Unified Communications

While cost saving has been the primary driver for the adoption of converged communications, the concept of unified communications - the ability to communicate in real-time from any location, to access any application using any device delivers the productivity gains many organizations have failed to see before.

A rapidly connecting real-time world creates challenges and opportunities that the chief executive needs to understand and embrace. Unified communications will fundamentally change the way in which organizations serve their clients.

Technology and the evolution of the virtual organization
Since the 1990s, the world has grown 's maller' as advances in communication technology have closed the geographical gap between people around the world. Telephony, fax, email, conferencing and now instant messaging enable 4/7 communication and impacting the way we look at interaction.

Technology has changed the way organizations communicate, resulting in fundamental changes to the way they structure their operations and business models. Structures have evolved from a top-down approach, through a horizontal model designed around processes, and on into a new 'adaptive era', made possible by new communication technologies.

As organizations evolve towards a virtual model, so communication technologies have become even more important. Convergence results from standardization and it started in the early nineties with the emergence of the Internet Protocol (IP) as the de facto network protocol. Today, IP has brought man advantages to communications applications. Standards make it possible to consider using a single network (IP network) to carry all types of communications traffic; voice, data and video.

It manifests itself across the communications spectrum right down to devices. Executive PDAs and corporate CRM systems highlight the blurring of distinctions between phones and computers. Dual-mode handsets that use voice-over-wireless networks do the same for fixed and mobile telephone technologies. And the mobile device is getting more powerful by the day with multiple functions being performed on a single device which enables collaboration on a real-time basis.

The Presence phenomenon signifies a step change in the usage of new tools and technologies in the corporate sphere. Presence provides the means on integrating the numerous forms of communication into a single integrated environment associated with the individual, not the device (laptop, office phone, mobile phone, etc.). A fundamental shift occurs when we are no longer reliant on email addresses and telephone extensions for identifying people, but identify people and associate a mechanism with them base don their preference. Be that on their mobile phone when they travel or Instant Messaging because they are in a meeting.

Transforming business effectiveness
Business effectiveness increasingly depends on having communications tools and an infrastructure that can harness diverse talent, knowledge and skills across boundaries of time and space. Virtualization enables an organization to leverage 'connectedness' to generate significant gains.

These business effectiveness gains play out in different ways across a range of business functions. We take a quick look at the implications for: maintenance of business services; offshore manufacturing; customer contact; and home working.

Maintenance of business services and continuity
Tragic events in recent history have highlighted the need for an effective business continuity plan. Arguably the most critical portion of this is the ability to maintain communications with customers, staff and suppliers. By deploying a robust, integrated communications and collaboration infrastructure organizations are able to maintain these communications and business activities. As these environments support communications from any location, organizations are able to divert staff to branch offices or have them work from home with no effect on how they communicate with customers, colleagues and suppliers.

Offshore manufacturing
Virtualization was pioneered by the aerospace industry back in the 1970s. Then it was all about coordinating teams around the world to build new aircraft. Today, many organizations design their products in one country and manufacturing them in low cost production centers like China and India. So there is a pressing need to connect teams across continents.

The new communications infrastructure enables individuals and organizations to work together more effectively. It delivers feature-rich, real-time communications using video conferencing, instant messaging, and collaborative applications that can be accessed at any time and from any location. And the fact that information is stored online in a common repository rather than in a team or individual 's file means that those with clearance can access this as and when required.

Customer contact
Voice portal solutions allow users to access online services using a telephone. The user might use his mobile phone to dial in and request information using voice or touchtone keys. The information is sent back using a special voice-producing programme on the website. Alternatively it could be provided as a visual display and/or email on a 's martphone'.

This new technology which takes convergence to a new level offers business enormous benefits. Self-service through voice portals cuts costs and streamlines processes, allowing customers to automatically access information and perform transactions that are captured by the providers' database. This saves operator time and provides customers with a new channel for interacting with suppliers.

Home working
The virtualisation of the workspace means that it doesn't matter where you are based. So people can continue to work on projects whatever their physical location, whether it is home, a satellite office or a hotel in another country. Using virtual private networks (VPN) employees can connect with the office and use any of the tools or directories remotely.

This has considerable benefits for organisations who wish to retain key staff. Many families today may have two people with careers and it could be that one person has to relocate. In the old days that could have meant a change of job for the other and the loss of their talents to the organisation. Virtualisation allows employees to relocate without having to change jobs, or conversely change jobs without relocating.

