Telecom Reseller

Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, spoke with Raj Darji, Founder & CEO of Aarav Solutions, about the company's launch of two generative AI accelerators—InsightForge and Omni360—designed to help communications service providers modernize billing operations, sales workflows, and customer engagement. Aarav Solutions is a long-standing Oracle Communications implementation partner with more than a decade of domain expertise across Oracle BRM and related telecom platforms. Darji explained that this deep operational knowledge is embedded directly into Aarav's GenAI accelerators, enabling CSPs to adopt AI without disrupting existing infrastructure. “We are not experimenting with AI—we are applying it where telecom operators feel the most pain, inside billing and operations,” said Darji. InsightForge is a GenAI accelerator purpose-built for Oracle BRM that allows business, finance, and operations teams to query complex billing data using natural language—without writing SQL or relying on back-office specialists. By translating plain-language questions into database queries, InsightForge delivers real-time visibility into invoices, balances, taxes, and discrepancies, significantly reducing operational dependencies and response times. Omni360 extends this capability with an AI-driven CRM and CPQ platform tightly integrated with BRM. Designed for mid-market CSPs, MVNOs, and enterprise connectivity providers, Omni360 unifies CRM and billing into a single pane of glass and enables sales teams to generate products, pricing, and quotes through natural-language prompts. Introduced at Mobile World Congress, both solutions drew strong interest for demonstrating how GenAI can deliver immediate, practical value rather than remain a conceptual buzzword. Learn more about Aarav Solutions at https://www.aaravsolutions.com/. Software Mind Telco Days 2025: On-demand online conference Engaging Customers, Harnessing Data

“It doesn't matter how much a carrier charges—at some point, those copper lines are going to be shut off,” says Jake Jacoby, CEO of TELCLOUD. “The real question is whether businesses get ahead of it or wait until it becomes a crisis.” In the latest episode of the TELCLOUD POTS and Shots Podcast Series, Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, sits down with Jacoby to examine the accelerating reality of the copper sunset and the growing urgency for organizations still relying on legacy POTS lines. Jacoby explains how telecom networks have shifted almost entirely away from copper, leaving only 5–10% of that infrastructure still in use—yet costly to maintain. Deregulation in 2019 allowed carriers to raise prices dramatically, but even skyrocketing bills have not stopped shutdowns. Businesses now face two converging pressures: rapidly rising POTS costs and the certainty that service will eventually be discontinued, regardless of price. For many organizations, this issue surfaces unexpectedly, when once-modest line items suddenly trigger concern from finance teams and executives. Jacoby emphasizes that POTS replacement is not something most businesses have ever planned for, making it critical to choose a partner that can simplify the transition and deliver a long-term solution. TELCLOUD addresses this challenge by bridging legacy analog equipment—such as fire panels, elevators, and emergency phones—with modern, future-proof connectivity. The result is a reliable communication path designed to last for decades, paired with predictable monthly pricing that restores financial stability. For MSPs and IT providers that do not traditionally handle telecom, Jacoby notes that TELCLOUD's channel-first, white-label model allows partners to remain the trusted advisor while TELCLOUD manages the complexity behind the scenes. The episode closes with the Shots segment, recorded from Mexico, where Jacoby introduces Cascahuin No. 7 Reposado, a smooth, oak-aged tequila from Jalisco—an apt finish to a discussion centered on patience, preparation, and long-term value. For more information, visit telcloud.com or call 844-900-2270.

Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, spoke with Travis Volk, Vice President of Global Technology Solutions and GTM, Carrier at Radware, about how artificial intelligence is reshaping the security landscape for telecom providers as the industry heads into 2026. The discussion focused on the accelerating pace of attacks, the shrinking window to respond to vulnerabilities, and why traditional, human-paced security models are no longer sufficient. Volk explained that telecom networks are now facing machine-speed attacks, where newly disclosed vulnerabilities are often exploited within hours, not weeks or months. “Recent CVEs are being exploited at breakneck speeds,” he noted, emphasizing that nearly a third of disclosed vulnerabilities are weaponized within 24 hours. This reality is forcing providers to rethink patching, maintenance, and runtime protection strategies—especially as attackers increasingly chain small flaws into large-scale, sophisticated attacks. A key theme of the conversation was the convergence of offensive and defensive security. As applications become more API-driven and agentic, service providers must adopt continuous, automated testing and inline protection that can detect business-logic attacks in real time. Volk highlighted Radware's use of AI-driven analytics and visualization to map API flows, identify abnormal behavior, and enforce protections such as object-level authorization at scale—capabilities that are critical for encrypted, high-value workloads. Looking ahead, Volk described “good” security in 2026 as a living, observable system that prioritizes risk, automates both pre-runtime and runtime defenses, and enables data-driven decisions without adding operational complexity. Radware is already delivering these capabilities through flexible deployment models—virtual, physical, containerized, and cloud-based—allowing carriers to implement unified policy frameworks today. As Volk put it, AI is no longer optional: it is essential to keeping networks secure, resilient, and available in an era where attacks move faster than humans can respond. Learn more about Radware at https://www.radware.com/. Software Mind Telco Days 2025: On-demand online conference Engaging Customers, Harnessing Data

Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, spoke with Josh Flinn, Director of Product, Cloud Software at Digi International, about the company's achievement of SOC 2 Type 2 compliance and what it means for channel partners building secure, cloud-based IoT solutions. Digi International is a global leader in cellular connectivity for IoT, delivering secure, reliable connectivity for distributed devices such as remote sensors, smart city infrastructure, vehicles, and industrial systems. Operating as a channel-first company, Digi focuses on helping partners deploy and manage IoT solutions at scale through cloud-based platforms like Digi Remote Manager and Digi Ventus. During the discussion, Flinn explained that SOC 2 Type 2 is a significant milestone because it validates not only Digi's security controls but also the ongoing execution of secure development, auditing, and change management practices over time. For channel partners, this reduces friction in the sales cycle, simplifies security questionnaires, and provides confidence that core components of their solutions already meet rigorous security standards. As Flinn noted, “SOC 2 is not a one-time event—it's an ongoing commitment to secure operations.” The compliance attestation currently covers Digi Remote Manager for Digi 360 router and gateway platforms, as well as Digi Ventus, Digi's managed services cloud platform. Looking ahead, Digi is continuing to invest in security enhancements such as long-term support firmware, eSIM security capabilities, and automated compliance controls, reinforcing its cloud-first approach as partners and customers move toward increasingly distributed, IoT-driven environments. Learn more about Digi International at https://www.digi.com/. Software Mind Telco Days 2025: On-demand online conference Engaging Customers, Harnessing Data

Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, sat down with Ian Richardson, Founder and CEO of Fox & Crow, to explore a topic that many MSPs underestimate until it becomes painful: lead qualification. While generating leads often gets the spotlight, Richardson argues that chasing the wrong prospects can quietly drain revenue, morale, and long-term growth. Drawing on his experience as a former MSP owner, Richardson explained how poorly qualified leads consume senior technical resources, distract sales teams, and can even damage existing customer relationships. “Landing a bad customer is worse than not signing them at all,” he said, noting that MSP onboarding often reveals fundamental misalignment only after months of effort and sunk cost. Richardson outlined a practical framework for qualification that goes beyond firmographics. MSPs must determine whether a prospect views IT as a strategic investment or merely a cost to be minimized—an insight that can only be uncovered through early conversations, often starting with frontline staff. This mindset distinction, he emphasized, is the real gatekeeper to sustainable, profitable client relationships. The discussion also addressed scale and focus, with Richardson cautioning MSPs against stepping outside their ideal customer profile in pursuit of larger deals. Even seemingly attractive opportunities can become “bad-fit accounts” that erode margins and stability. Through Fox & Crow, Richardson positions his firm as a strategic partner helping MSPs build disciplined, organic sales engines that prioritize fit, focus, and long-term value over raw lead volume. More information about Fox & Crow is available at https://www.foxcrowgroup.com/. Software Mind Telco Days 2025: On-demand online conference Engaging Customers, Harnessing Data

Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, sat down with Jeff Pulver of the vCon Foundation for an in-depth conversation on the rapid emergence of virtualized conversations (vCons), the intersection of AI and communications, and why the industry is standing at the threshold of an entirely new era. Pulver, widely regarded as a pioneer of internet communications and an early architect of Voice over IP, reflects on how lifelong curiosity—from amateur radio to building the first internet-based telephone networks—shaped his belief that communications innovation is always about enabling connections that were previously impossible. Today, that same philosophy underpins his work with vCons, which he describes as a foundational building block for the AI communications age. At its core, a vCon is a standardized container for conversations—voice, video, text, email, and more—designed to securely capture not only what was said, but also who participated, the context, consent, purpose, and related metadata. Often described as “a PDF for conversations,” vCons make it possible to preserve truth and memory across every interaction, while enabling AI systems to analyze conversations consistently and at scale. Pulver emphasizes that this matters because large language models were trained on open standards, including IETF specifications, making vCons uniquely well suited for reliable AI analysis without constant retraining or hallucination. Pulver argues that while 2025 marked the mainstream adoption of large language models, 2026 will be the year of the vCon, leveling the playing field between small and large organizations by giving all businesses access to deep conversational insights. From customer engagement and compliance to internal collaboration and operational efficiency, vCons allow organizations to move at the speed of AI—without sacrificing trust, consent, or accountability. A major focus of the discussion is the need for education and ecosystem building. Pulver describes the vCon Foundation's mission as combating the biggest obstacle to adoption: ignorance. By promoting interoperability, standards-based development, and collaboration among competitors, the Foundation aims to ensure that vCons become a shared industry asset rather than a fragmented set of proprietary tools. Pulver also previewed the upcoming Spring '26 vCon event in Dallas, scheduled for March 23–26, 2026. The conference will include pre-conference sessions on vCon strategy and theory, the first-ever vCon hackathon, deep dives into AI in business, and a vCon Foundation meeting—bringing together technologists, service providers, policymakers, and innovators to define what comes next. Looking ahead, Pulver believes vCons will soon become a strategic checkpoint for vendors, service providers, and investors alike. As AI and communications converge, organizations that embrace virtualized conversations will be positioned to create smarter services, scalable compliance, and entirely new business models. As he puts it, learning how to spell V-C-O-N is fast becoming another way to spell AI opportunity. To learn more about Jeff Pulver's work and the vCon Foundation, visit https://www.pulver.com/vconfoundation.

In this special podcast for the Cloud Communications Alliance (CCA) and Technology Reseller News, Doug Green speaks with Jeff Pulver of the vCon Foundation about the accelerating momentum behind vCon technology and why it will play a defining role in the next era of cloud and AI-powered communications. The conversation was recorded in advance of Cloud Connections 2026, where Pulver will be a featured speaker. Pulver, a long-time pioneer in internet communications and standards development, explains that vCon—short for virtualized conversation—is fundamentally a new way to capture, secure, and analyze conversations across voice, video, messaging, email, and other communication modes. Often described as “a PDF for conversations,” vCon provides a tamper-resistant, optionally encrypted container that preserves not only the dialogue itself, but also participants, attachments, metadata, purpose, consent, and AI-generated analysis. The result, Pulver says, is something businesses have never truly had before: truth and memory for every conversation. Why vCons matter now, Pulver explains, comes down to AI. Large language models were trained early on using open standards, including IETF specifications. Because vCon is emerging as an IETF standard, AI systems already “understand” its structure. This dramatically reduces ambiguity and hallucination when conversational history is analyzed at scale. Instead of constantly retraining AI to interpret proprietary formats, organizations can rely on a standardized conversational container that delivers consistent, reliable results across platforms. Pulver believes this shift creates an opportunity as significant as the rise of cloud communications itself. As AI and communications converge, new services, new revenue streams, and entirely new business models become possible. From “smart” SIP trunks and AI-enhanced collaboration tools to enterprise-wide conversational recall, vCons enable organizations of any size—from solopreneurs to global enterprises—to operate with greater efficiency, compliance, and intelligence. “The people who lose out,” Pulver notes, “are the ones who don't embrace AI.” Looking ahead, Pulver predicts that 2026 will be the year of the vCon, as the ecosystem matures and channel partners, service providers, and enterprises begin turning virtualized conversations into real-world value. For members of the CCA community, he sees vCon as a practical, accessible way to add intelligence, differentiation, and new revenue to existing cloud communications offerings. To learn more about Jeff Pulver's work and the vCon Foundation, visit https://www.pulver.com/vconfoundation.

Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, spoke with Ty Kircher (NSP Practice Lead, Cellhub) and Dennis Napoliello (Head of U.S. Sales, MultiLine at Movius) about a problem every mobile-first organization runs into: separating personal and business communications on one smartphone—securely and compliantly—without forcing employees to carry two phones. “The MultiLine solution gives enterprises control without forcing users to carry two phones.” Cellhub has been working with vendors like Movius to build an ecosystem of partners (including carrier T-Mobile) that helps channel partners deliver innovative mobile solutions to end-users. Movius addresses the security gap in employee-to-client voice, messaging, and collaboration by offering Secure Communications as a Service. MultiLine™ is designed for hybrid and mobile work: users maintain two separate lines on one device, each secure, compliant, and dedicated—with separate features like voicemail—and with multi-channel communications documented per line. This eliminates the need for separate phones/numbers for Teams, personal use, social media, and apps like WhatsApp or WeChat—Movius consolidates multi-channel communication into one unified, secure ecosystem. That's a strong differentiator for solution providers selling into healthcare and financial services, where organizations must ensure communications compliance with regulations like HIPAA and FINRA, including on personal devices, and across verticals such as government, transportation, and education. MultiLine is positioned as an AI-driven, mobile-first approach that unifies communications and collaboration. Cellhub is also coordinating with a roster of vendor partners to bring unique mobile and wireless computing products and services to market, including initiatives with Tri Cascade, SkyMirr, and its PC-as-a-Service program with Lifetime EndPoint Resource. Reach Cellhub at www.cellhub.com or email Ty Kircher at Ty.Kircher@cellhub.com. Contact Movius at www.movius.ai or reach Dennis Napoliello at Dennis.Napoliello@Movius.ai. Software Mind Telco Days 2025: On-demand online conference Engaging Customers, Harnessing Data

Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, sat down with Elie Y. Katz, Founder, President & CEO of National Retail Solutions (NRS), to discuss how payments, telecom, and point-of-sale technology are converging to reshape small and independent businesses. Katz explained how NRS, incubated within IDT, was created to give independent convenience stores and small merchants the same tools and insights long available to large national chains. At the center of NRS's success is its integrated point-of-sale platform, now deployed in more than 38,000 locations nationwide. Katz described how NRS combines POS, credit card processing, payroll, cash advance services, and telecom products into a single system. “We didn't just build a register,” Katz said. “We built a platform that lets independent merchants compete with corporate America.” The conversation highlighted the accelerating shift away from cash toward cards, mobile wallets, and peer-to-peer payment apps such as Venmo and Zelle—especially among younger consumers. Katz noted that safety, efficiency, and cost are driving merchants toward cashless or low-cash environments. “The phone has become the bank,” he said, pointing to how mobile payments are now central to everyday commerce. Katz also outlined the opportunity this shift creates for telecom channel partners, MSPs, and resellers. By leveraging existing customer relationships, partners can expand into POS, payment processing, payroll, and cash advance services through NRS. “If you didn't pivot, you went out of business,” Katz said. “Our platform gives channel partners a new stream of recurring revenue using relationships they already have.” Finally, Katz detailed NRS's growing ecosystem of integrations, including DoorDash, Grubhub, and NationsBenefits, which help independent merchants increase revenue and compete more effectively. With offerings like NRSPay and flexible, no-penalty credit card processing, NRS is positioning itself as a long-term partner for small businesses navigating the transition to a digital, cashless economy. For more information, visit https://nrsplus.com/.

Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, sat down with Larry O'Connor, Founder of Other World Computing (OWC), for a follow-up conversation focused on OWC's latest product innovations and the company's long-standing philosophy of helping customers get more life, performance, and reliability from their technology. OWC is an ASCDI member and has built a reputation for designing solutions that “just work,” allowing users to focus on their workflows rather than managing infrastructure. O'Connor explained that OWC's roots in memory and storage upgrades naturally evolved into leadership in Thunderbolt connectivity, direct-attached storage, and enterprise NAS platforms. Today, OWC technology is deeply embedded in professional media, creative, and enterprise environments, often powering workflows behind the scenes. “Our goal is to be the boring part,” O'Connor said, noting that once OWC products are installed, they fade into the background while consistently delivering performance. A key focus of the discussion was OWC's expanded Thunderbolt 5 lineup, including the new StudioStack, which combines high-performance NVMe and spinning storage with additional downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports. Designed for systems with limited expansion options, StudioStack effectively turns a single Thunderbolt port into a powerful external PCI-style expansion point, supporting high-resolution displays, additional storage, and peripherals without sacrificing performance. O'Connor also highlighted OWC's new dual 10-gigabit Thunderbolt network dock, built to address specialized but growing needs in media, broadcast, and enterprise workflows. With two fully independent 10GbE ports, the dock enables network segmentation, bonded throughput, and dedicated traffic paths—capabilities that previously required more complex and expensive setups. “It's a game changer for customers who need predictable, high-bandwidth networking off a single cable,” he said. The conversation concluded with an update on SoftRAID 8.6, OWC's flagship software RAID solution, now enhanced for Windows 11 and the latest macOS. O'Connor emphasized SoftRAID's unique cross-platform interoperability between Mac and Windows, along with its ability to segment drives into multiple RAID levels for optimized performance and longevity—capabilities not possible with traditional hardware RAID. These innovations reflect OWC's continued commitment to performance, repairability, and long-term value across the technology lifecycle. For more information, visit https://www.owc.com/.

