alcatel-Lucent, Aspect, Avaya, Cisco, Microsoft, Mitel, NEC, Siemens, and others, to offer a unified platform for UC products and SIP interoperability. Soon not only will a user read books and play games on iPad, but also operate it as an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, Public Branch Exchange (PBX), Session Border Controller (SBC), and more. More importantly, iPad will become the UC industry standard platform, eliminating the fragmentation and lack of interoperability among these vendors’ products.

Apple expects most of these UC and SIP iPad applications to be ready by third quarter of 2010.

Pricing & Availability
iPad will be available in Wi-Fi models on April 3 in the US for a suggested retail price of $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, and $699 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available in late April for a suggested retail price of $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB. iPad will be sold in the US through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores, most Best Buy stores, select Apple Authorized Resellers and campus bookstores. The iBooks app for iPad including Apple’s iBookstore will be available as a free download from the App Store in the US on April 3.

*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

Press Contacts:
Natalie Harrison
Apple
harri@apple.com
(408) 862-0565

Natalie Kerris
Apple
nat@apple.com
(408) 974-6877

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple’s PR website, or call Apple’s Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.

Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, Multi-Touch and Apple Store are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

AT&T, of course, is known for being the lucky carrier to team up with Apple in rolling out its iPhones. Both AT&T and Apple are Genesys — an Alcatel-Lucent company — customers. AT&T has multi-site contact centers around the globe and within the U.S. which uses Genesys. Apple’s contact centers in Texas and California are also powered by Genesys.

And during the recent Genesys analyst conference, it was revealed that Apple asked Genesys to develop an application for the upcoming iPad tablet.

In 2008 AT&T won a Genesys Customer Innovation Award. In 2009 InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) was prominently featured and asked to present in G-Force Orlando — IHG uses AT&T to host Genesys in the cloud.

So when I saw the latest press release from Alcatel-Lucent about AT&T’s LTE project, I couldn’t help but wonder about the developing lovefest between the three A’s…

Cisco sees voice over Wi-Fi for the iPhone as a less expensive way to communicate because it would eliminate the need to use cellular voice minutes when placing a call in a Wi-Fi zone, said Laurent Philonenko, general manager of Cisco’s unified communications business unit.

The upcoming version, to be called Cisco Mobile Voice, will also be free and is expected to be available by April. Among the new features it will offer is “shake to lock,” which allows a user to end a call with a simple shaking gesture of the phone, he said. Another, named “call preservation,” allows a phone call to stay connected, even if a user opens a different application in the iPhone.

The trend is that mobile devices will dominate enterprise communications in the coming years. Vendors such as Cisco and Avaya are leading the way in adapting to this trend with innovative mobile apps. Those who do not embrace the mobile device will be left behind, no matter how good your IP-PBX or IP phone is.

Well, I suppose there is always G-Force Chicago in April… At any rate, what’s an analyst conference without shout-outs, right? Is it like the MTV Music Awards show without the lame jokes, outrageous stunts, and questionable attire…?

All right, onto business. First, CEO and President of Alcatel-Lucent’s Application Software Group, Paul Segre, took the stage to ease concerns about the recent restructuring and reorganization. It’s all about leading:

While that may hold true, the last time I checked Wall Street Journal, companies restructure and reorganize to cut costs which often translates to reducing headcount. When I spoke to a couple of laid off Genesys employees last year, none of them mentioned anything about the leading part. Either management did not convey this top-down, or maybe it was just a reaction to the global economic meltdown? There’s really no shame in admitting that — everybody’s hurting these days. But luckily for my ex-Genesys friends, they have since found jobs with competitors. (Whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Whoever gets laid off in telecom, stays in telecom. It’s true.)