What is damaka?

damaka® is the world's most comprehensive, peer-to-peer, SIP-based, secure communication, collaboration and multimedia software/platform. damaka provides voice, video, instant messaging, file transfer & sharing, desktop & application sharing, PSTN calling, IPTV, and other features in an easy-to-use, real-time environment on both desktop/laptop and wireless devices (such as smartphones). A technology pioneer in distributed softswitching, damaka offers its IMS ready white-label solution to Operators and Enterprises. The damaka platform is based on industry standards and uses patent pending technology to provide a very secure peer-to-peer environment for Internet users worldwide.

damaka® solutions integrate wired, wireless and mobile devices to deliver state of the art peer-to-peer hybrid Unified Communication and Collaboration solutions cost effectively, while dynamically boosting user productivity.

damaka is available for Windows desktop, Windows Mobile, and Web (For Linux and Mac users).

Desktop Client can be downloaded from http://www.damaka.com/consumers/download.htm
Web Client can be accessed from http://web.damaka.com.

Connect, Communication and Collaborate from anywhere, anytime.

What motivates an investor to say "yes"

I read a wonderful article by Tim Westergren, founder of the popular music service, Pandora yesterday night. Wanted to capture the key points...

What causes an investor to shift from looking for ways to say ‘no’ to looking for ways to say ‘yes’? The shift happens when three things come together for the investor:

1. They personally believe in the entrepreneur(s);
   
2. They have a sense (and it’s often just a gut feeling) that the idea could be very big; and
   
3. They have a personal interest or background in the industry that gives them a leg up the diligence curve.

Microsoft’s Ballmer: MSFT will acquire 20 companies a year

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco that the software giant will acquire 20 companies a year for the next five years, ranging from $50 million to $1 billion.

This steals from the playbook of News Corp, the media company that generated excitement among Internet companies after it acquired MySpace and others. There's a tactic here: By declaring you are hungry, you get entrepreneurs coming to you to show you their wares -- letting you get a glimpse of emerging technology even if you're not going to buy it.

Read the rest of the story...

Things You Don't See Every Day

(From: bambooflexible)

Apple Promises SDK for iPhone: Step in the right direction...

The software industry gave a hearty cheer to Apple's announcement that it will provide a SDK for the iPhone by Feb next year. I am also excited about it. I have a few apps in mind that I'd like to develop related to Video, RSS, VoIP and Social Media Convergence.

Steve Jobs said the company is trying to do two things at once -- provide an open platform to developers while protecting iPhone users from viruses, Trojans and other malware. This is no easy task, he said, arguing that the iPhone will likely become "a highly visible target" for malicious attacks.

I can't wait...

damaka web client released

We released a new Web-based version of damaka yesterday. damaka web client gives all users - from professionals and travelers to students and Internet café visitors - access to instant messaging via the Web, from any browser, anywhere, anytime.

Mac and Linux users will benefit from this release. They can now connect and collaborate with their friends using damaka client (on Windows).

Currently users will be able to:

- Chat with their friends
- Track their friends with Buddy Presence
- Organize all instant messages in tabs, rather than separate windows
- Enjoy Free TV (IPTV) and Radio
- Check Offline Messages, Call Logs and voicemails

damaka \ damaka news \ damaka web client

Enjoy!

Fantastic Pictures

(From: meisterjoker)

Google To “Out Open” Facebook On November 5

Michael Arrington of TechCrunch reported last month of a highly confidential meeting at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View to discuss the company’s upcoming plans to address the “Facebook issue.” Google’s goal - to fight Facebook by being even more open than the Facebook Platform. If Facebook is 98% open, Google wants to be 100%.

Google is planning to announce a new set of APIs on November 5 that will allow developers to leverage Google’s social graph data. They’ll start with Orkut and iGoogle (Google’s personalized home page), and expand from there to include Gmail, Google Talk and other Google services over time.

This is a potentially killer strategy. Facebook has a platform to allow third parties to build applications on Facebook itself. But what Google may be planning is significantly more open - allowing third parties to both push and pull data, into and out of Google and non-Google applications.


Read more...

Cowboys' win takes bizarre to another dimension

Cowboys didn't crack Monday night, despite plenty of forehead-slapping moments - from Tony Romo throwing five interceptions to Romo losing a fumble, from Terrell Owens dropping a tying 2-point conversion pass to Owens dropping a long pass that might've set up a short field goal for the win, from the special teams allowing a kickoff return for a touchdown to blazing-but-injured cornerback Terence Newman getting caught from behind on an interception return.

They hung close enough to make a last-minute push, then had to keep hanging on when Nick Folk's 53-yard field goal to win it was called off because the Buffalo Bills sneaked in a timeout just before the snap.

Forced to do it again, the rookie did, giving Dallas a stunning 25-24 victory and a 5-0 record for the first time since 1983.