In the final episode of this four-part series on Telco Days 2025, Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, speaks with Greg Goodwin, Director of Business Development at Software Mind, about the company's expanding role in global telecom innovation, the evolving MetaSwitch ecosystem, and the value of community-driven learning at Telco Days. Goodwin, who leads Business Development for Software Mind's telco division across the U.S. and the Americas, outlines how the company has grown to more than 1,800 specialists worldwide—including 200 telco-focused engineers—supporting service providers through OSS/BSS development, mobile applications, roaming solutions under its Amplitiv Telecommunications brand, and long-standing engineering expertise within the BroadWorks and Alianza ecosystems. “We really want to be seen as a trusted advisor—anticipating where the market's going so we can help our customers grow their business, cut costs, and stay ahead,” Goodwin explains, noting that Software Mind's model is built on innovation, co-creation, and delivering measurable value. Reflecting on the recent Alianza Navigate event, Goodwin describes renewed momentum among MetaSwitch customers as Alianza invests in new features and capabilities. “It was fantastic to hear the roadmap and see Alianza reinvesting in those MetaSwitch assets,” he says, emphasizing Software Mind's commitment to supporting operators preparing their systems for the platform's next generation of functionality. When discussing long-term partnerships, Goodwin highlights Software Mind's innovation-first approach, pointing to joint development opportunities where the company not only supplies engineering talent but co-creates new product features with partners. “Being seen as more than a technology provider—as a collaborator building the next generation of telco solutions—is core to how we work,” he adds. As the conversation turns to Telco Days, Goodwin describes why the annual Software Mind–hosted event has become a powerful knowledge hub for service providers. Featuring insights from partners like Alianza, AWS and Microsoft, Telco Days brings together global SPs to explore security, AI transformation, modernization strategies, and the real-world challenges facing telecom operators today. All conference materials and videos will be available at SoftwareMind.com. To learn more about Software Mind's services, engineering capabilities, and Telco Days resources, visit https://softwaremind.com/.

In this special ASCDI edition of the Technology Reseller News podcast, Doug Green speaks with Larry O'Connor, Founder of Other World Computing (OWC), about the company's long-standing role in extending the useful life of technology—and why repairability, reuse, and on-prem infrastructure matter more than ever. O'Connor describes OWC not as a traditional technology vendor, but as a company focused on helping customers get more value, performance, and longevity from the technology they already own. From memory and storage upgrades to connectivity solutions, direct-attached devices, and network-attached storage platforms, OWC designs products that integrate easily into workflows and “just work,” allowing users to focus on outcomes rather than IT overhead. That philosophy naturally extends into the ITAD and circular economy space. OWC has spent more than a decade supporting secure data destruction, recertification, upgrades, and reuse—particularly within the Apple ecosystem. O'Connor emphasizes that too much usable technology is prematurely retired, despite having significant second-life value. Through components, repair services, and resale channels, OWC works closely with ITAD partners to keep equipment productive and out of landfills. The conversation also explores OWC's strong advocacy for Right to Repair, including direct involvement in recent state-level legislation. O'Connor argues that repairability is essential not only for sustainability, but also for economic efficiency, workforce development, and even national readiness—pointing out the broader impact of proprietary restrictions across industries such as agriculture, transportation, and defense. Looking ahead, O'Connor discusses the growing re-evaluation of cloud-only strategies, noting rising costs, data ownership concerns, and resilience risks. OWC continues to invest in high-performance on-prem and hybrid storage solutions, enabling organizations to retain control of their data while achieving cloud-like collaboration and sharing—often with better performance and lower long-term cost. As an ASCDI member, OWC represents a bridge between hardware innovation, sustainability, ITAD collaboration, and practical infrastructure design. “We've been part of the circular economy long before it had a name,” O'Connor notes, underscoring OWC's decades-long commitment to technology that lasts. To learn more about Other World Computing, visit https://www.owc.com/.

“A customer paying $1,200 a month for a POTS line isn't rare anymore — and even at that price, the service may shut off any day,” says Jake Jacoby, CEO of TELCLOUD. “We're bringing back fixed, predictable pricing with future-proof technology.” In this latest episode of the TELCLOUD POTS and Shots Podcast Series, Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, reconnects with Jacoby to examine the dramatic shift from historically low-cost, regulated copper pricing to today's volatile and often astronomical POTS rates. What was once a $15–$30 utility charge—kept low by FCC regulation and universal service requirements—has now become a specialty, loss-generating service that carriers are increasingly unwilling to maintain. As Jacoby explains, deregulation opened the door for carriers to raise prices in an attempt to recover the cost of maintaining infrastructure that only 5–10% of customers still rely on. That shift has triggered startling monthly bills—$100, $500, even over $1,200 per line in some markets—and still does not guarantee continuity. “These high prices don't mean the line will stay on,” Jacoby notes. “Carriers are still shutting off copper regardless of what customers pay.” This is where TELCLOUD provides clarity and relief. By bridging legacy equipment requirements with modern wireless and fiber technologies, TELCLOUD allows resellers to deliver a fixed, predictable monthly service that is fully backward-compatible yet engineered for the future. TELCLOUD's wholesale model empowers partners to restore stability for customers while protecting recurring revenue and eliminating the need for costly hardware replacements in elevators, fire panels, emergency phones, and other critical systems. “We’re not just replacing copper — we’re improving it,” Jacoby adds. TELCLOUD's platform delivers a modern IP backhaul, long-term service viability, and full compatibility with legacy analog interfaces, ensuring decades of reliability even as 5G, 6G, and satellite connectivity continue to evolve. As the copper sunset accelerates—with billions of global lines still needing migration over the next three years—MSPs, carriers, and technology advisors are increasingly seeing POTS replacement as a once-in-a-generation opportunity that opens the door to broader modernization initiatives. TELCLOUD supports partners at every skill level, from full white-label arrangements to integrations with major carriers and CLECs. The episode closes with the series' signature Shots segment. Broadcasting live from Mexico—home to TELCLOUD's 24/7 support center—Jacoby introduces a unique discovery: Don Ramón Punta Diamante Reposado, presented in a two-bottle gift box designed for sharing. A beautifully crafted tequila aged in oak and featuring elegant blue-glass accents, it reflects the artistry and heritage behind Mexico's finest spirits. The POTS and Shots series continues to blend education, opportunity, and culture — guiding partners through the telecom transformation while exploring the world's best tequilas. For more information, visit telcloud.com or call 844-900-2270.