Alcatel-Lucent is in the global telecom equipment business. In terms of its $8 billion market cap, it is dwarfed compared to its well-known competitors: Nokia ($52 billion), Motorola ($15 billion), Siemens ($79 billion), Cisco ($130 billion), and Ericsson ($32 billion). However, it did strike gold with the Genesys acquisition. It bought the #1 contact center software company with an established worldwide customer base, and leaves all the aforementioned competitors in the dust when comparing contact center sales. The strategy then, of course, is to tie ALU hardware sales to Genesys software:

It’s a no-brainer. Oh, I remember fondly of the (supposedly) first U.S. integration between an Alcatel-Lucent PBX and Genesys CTI. It was somewhere in sunny, humid south Florida during summer, and I was working with a senior Genesys consultant. At the time Genesys was already part of ALU, but amazingly the PBX shipped with an E1 telephony interface card so my poor PM had to authorize the purchase of a T1 adapter. To further our amusement, the PBX came with French manuals and the console was dotted with nothing but French. We all wished then we had paid more attention in high school French class…

But I digress. In order to align the sales resources between the parent and child companies, ALU had to obtain more control of Genesys. Not to say that Genesys was a runaway company, but it was the best and logical business decision. And when former President and CEO Wes Hayden left for Nuance (and now President of LiveOps), CTO Paul Segre was a good fit to lead Genesys because of his past history with Alcatel (VP and GM of Wireline Access business unit).

Much has improved in the ALU-Genesys technology integration. Just recently I was on such a project and it was a pleasant surprise. It wasn’t like fitting a square peg into a round hole anymore. Even the PBX technician swore by the ALU switch, “I enjoy working on it more than the Avaya,” he’d told me. That spoke volumes especially coming from a seasoned PBX tech. Definitely kudos to the ALU and Genesys engineers.

So what else does Genesys have in store for CTI fanatics? The elusive Genesys 8 makes an (updated?) appearance (hmmm, didn’t I see it last year at G-Force Orlando?):

Quite a combo meal indeed. What does this mean for implementations? Will the team have to deal with three different vendors? It’s already a major task just to get to Genesys Tech Support (upgrade, send logs, we’ll call you back), I’d hate to be on the field putting in Genesys 8 and having to work with engineers from Lithium and InQuira also. Even if it’s cool that tweets can get routed in G8. (Really nothing major considering emails and faxes can get routed already.)

Of course, the obligatory but nonetheless intriguing Apple iPad reference, note that Apple is a Genesys customer:

Sigh. Apple’s coolness factor has just gone down a notch. We all know the iPad isn’t for serious business — games, games, games!!! Okay, and ebooks! And by ebooks I mean comics! (Dilbert would look great on a contact center iPad.)

As I had posted before, Genesys is ready to pounce on Nortel customers. Nortel customers can probably negotiate a good deal now. Yet not sure how else to put in an ALU switch without rip and replace? ALU would want to sell the hardware.

Later there was an NDA segment which barred those in attendance to disclose juicy information. Wonder what it is? I’m thinking an embedded chip which can be injected under you skin that contains all your preferred IVR menu option trees. So whenever you pick up a phone to dial an IVR, just put the speaker near the chip (don’t embed it near your eye ’cause then you’d look like an idiot) and it will automagically navigate through the system to get you to an agent. In other words, the chip emits a DTFM tone of zero. #rumor #secretproduct

There’s a lot more information from these top industry analysts. Again, to follow the complete Twitter conversation, search for #GenesysAR. If you love to hate or hate to love Genesys, then you owe it to yourself.

The Apple iPhone redefined how a person interacts with a mobile device. Its multitouch capabilities pushed UI paradigms to a new era. With the success of the iPhone, Apple clearly saw the world ready to accept a multitouch tablet device.

Enter the Apple iPad.

This device has the same iPhone OS which was made purely for gesture-based interactions. Better yet, it will run existing iPhone applications with no problem. Just as companies started to make iPhone apps to complement their regular product offerings (Cisco and Avaya, have enterprise iPhone apps; Genesys announced an iPhone app during G-Force Orlando 2009), they should see the bigger-footprint iPad as another opportunity to enhance the contact center experience.

The contact center supervisor and manager would find the iPad a perfect device to keep up with their busy schedules and still able to monitor the center’s performance. Of course, it all depends on the available applications from these vendors. Another potential for a new revenue stream? Make a deal with Apple to resell iPads preloaded with the vendor’s technical and marketing documents, as well as the vendor’s apps. I bet that’ll have a positive impact on the retention rate of contact center staff, too. Who wouldn’t want a shiny Apple iPad as a work device?