DAL v BUF 10-08-07 (Source: NFL.com)

Video: I am India

This film is a journey through emerging India," the fastest growing free market democracy in the world". It celebrates the relentless spirit of the people of India, who through their karma give it a place amongst the leading economic nations of the world.

Conceived and produced by Bharatbala Productions (BBP) for India Band Equity Foundation (IBEF)

Cool Images

Check out the cool images posted by Peeti

Back after a long break...

- Closed the house in March
- Moved in in April
- House Warming party - May 5
- Went to India in June/July
- Got really busy with damaka (new clients, platforms, features & challenges)

Busy closing the house

Sorry for not posting anything new.... I am really busy with closing of my new house - it was scheduled to be on 3/29, but since the lender did not get all the paperwork, it is going to be on Friday 3/20. I have been busy with home inspection and walk-through. A lot of work is still left to be done, but the builder is confident that he'll get it done.

Here is a picture... this is a 2 weeks old picture...

Woh bhi kya din the

Jaane kahan gaye woh din...





Jaane kahan gaye woh log...





Jaane kahan gaya Cricket

May the above pictures give strength to you all

Worst day for India and Indian Cricket

I usually sleep in on Saturdays. I stay busy the whole week and I cherish the sleep on Saturdays. But today - March 17, 2007 - was different! There was excitement since last night. I wanted to sacrifice my sleep to get up at 8:00 am to watch India play their first World Cup game.... WoW!!!! I got up correctly at 8:00... turned on my laptop, connected it to my TV and made me some coffee anticipating a great opener. Honestly I wanted India to bat first and expected them to make more than 300 runs ---- Now I feel like a fucking fool. Forget 300, Indian team could not even make 200 against (a much improved) Bangladesh.

There was NO aggression, NO passion, NO grit, NO determination, NO character, NO talent, NO CRICKET!!! Basically India team DID NOT show up for THE game. It almost felt like they didn't even want to play. It was lackluster, boring, drab, unimaginative, uninspired, muted and JUST PLAIN DEAD. Indian cricket team should officially apologize to all of India and Indian fans all over the world for falling waaaaaaaaaaaaaay below the expectations and playing such a lifeless game at the biggest stage of International cricket --- What a fucking Shame!!!! Infact they should all be FINED and BANNED form participating in ANY Fashion-Show or Ads --- Enough is Enough --- there's gotta be some BASIC STANDARD, some BASIC LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE.... Is that too much to ask?????

Something needs to be done... we deserve better than this! Strong, result-oriented actions must be taken! Hiring an international coach will not SOLVE anything!!!!

It was the worst day for India and Indian Cricket - not because they lost a game, just the way they lost it!

Damn you!

A depressed, dejected and really really sad cricket fan....

Indian definition of Customer

customer --> Kasht de-de-kar Maar

Why Cisco paid $3.2B for WebEx?

GigaOm says that Cisco's move (a smart one) to buy a company that had sales of $380 million, and a net income of around $47 million is actually part of a bigger chess game the company is playing against Microsoft. GigaOm has this chess game all figured out.

Cisco gobbles up WebEx for $3.2 billion

Cisco Systems Inc. agreed to buy WebEx Communications Inc., the largest provider of Internet teleconferencing services, for $3.2 billion to counter Microsoft Corp.'s expansion in the market.

WebEx investors will receive $57 a share in cash, the companies said in a statement today. The offer is 23 percent higher than the Santa Clara, California-based company's closing share price of $46.20 yesterday.

Cisco will add WebEx's services to products for making phone calls, sending messages and holding meetings over the Internet, allowing for integrated communication. The company and Microsoft, which bought WebEx rival PlaceWare Inc. in 2003, are battling for corporate customers who want to simulate face-to-face meetings.

"It's a very attractive market, a growth market,'' said Ari Bensinger, an equity analyst at Standard & Poor's in New York. He has a ``hold'' rating on the shares and doesn't own any. "We like the video conferencing aspects of this deal. Cisco provides the corresponding pieces for this.''

Cisco, the world's biggest maker of computer-networking equipment, said the purchase won't affect earnings excluding some items in fiscal 2008. The companies said they expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter of Cisco's 2007 fiscal year.

Shares of San Jose, California-based Cisco rose 4 cents to $25.89 at 12:03 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. WebEx shares surged 22 percent to $56.49 in Nasdaq trading. The stock had gained 32 percent this year before today.

Cricket World Cup Frenziness

An Indian cricket fan gets hair cut prior to the start of the first match between Pakistan and West Indies,Kolkata, March 13, 2007