At the Fall '25 vCon in Washington, D.C., Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, spoke with Jon Arnold, Principal of J Arnold & Associates, about why vCon matters, how it fits into the broader AI and communications landscape, and why legal frameworks around compliance and consent are as important as the technology itself. Arnold situates vCon—“virtual conversations”—as a response to a world where interactions are no longer just human-to-human, but also human-to-bot and bot-to-bot, generating vast amounts of conversational data that most organizations are not yet capturing or using effectively. Arnold explains that vCon is not a product but a standard—much like SIP was for VoIP—designed to create an open, interoperable ecosystem for conversational data. By encapsulating both data and metadata from calls, chats, and other interactions into a secure, portable container, vCon can help enterprises manage and analyze conversations across multiple channels, platforms, and use cases. This, he notes, is critical for domains such as UC, customer service, and broader AI-driven applications where structured and unstructured conversational data is becoming a strategic asset. A distinguishing feature of this event, Arnold observes, is the strong presence of legal and policy experts. With AI amplifying both innovation and risk, he underscores the centrality of compliance and consent. Without clear regulatory frameworks and governance, vCon-style capabilities could accelerate a slide toward a “surveillance society,” where every interaction is recorded and tracked without adequate safeguards. Getting lawyers and regulators involved early, Arnold suggests, improves the odds that vCon will scale in a way that balances innovation with consumer protection and trust. On the question of monetization, Arnold draws parallels to the early days of hosted voice and UCaaS: the ecosystem is still forming, a few players are close to real revenue, and many potential use cases are only now being discovered. As with other major technology shifts, he expects some of the most valuable applications to emerge “off-label,” driven by users who find unexpected value once the tools are in their hands. With an open standard, an emerging community, and early traction among sponsors and innovators, Arnold sees strong potential for vCon to become a foundational layer in the next era of AI-enabled communications. To learn more about Jon Arnold's research and analysis, visit https://www.jarnoldassociates.com/.

In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Publisher Doug Green speaks with Roel Cortez, Senior Director, Sales–Telecom at C&D Technologies, about how AI-driven network growth is transforming power and energy storage requirements across telecom infrastructure. C&D Technologies—whose batteries and power systems are embedded throughout U.S. carrier networks—supports everything from large switching facilities to distributed inline amplifier (ILA) sites. Cortez describes 2026 through two lenses: physical infrastructure and intelligence. He highlights continued investment in 5G SA and Advanced, aggressive fiber expansion to support data center connectivity, fast-growing fixed wireless, and emerging space-based connectivity. At the intelligence layer, operators are integrating AI to optimize and automate network operations. “Telecom operators are the backbone of digital society, but AI is changing the scale and speed they need to support,” Cortez notes. AI's workload demands are also reshaping optical transport and power engineering. Hyperscalers require extremely high capacity and low latency between data centers, pushing new collaboration with telecom operators—and new pressure on ILA designs. Traditional sites built for a few kilowatts per rack must now support configurations exceeding 100 kW per rack, along with new cooling strategies such as liquid cooling. Cortez points out the tension between hyperscalers' “speed-to-market mindset” and operators' traditional deployment pace, alongside challenges involving brownfield upgrades, greenfield design, and supply chain constraints. As networks virtualize, Cortez emphasizes that intelligent energy storage is the next frontier for resilience. Three components of DC power plants—controllers, rectifiers, and distribution—are already smart and remotely managed. The remaining piece, batteries, is now evolving to match. “Everything in the network is becoming intelligent, and energy storage can't be the exception anymore,” he says. With operators demanding richer telemetry and automated response capabilities, Cortez sees intelligent storage as essential to building flexible, self-aware, AI-ready telecom networks. Learn more at https://www.cdtechno.com/. Software Mind Telco Days 2025: On-demand online conference Engaging Customers, Harnessing Data

For Telco Days 2025, Technology Reseller News Publisher Doug Green spoke with Paweł Czernicki, Senior Software Engineer FS TL Java at Software Mind, about one of the most transformative initiatives in Europe's digital landscape — the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet). Czernicki explained that the EUDI Wallet is a secure mobile application that allows European citizens to prove their identity and share verified information online. “It's like your physical wallet going digital,” said Czernicki. “Inside you can store your ID card, driver's license, education diploma, or even proof that you're over 18 — all in one secure, mobile app.” From a citizen's perspective, the wallet offers simplicity, privacy, and control. “You decide what to share, with whom, and for how long,” he added. “It's all about ownership of your data and reducing friction in daily interactions — from verifying your age online to logging into government or private services.” For telecom operators, Czernicki highlighted a major opportunity. “Telecoms are already trusted identity verifiers,” he explained. “With EUDI, they can act as both issuers and verifiers of digital credentials — confirming identities securely without ever storing sensitive data.” This approach, known as selective disclosure, allows organizations to confirm a single fact (like age or residency) without accessing broader personal details. Software Mind has participated in a large-scale EUDI pilot project, which Czernicki described as “proof that the technology works — even across borders and languages.” He noted that adoption will depend on user trust, education, and ease of use, but the rollout is coming quickly. “By late 2025, citizens will be able to log into e-government portals and sign official documents. By 2026 or 2027, we expect widespread adoption across both public and private sectors.” Czernicki summarized the EUDI Wallet simply:  “The EUDI Wallet is Europe's key to secure, user-controlled digital identity — a tool that makes online trust as simple and universal as showing your ID in real life.” Learn more about Software Mind's telecom and digital identity innovations at https://softwaremind.com/.

