The rise of the cloud has created a sea change in how communications services are created, delivered, and sold. How different stakeholders in the communications ecosystem can best respond has been a matter of ongoing debate and discussion in the industry. This is among the topics that will be discussed and analyzed again at ITEXPO Miami later this month – and Barry Derrick, product marketing manager at ADTRAN, will be among those sharing his experience and views on this important issue.
ADTRAN is a well-known company in the service provider arena, as its products have been widely used by incumbent telcos large and small – among others – for many years. The company outfits service providers with broadband (including carrier Ethernet and FTTH offerings), cloud connectivity, and optical edge network solutions. More recently, ADTRAN has made its mark in enterprise networking with such offerings as its NetVanta IP PBX and unified communications and its wireless LAN solutions.
MobilityTechzone recently spoke with Derrick about his areas of interest at ITEXPO Miami (Jan. 27 through 30); ADTRAN; and networking trends.
TMC: Tell us about your ITEXPO Miami session.
Barry Derrick: My session is titled “Cloud Services or Carrier Equipment: Which Should Service Providers Buy?” It will be an interesting conversation [about] how vendors are enabling both service providers and VARs to change their business models and make that leap from selling a single purchase service vs. a cloud-based monthly recurring type service that delivers the end user a better customer experience.
TMC: What else are you looking forward to at ITEXPO Miami?
Derrick: [I am] definitely looking forward to seeing what is new in voice and data. It seems someone is always ready to announce some new integration, and a new way to solve old problems that makes you take a step back and appreciate the technology in play. I’m also interested to see what new cloud-based activities vendors are coming up with to further enable their partner base when considering a move to a more monthly recurring revenue model.
TMC: Right. For example, ADTRAN recently announced its ProCloud Wi-Fi service, a way for service providers and value-added resellers to easily get into the game without upfront expense and integration. Next question: How have technology innovation changed how you work and impacted your business in the past two years?
Derrick: The expansion and availability of Wi-Fi everywhere, whether it be broadband streaming a connection for VPN back to corporate headquarters or even on airplanes, has greatly changed the way we get work done.
TMC: Unified communications is also altering how and where people work. How has it changed the way you and your colleagues operate?
Derrick: We utilize our own NetVanta UC system and have for five years now. It definitely allows us to be better connected and more in touch in situations that we historically would have either left a message or called back later.
QUICK LINKS 
