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Communication AI, vCons, CPaaS, CCaaS, UCaaS, Mobility, Security. Reporting on how the world communicates.

  1. 2D AGO ·  VIDEO

    Voice Moves From the Phone System to the Connected Store, VoCoVo Podcast

    By Doug Green “AI, cloud communications, and mobile-first design are reshaping what voice means in a retail setting, and why this shift represents a major opportunity for the telecom channel,” says Paul Birkin, Chief Technology and Product Officer at VoCoVo. In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Paul Birkin of VoCoVo discusses how retail communications are moving beyond the traditional telephone system and becoming part of a broader connected-store environment. In that model, voice is no longer just a way to make or receive calls. It becomes the real-time interface between frontline retail associates, AI platforms, inventory systems, customer service tools, security systems and store operations. Birkin explains that retail associates often need immediate answers while they are standing in front of a customer. A shopper may ask whether an item is in stock, whether a product is vegan-friendly, whether a garment is made of cotton, or whether a promotion applies. Traditionally, the associate might need to leave the customer, find a terminal, check with a manager, or search for someone with more experience. VoCoVo’s approach is to bring that information directly into the associate’s ear. The associate asks a question by voice. VoCoVo converts that voice into text, connects into the retailer’s AI platform, receives the answer, converts it back into voice, and delivers it to the associate in near real time. The result is a more informed associate, a better-served customer, and a faster retail interaction. The conversation also explores how this same connected voice layer can support broader store operations. Birkin describes VoCoVo as sitting at the heart of the connected store, linking associates to call points, stock systems, automated alerts, refrigeration systems, cameras, and other store technologies. A failed fridge, a low-stock alert, a customer request, or a security notification can all be routed to the right person at the right time. For telecom resellers and channel partners, the opportunity is clear. Retailers are looking for ways to improve customer service, make frontline teams more productive, and integrate AI into real-world operations. VoCoVo shows how voice can become the practical bridge between AI systems and the people working on the shop floor. Learn more at www.VoCoVo.com

    15 min

  2. 3D AGO ·  VIDEO

    Should MSPs Hire for Potential or Experience? TTS Company Makes the Case for Building with the Future in Mind, Podcast

    By Doug Green “You’ve got to be building with the future in mind, and experienced people will get you there,” said Julie Thiel, TTS Company. For many MSPs and growing technology firms, hiring often begins with a familiar question: should the company hire for potential, or should it bring in experienced people who can contribute immediately? In this Technology Reseller News podcast, I spoke with Julie Thiel of TTS Company about that question and why hiring decisions should be tied to the future direction of the business, not just the immediate need to fill a seat. Thiel said that while potential matters, companies should be careful not to underestimate the value of experience. Experienced people can often see around corners, help a company avoid common mistakes, and bring structure to areas where a growing business may still be informal or reactive. That is especially important for MSPs, where owners and managers are often wearing multiple hats. A smaller company may delay hiring an experienced HR, operations, sales, or technical leader because it feels expensive. But Thiel said that the right hire can help the business mature, scale, and serve customers more effectively. The discussion also focused on the risk of hiring only for the problem of the moment. A company may need help today, but the better question is what kind of organization it is trying to become. Hiring should support that larger vision. For MSPs, that may mean looking for people who understand process, customer relationships, compliance, service delivery, and long-term growth. It may also mean recognizing when a role needs someone who has already been through similar challenges. Thiel emphasized that experience does not mean ignoring culture or adaptability. A strong hire still has to fit the company, work well with the team, and understand the pace of a growing business. But when experience and fit come together, the result can be a hire who helps the company grow faster and with fewer missteps. As we closed the conversation, Thiel said MSPs and growing technology firms should think about hiring not only as a way to fill today’s needs, but as a way to build for the future. “You’ve got to be building with the future in mind, and experienced people will get you there,” said Thiel. For MSPs and business owners who are beginning to think through hiring, HR questions, or long-term team building, Thiel offers free 30-minute discovery calls. Learn more at: https://thettscompany.com Julie Thiel can also be found on LinkedIn as Julie M. Thiel.