At the Fall '25 vCon conference in Washington, D.C., Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, sat down with Dan Petrie, CEO & President of SIPez, to talk about the origins, purpose, and practical future of vCon technology. Petrie, who co-authored the original vCon draft and brought it to the IETF in 2003, describes vCon as a “standard container for capturing conversations” across voice, video, messaging, email, web chat, and more—bringing structure and consistency to interaction data that has long been fragmented across proprietary platforms. Drawing an analogy to Adobe's breakthrough with PDF, Petrie explains that just as PDF standardized how documents are represented and shared regardless of word processor or device, vCon does the same for conversational data. By abstracting common elements like parties, metadata, transcripts, and even AI-generated analytics into a unified format, vCons allow enterprises to capture, store, and analyze interactions from call centers, UCaaS platforms, and messaging systems in a consistent way. This unlocks deeper analysis—such as customer sentiment, agent performance, product feedback, and workflow optimization—without having to wrestle with dozens of incompatible APIs. Petrie stresses that vCon is especially valuable in an AI-driven world, where structured, well-labeled data is essential. “To get real value from AI, you need structured data,” he notes, pointing out that large language models like ChatGPT can only work on limited context windows and rely on upstream systems to extract, segment, and feed the right portions of conversation data. vCons provide that layer: a rich, extensible container that supports encryption, signing, redaction, amendments, and complex scenarios such as multi-leg call transfers and agent handoffs. Much of Petrie's advice is practical: don't try to build everything from scratch. SIPez maintains open-source vCon projects (such as PyvCon) and also offers a commercial vCon recording and AI analysis solution for the NetSapiens platform, giving service providers and MSPs a faster on-ramp. As more vendors add vCon interfaces and as small and mid-sized providers adopt these tools, Petrie believes 2026 will be a pivotal year for MSPs and channel partners to start monetizing vCon-based analytics and services across horizontal markets—from healthcare to customer support and beyond. To learn more about SIPez's vCon tools, open-source projects, and consulting services, visit http://sipez.com/.

At the Fall '25 vCon Conference in Washington, D.C., Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, met with Mike Onslow, CTO of Clarity Voice, to discuss the company's hands-on work with vCons, the rise of AI-driven communications, and the transformative potential of standardizing conversational data across platforms. Onslow began by outlining Clarity Voice's 20-year journey as a communications provider serving small and very small businesses with voice, video, messaging, and increasingly, AI-powered tools. “When the customer wins, we win,” he notes, highlighting a culture centered on customer success across specialized business verticals. A major focus of the discussion was vCon, the emerging standard for representing conversations—described by Onslow as “a PDF for your conversations.” By standardizing call, message, and AI-generated analysis into a single interoperable format, vCons allow organizations to search, index, process, and share conversational data across platforms without reinventing the wheel. “Thomas calls vCons robot food,” Onslow says, noting that large AI models already understand the vCon structure because the specification predates ChatGPT. Onslow shared lessons from Clarity Voice's year-long practical deployment of vCons, including the need for strong data engineering and the importance of keeping raw recordings and raw vCons for future reprocessing as AI models evolve. He also emphasized the value of partnering with experts such as vConic and co-creator Thomas Howe to accelerate implementation, rather than tackling the open-source standard alone. One of Onslow's standout contributions at the event was his talk on using vCons for code review analysis. By transforming developer conversations inside pull requests into vCons, Clarity Voice built tools to detect burnout signals, identify subject-matter experts, and surface hidden collaboration patterns. The approach highlights the broader potential of vCons well beyond traditional UCaaS ecosystems—spanning healthcare, marketing, customer support, and any environment where interactions can be enriched with contextual data. Reflecting on the week's sessions, Onslow emphasized the value of the community emerging around vCon. “This community is the huge value,” he says. “We're figuring out what doesn't work and what does work—together.” He encourages newcomers to engage with the vCon Foundation to gain a smoother on-ramp into the technology and its ecosystem. To learn more about Clarity Voice and its work with AI-powered communications and vCons, visit https://clarityvoice.com/.

At the Fall '25 vCon Conference, Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, sat down with Rebekah Johnson, Founder & CEO of Numeracle, for a timely and urgent discussion on the escalating global fraud crisis and the role identity must play in restoring trust to communications. Johnson, a long-time industry leader on identity assurance, shared insights from her panel on “the state of fraud,” which revealed troubling trends despite industry-wide mitigation efforts. Johnson explains that while robocalls may be declining, fraud itself is surging due to increasingly sophisticated tactics and AI-enabled targeting. “Despite all these mitigation efforts, we actually have a declining situation, not an improving situation,” she notes. Bad actors are using fewer touchpoints and more advanced tools, turning communications channels into highly efficient conduits for financial theft, often to fund organized crime, trafficking, and even hostile state activities. Central to Johnson's message is the need to bring Know Your Customer (KYC) principles into communications—just as the banking industry has done for decades. Without verified identity, she argues, consumers remain vulnerable. “If you're going to get access to communications… there should be a verification process to ensure you are who you say you are,” she says, emphasizing that transparency and verifiable identity are essential to helping consumers make safe choices. Regulatory momentum is building: the FCC's proposed rulemakings touch directly on identity delivery and KYC requirements. But Johnson warns that progress will hinge on implementation by carriers, who face technical burdens without clear financial incentives. Still, she sees identity adoption as inevitable—especially with AI now eroding human ability to distinguish real from synthetic interactions. AI itself, she says, will accelerate the need for digital credentials tied to trustworthy identity. As the conversation turns to Numeracle's mission, Johnson highlights the company's role in protecting enterprise communication channels from being mislabeled as fraud or spam, enabling hospitals, universities, financial institutions, and brands to reach customers reliably. Numeracle also supports UCaaS and CPaaS providers seeking to protect customer reputations across the network. Despite the alarming fraud statistics—estimated in the hundreds of billions—Johnson remains optimistic. “It's not doomsday,” she says. “I'm excited about the future and the role our engineers will play in it.” To learn more about Numeracle's identity and reputation protection services, visit https://www.numeracle.com/.

Technology Reseller News senior tech reporter Moshe Beauford recently spoke with Kristyn Hogan, who heads up Cisco’s collaboration partner sales unit, to discuss the partner opportunity in collaboration and the smooth integration of Cisco’s full portfolio with offerings recently unveiled at its 2025 partner summit in San Diego. The conversation spans the breadth of Cisco’s collaboration devices and software, highlighting the company’s commitment to a partner-led growth strategy. Hogan further noted that partners are central to this push, as they are essential in providing the expertise and services needed for a “seamless migration experience.” She, too, detailed how the partner opportunity has evolved in the cloud era, moving from selling on-premises solutions to earning substantial recurring revenue through activation, usage and adoption incentives in hybrid environments. This shift is designed to ensure partner profitability as they help customers leverage the full stack of Cisco solutions. Furthermore, the discussion touched on how Cisco’s entire portfolio—including innovations announced at the recent Cisco Partner Summit—is designed for tight integration. This unified approach, part of the new Cisco 360 Partner Program, ensures that collaboration solutions work smoothly with networking, security and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure to deliver integrated customer outcomes and create a significant competitive advantage for partners. More at www.cisco.com

In this episode of Technology Reseller News' special series on Telco Days 2025, Doug Green speaks with Damian Mazurek, Chief Innovation Officer at Software Mind, about why the telecom industry is at a historic crossroads – and what it will take for telcos to move from commodity connectivity to AI-era value creators. Mazurek explains how rapid advances in AI, edge computing, LEO satellites and IoT are converging with generational change, especially Gen Z's preference for asynchronous, AI-enabled interactions. Traditional voice and human-to-human communication are giving way to data-driven, bot-mediated experiences. “The next generation will not even talk with us – their AI assistants will do it for them,” he notes, predicting a future where AI agents negotiate, schedule, buy, sell and resolve issues on behalf of human users. To avoid being trapped as low-margin bandwidth providers, Mazurek argues that telcos must evolve from telco to techco, building both an innovation culture and the cloud-native platforms needed to iterate at high speed. He outlines a three-layer framework for AI in the RAN – AI for the run, AI in the run and AI on the run – where AI improves network operations, monetizes unused capacity for AI workloads, and enables new services built on top of programmable, API-driven networks. Mazurek sees major opportunities in: Turning surplus network capacity and distributed edge infrastructure into an “AI grid” that hosts and accelerates AI workloads. Leveraging telco data and real-time APIs to power new services and revenue streams. Enabling sectors like agriculture, aquaculture and industrial automation with reliable connectivity, low latency and AI-ready infrastructure in previously hard-to-reach locations. Delivering proactive, AI-driven customer experiences that match Gen Z expectations for simplicity, personalization and immediacy. Ultimately, Mazurek believes telcos that embrace cloud-native transformation, programmable networks and AI-driven operations can do far more than survive the coming decade. “They can dominate the market and create new business value,” he says, by building the secure, trusted infrastructure that will underpin AI-to-AI communication at global scale. To learn more about Software Mind's telecom innovation initiatives and access resources from Telco Days, visit https://softwaremind.com/.

“This really levels the playing field for ITADs of all sizes.” — Doug Hughes, VP of Sales Operations, ReturnCenter In this special ASCDI edition of the Technology Reseller News podcast, Doug Green speaks with Doug Hughes of ReturnCenter about how the company's digital platform is helping ITADs modernize their return workflows and better serve enterprise customers. ReturnCenter is a digital platform that connects all stakeholders in IT asset returns, enabling ITADs to accept, track, and manage orders with full chain-of-custody visibility. The platform supports two primary customer paths: ServiceNow Platform® integration — Large enterprises using ServiceNow can install ReturnCenter's two certified apps in just hours. They can schedule pickups, track shipments, retrieve all documentation, and—through the optional Automate app—have asset records updated automatically throughout the disposal workflow, eliminating manual work and reducing compliance risk. Branded ITAD portal (custom URL) — For customers not using ServiceNow, ReturnCenter provides a fully branded, no-development portal that lets ITADs offer an enterprise-grade online experience. End users can place and track orders, view documentation, and manage returns of any scale, while ITADs maintain visibility from a single dashboard. Hughes notes that digital connectivity is becoming a “ticket to entry” for ITADs engaging large organizations. ReturnCenter enables even smaller providers to offer a modern, audit-ready customer experience—while preserving their personalized service. ITADs benefit from centralized visibility, streamlined documentation, improved SLA management, and a platform that supports growth into the enterprise segment. To learn more or request a demo, visit https://go.returncenter.com/podcast.

Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, interviews Helmut Minor, Managing Director of envenance GmbH and President of envenance SAS, in this special welcome podcast for ASCDI's newest member. Envenance delivers a next-generation, fully digital ITAD platform designed to support multinational enterprises with consistent, compliant asset disposition across borders. A Digital-First, Asset-Free ITAD Model Envenance operates as a software-driven orchestrator, not a recycler or logistics operator. The company centralizes global ITAD operations through: A single digital portal for orders, tracking, documentation, and ESG reporting Standardized processes that work across all EU countries, the UK, Switzerland, and beyond Pre-vetted logistics and recycling partners managed directly by Envenance One contract, one invoice, and unified compliance for all locations “We drain the complexity out of ITAD,” Minor notes. “Customers see one simple process. We handle everything behind the scenes.” Built for Compliance, Visibility, and Scale Envenance ensures strict adherence to EU waste regulations, country-specific documentation requirements, and verified in-country recycling. The platform provides: Near real-time status updates Full chain-of-custody documentation Recycling and ESG reporting needed for audits and EPR filings A People-Powered Network While Envenance is highly digital, Minor emphasizes that experience and relationships with local partners remain central to their success. “You can't replace people. The platform works because the network behind it works.” Global Capabilities Though Europe is the core focus, Envenance has delivered ITAD projects in the U.S. and other regions—especially where secure inventory capture and compliance documentation are required. Learn More Envenance's new website offers service details, videos, and updates: https://www.envenance-global.com/