  3. 3D AGO ·  VIDEO

    Plugable Brings Local AI and Modern Desktop Innovation to the Channel, Podcast

    By Doug Green “We’re really innovating the modern desktop, and this is just the beginning of the roadmap we’ve got planned,” said Matt Dargis, CRO of Plugable. In a Technology Reseller News podcast, I spoke with Lynn Murphy, CEO of Plugable, and Matt Dargis, CRO of Plugable, about how the company is expanding from its leadership in docking stations and PC peripherals into a larger channel opportunity built around the modern desktop, hybrid work, fleet refresh, and local AI. Plugable, founded in 2009 in Redmond, Washington, is best known as a leading third-party docking station provider in North America. The company has built its reputation around deep compatibility testing, especially in mixed environments where businesses may be supporting different laptop brands, monitor types, operating conditions, and end-user needs. Murphy said that mixed environments are now the norm. From 4K and 8K monitors to diverse laptop fleets and hybrid workplace setups, businesses need products that simply work. That has become a defining part of Plugable’s value proposition: reducing complexity at the desktop and helping partners deliver reliable solutions. The channel opportunity is expanding as organizations refresh aging fleets, prepare for AI-enabled workstations, and rethink the desktop as a productivity platform. Murphy noted that Plugable’s recent minority investment from Acer Gadget will help the company scale faster, expand internationally, and accelerate new product categories. One of the most important areas of focus is local AI. Plugable has launched a secure local AI enclosure with a software stack designed to enable plug-and-play AI at the desk. Murphy said this gives partners a way to help customers begin with proofs of concept and move toward broader adoption, especially where repetitive workloads, private data, or compliance concerns make local AI attractive. “There is going to be a portion of the spend that moves to local, and that is repetitive and private data,” Murphy said. For MSPs and channel partners, the opportunity is not only in hardware sales but also in integration, support, managed services, proof-of-concept work, and ongoing customer engagement. Murphy pointed to use cases in law firms, public sector organizations, federal environments, doctor’s offices, and distributed enterprises where local AI may offer a practical complement to cloud AI. Dargis said Plugable is a channel-first company and is investing in resources to create demand for partners. That includes evaluation units, public sector and enterprise support, government vehicles, K-12 contracts, and partner selling motions designed to bring opportunities back to the channel. “We view it as our job to embrace and engage with the customers and help the channel versus rely on the channel to do all that work,” Dargis said. The company is also focused on making the category easier for partners to sell. Plugable sees peripherals not as simple accessories, but as part of a broader desktop strategy involving productivity, asset management, compatibility, and support. For partners that may not yet be comfortable selling in this category, Dargis said Plugable is inviting conversations. The company’s roots in digital commerce, customer education, and compatibility-driven support give it a foundation for helping partners serve everyone from small offices to global enterprises. As the workplace continues to change, Plugable is positioning the modern desktop as a growth opportunity for the channel. The company’s message is that docks, peripherals, fleet refresh, and local AI are converging into a new desktop conversation—one that partners can lead. Learn more at: https://plugable.com

  4. MAY 15 ·  VIDEO

    Acronis Cyber Frame Helps MSPs Build the Partner Cloud and Own the Customer Relationship, Podcast

    By Doug Green “Recovery is only the last line of defense.” That comment from Rick Hebly, Senior Director of Platform Marketing at Acronis, captures the larger strategy behind Acronis Cyber Frame. This is not simply a new infrastructure platform. It is Acronis making a clear move to help MSPs and service providers build their own Partner Cloud — and keep ownership of the customer relationship. In a recent Technology Reseller News podcast, I spoke with Hebly about the launch of Acronis Cyber Frame and why Acronis believes service providers need a more profitable, reliable and protected way to deliver infrastructure-as-a-service. The key idea is control. For many MSPs, the cloud opportunity has too often meant reselling someone else’s infrastructure, under someone else’s brand, with someone else owning much of the customer experience. Cyber Frame changes that equation by giving service providers a way to deliver IaaS under their own relationship, their own service model and their own margin structure. Hebly explained that Acronis has evolved over the past 23 years from backup and recovery into a broader cyber protection company. The company moved from traditional software delivery into cloud platforms, then into a managed service provider model with multi-tenant delivery from data centers around the world. The next major transition, he said, was from data protection to cyber protection. That evolution matters because infrastructure is no longer just about compute, storage and networking. For MSPs, the opportunity is to create a cloud offering that is protected from the start, easier to manage and aligned with the way service providers actually go to market. Acronis Cyber Frame brings virtual machines, storage, networking, backup, disaster recovery, security, threat protection and management into a single platform. Rather than forcing MSPs to assemble multiple tools and vendors, Cyber Frame gives them a more unified foundation for delivering infrastructure services. The larger message is that MSPs do not have to surrender the cloud relationship to hyperscalers or legacy infrastructure providers. With Cyber Frame, Acronis is positioning the service provider as the center of the customer relationship — not just the reseller, but the trusted operator of the customer’s cloud environment. That may be the most important part of the launch. Cyber Frame is about more than IaaS. It is about helping MSPs create their own Partner Cloud, protect it by default, and build recurring revenue around infrastructure they can own, manage and monetize. Learn more at: https://www.acronis.com/

  5. MAY 15 ·  VIDEO

    Digital Resilience Must Move Beyond IT, Telstra International Podcast

    By Doug Green “What stands out in this research is not a lack of intent, but a gap between ambition and execution,” said Roary Stasko, CEO of Telstra International. A new Economist Impact study supported by Telstra International finds that organizations in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany are materially underprepared for large-scale digital disruption. In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Roary Stasko, CEO of Telstra International, joined us to discuss what that means for enterprises, service providers and the wider technology community. The study’s central finding is clear: the biggest weakness is not simply outdated technology. The deeper issue is that many organizations do not yet have the governance, coordination, visibility and partner readiness needed to respond when digital disruption spreads across suppliers, infrastructure and external dependencies. Stasko described Telstra International as the global arm of Telstra, with more than 75 years of experience in international connectivity and subsea infrastructure. The company operates more than 400,000 kilometers of subsea cable and plays a major role in connecting the U.S. to Asia, Asia to the U.S., and Australia across the wider global network. That global infrastructure role gives Telstra International a front-row view of digital resilience as a business issue, not just a technical one. The Economist Impact research found that only 25% of organizations across the surveyed markets say their responses to digital disruption go according to plan. The study also found that only 21% have a dedicated team responsible for delivering digital resilience initiatives. For technology resellers, MSPs, CSPs and enterprise technology leaders, the message is important. Resilience can no longer be treated as a periodic IT exercise or a narrow cybersecurity project. It needs to become a board-level business capability that is tested across the full ecosystem, including partners, suppliers, cloud platforms, communications networks and critical infrastructure. The research also highlights a major gap between internal confidence and external readiness. Organizations may feel relatively confident about their own cybersecurity plans or regulatory frameworks, but confidence drops sharply when disruption involves external dependencies. That is where weak information sharing, limited joint testing and unclear partner governance can turn a disruption into a larger operational failure. Legacy infrastructure remains another challenge. While many organizations have modernized parts of their technology environment, older systems still support large portions of enterprise operations. That makes it harder to design resilience into systems from the beginning and harder to recover quickly when disruptions occur. The rise of AI adds another layer of urgency. As AI workloads increase demand on networks, data centers, energy systems and water resources, resilience planning must account for more than cyber threats. Physical infrastructure, climate-related risk, power availability and communications continuity are now part of the same conversation. The podcast explores why digital resilience must move from intention to execution. The organizations that perform best will be those that assign clear ownership, test across their ecosystem, modernize infrastructure, and build resilience into the way they operate every day. Learn more at: https://www.telstrainternational.com/en/news-research/articles/organisations-in-the-us-uk-and-germany-unprepared-for-large-scale-digital-disruption

  6. MAY 14 ·  VIDEO

    Purpose-Built Hardware: TELCLOUD Shows the Devices Behind Reliable POTS Replacement, POTS and Shots Podcast Series

    “These are purpose-built devices,” says Jake Jacoby, CEO of TELCLOUD. “They’re UL listed, certified, tested, and designed specifically for this business.” In the latest episode of the TELCLOUD POTS and Shots Podcast Series, Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, speaks with Jacoby about the hardware that makes modern POTS replacement possible. Jacoby showcases two TELCLOUD devices: the POTScast 8 LTE PC228 LTE, which supports eight analog lines, and the POTScast 2 LTE PC222 LTE, which supports two. Both are designed to support legacy and life-safety systems such as elevators, fire alarms, security systems, fax lines, SCADA applications, modems, and emergency phones as copper lines are phased out. The POTScast platform combines analog support with modern LTE and WAN connectivity, including broadband, Wi-Fi as WAN, satellite, and cellular. Each device includes 24-hour battery backup, helping ensure that critical communications continue even when building power fails. Jacoby also explains TELCLOUD’s modular design. Because cellular signal is often weak inside telecom rooms, TELCLOUD supports Power over Ethernet, allowing routers from partners such as Ericsson, Peplink, Digi, InHand, ATEL, and Seego to be placed up to 250 feet away for better reception. The episode closes with the Shots segment, featuring Herencia Historico Grand Reserve Extra Añejo, a five-year-aged, small-batch tequila from Jalisco presented in a distinctive handcrafted bottle. For more information, visit telcloud.com or call 844-900-2270.

  7. MAY 13 ·  VIDEO

    IFT Solutions Launches Fortitude Compliance Program for MSPs Serving Regulated Customers, Podcast

    By Doug Green “Many companies don’t even realize they’re out of compliance until someone takes a close look at how customer interactions are actually being handled,” said Todd Chisholm, president of IFT Solutions. In a recent Technology Reseller News podcast, I spoke with Todd Chisholm, president of IFT Solutions, about the company’s new IFT Fortitude program and why MSPs have an opportunity to bring compliance-focused customer service assessments to business clients in regulated industries. IFT Solutions operates as a business process outsourcing company, providing services that range from customer service and collections to front-end sales support. The company also brings a consulting practice to the table, helping organizations assess whether their customer-facing operations, whether handled internally or outsourced, are meeting compliance expectations in an increasingly complex regulatory environment. That consulting expertise is now being packaged into IFT Fortitude, a program designed to let MSPs offer a white-labeled compliance assessment to their end-user customers. The goal is to help businesses determine whether their in-house or outsourced customer service teams are adhering to data privacy and other regulatory requirements. The timing makes sense. MSPs are increasingly serving customers in verticals where compliance is not optional, yet many of those customers may not realize how exposed they are. A company might have solid intentions and good people in place, but still fall short because processes have evolved unevenly, vendors have changed, or customer interactions are not being reviewed through a compliance lens. In many cases, risk builds quietly in day-to-day operations until an audit, complaint, or incident reveals the gap. Chisholm explained that this is where the MSP can provide more than technology support. By working with IFT, partners can bring a practical assessment service into customer accounts and help identify weaknesses before they become business problems. That creates a new advisory conversation for the MSP while addressing a real operational need for the customer. The Fortitude program is especially relevant in markets where customer communications are tightly tied to privacy, documentation, and process controls. Financial services is an obvious fit, but the broader opportunity extends to any organization handling sensitive customer information or operating in a regulated environment. Healthcare, insurance, and other service-intensive verticals are also likely candidates. For partners, the program offers a way to add value without having to build a compliance practice from scratch. IFT provides the assessment framework and expertise, while the MSP can position the service under its own brand and bring it to existing customers as part of a broader trusted advisor relationship. The larger message from the conversation is that compliance is becoming a business operations issue as much as a legal or technical one. Customer service processes, scripts, escalation paths, and outsourced workflows all matter. MSPs that help customers see that more clearly may find a strong opening for new services and deeper client engagement. For channel partners looking to expand beyond traditional IT support, IFT Fortitude points to a useful direction: practical, white-labeled services that help customers reduce risk while strengthening the MSP’s role in the account. Learn more: https://telecomreseller.com/2026/04/21/integrated-financial-technologies-launches-ift-fortitude-to-assess-customer-service-compliance/

  8. MAY 13 ·  VIDEO

    National Retail Solutions Expands the Digital Playbook for Independent Retailers, Podcast

    By Doug Green “We started our business to help these independents, give them the technology not just to compete but to level the playing field.” In a recent Technology Reseller News podcast, I spoke with Ellie Katz, CEO of National Retail Solutions, about a shift that is opening new opportunities for independent retailers. The conversation focused on how kiosks and delivery platform integrations with services such as DoorDash, Uber, Uber Eats, and Grubhub are helping bodegas, tiendas, corner stores, and other neighborhood retailers reach customers in ways once associated more with larger chains and restaurant brands. What stood out in the discussion was the scale of the opportunity. Katz noted that many smaller retailers are generating meaningful business through these platforms, showing that digital commerce is no longer reserved for national brands or big-box operators. For local stores, the combination of ordering technology, delivery access, and customer convenience is changing what is possible. Katz framed this as part of the original mission behind National Retail Solutions. The company, he said, was built to equip independent retailers with tools that help them operate more competitively in a changing market. That now includes much more than traditional point-of-sale functionality. It means giving store owners access to the kinds of commerce, fulfillment, and customer-engagement tools that can help them serve modern buying habits. The discussion also highlighted an important change in how people should think about small retail. Consumers increasingly expect convenience, digital ordering, and delivery options everywhere. As Katz explained, independent stores are proving they can meet those expectations when the right technology is put in place. That is helping smaller operators strengthen customer relationships and participate more fully in the on-demand economy. For the channel, the message is clear. There is a real opportunity in helping independent retailers adopt practical, revenue-producing technology. What once may have seemed out of reach for a neighborhood store is now becoming part of a broader digital toolkit. National Retail Solutions is positioning itself at the center of that change, helping independents use technology not simply to keep up, but to compete on a far more level field. Learn more: https://nrsplus.com/

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4.9
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Communication AI, vCons, CPaaS, CCaaS, UCaaS, Mobility, Security. Reporting on how the world communicates.

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