In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Publisher Doug Green speaks with Christian Stredicke, President & CEO of Vodia Networks, about how hotel communications are evolving and why guest room telephony still matters in 2026. Stredicke explains that while many hotels question whether they still need a phone in every room, the answer is often yes—especially when there is on-property staff and services to deliver. From in-room dining and housekeeping to bell service and deliveries, a simple, dedicated room phone with clear speed dials (“Front Desk,” “Room Service,” etc.) remains the fastest, most intuitive way for guests to get what they need. “There's zero training necessary,” he notes. “You just push a button and it works.” Vodia supports both legacy analog phones and modern IP/VoIP hospitality devices, allowing properties to extend the life of existing cabling or upgrade to CAT5/6 and new hotel-specific endpoints. Stredicke sees AI playing a growing role, particularly for “call center–style” functions such as internal operator services, simple requests, and multilingual support. AI can, for example, help connect calls between rooms or handle basic inquiries in the guest's native language. However, he stresses that high-touch revenue activities like in-room dining still benefit from human interaction, especially when guests want recommendations or customization. Compliance and safety are also central. A room phone carries an implied promise that guests can reliably reach emergency services (911) and that staff can quickly see which room placed the call to coordinate with first responders and provide immediate on-site assistance. Stredicke argues that modern PBXs—whether on-premises for resiliency or cloud-based for easier maintenance—are critical to delivering this, and that cutting corners on telephony is usually a false economy. With many hotels still running 20–30-year-old systems, he suggests that upcoming renovation cycles are the ideal time to move to a modern, hospitality-aware phone system that can support AI workflows, better guest experience, and tighter operational efficiency. Vodia's website: https://web.vodia.com/

In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Doug Green interviews David Erickson, CEO of Phound, about the launch of Phound for Business—a platform that goes far beyond traditional UCaaS. Built on the global CarrierX telecom backbone, Phound treats the phone number as a verified digital identity, enabling secure calling, texting, AI integration, and multi-persona management. “The SKU is the phone number,” Erickson explains. “It should be your global identity—voice, messaging, payments, even AI agents all roll up to it.” What Makes Phound Different Identity-verified profiles with blue-check authentication Multi-persona control for work, personal, and AI agents Advanced filtering & private caller groups to block unwanted calls AI-ready architecture, letting businesses give phone numbers and permissions to AI assistants SMB-friendly design for fast setup, secure communication, and simplified management Erickson emphasizes that Phound is built for the new AI era—where human and AI employees coexist and need trusted, secure communication channels. More at https://phound.app/

Nima Hakimi, CEO and Co-Founder of Convoso, joined Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, to discuss one of the most pressing issues facing legitimate outbound sales teams today: how to reach customers when carriers are aggressively filtering calls. Convoso serves revenue teams in insurance, financial services, and home services—organizations that depend on connecting with leads who have actively expressed intent. But even calls to fully permissioned customers are increasingly mislabeled as spam, scam, or telemarketer, damaging contact rates and revenue. A Broken System for Legitimate Businesses Hakimi notes that carriers and analytics providers like Hiya, TNS, and First Orion are trying to stop fraud, but the system is far from perfect. “You can have consent, follow the rules, and still get mislabeled,” he explained. For outbound teams spending heavily on leads and labor, this results in wasted efforts, lost deals, and lower productivity. Convoso's response is Ignite, an AI-powered engine that monitors caller ID reputation, analyzes contact-rate drops, and automatically selects the best-performing number in real time. It deprioritizes numbers falsely flagged by carriers and optimizes outreach across voice and text to preserve compliance and improve connection rates. Solving the “Black Box” Problem Because no carrier provides a clear standard for avoiding flags, Convoso built Ignite to manage the number lifecycle automatically preventing declines that teams only notice after revenue is lost. What's Next Hakimi says 2026 will be defined by deeper AI integration, improved lead-quality prediction, and greater automation of dialer operations. “We're helping teams make better real-time decisions using the data they already have,” he said. Learn more at convoso.com.

Ram Ramanathan, Vice President of Product at Ribbon Communications, joined Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, to discuss Acumen, Ribbon's new AI-powered platform designed to accelerate autonomous networking for service providers and enterprises. Ramanathan explains that rapid shifts—5G adoption, cloud-native architectures, heightened security demands, and a retiring telecom workforce—have created urgent pressure for automation. “We focus on practical, pragmatic AI that delivers real ROI—not hype,” he noted. Practical Automation Across the Service Lifecycle Acumen provides end-to-end observability and automation using real-time data and ML. It is vendor-agnostic, spans OSI layers 0–7, and includes a low-code/no-code Builder that allows Ribbon to tailor automation workflows and chatbots to each customer's environment. Real Deployments Already Underway Ribbon is working with several tier-one operators, including a major mobile provider moving from 4G to 5G across a multi-vendor network. Acumen is helping automate fault management, speed root-cause analysis, and proactively inform customer-facing teams. “It's not just fixing issues faster—it's keeping everyone, including the customer, informed,” Ramanathan said. Looking Ahead Ramanathan cautions organizations to avoid AI hype by setting realistic expectations and focusing on high-ROI outcomes first. “Break it into stages and show progress along the way,” he advised. Learn more at ribboncommunications.com.

As the Managed Service Provider (MSP) landscape shifts vastly, service providers must fundamentally differentiate their offerings and value proposition to remain competitive. This imperative means a necessary expansion into robust security services, addressing a growing and critical concern for businesses ranging from Small to Medium Businesses (SMBs) right up to the enterprise level. Companies like Cisco and Microsoft are leading this transformation. They are not only ensuring security is built natively into their core platforms, but are also heavily invested in educating MSPs. This education emphasizes adopting a security-first mindset, adhering to industry best practices, and strategically integrating advanced security measures into their service delivery models. In this podcast, TRN senior editor Moshe Beauford explores this pivotal notion. He lays out his thoughts on how MSPs can successfully adapt to the swiftly evolving security landscape. This adaptation mirrors the historical transformation of traditional resellers into Value Added Resellers (VARs)—a shift that requires MSPs to add continuous, high-value security expertise and services to their portfolio.

The integration of Splunk into the Cisco stack is a potential game-changer for channel partners who fully leverage its capabilities. From a security perspective, Splunk provides a powerful analytics platform that acts as a gold mine for partners. It allows them to move beyond simple product reselling into offering high-value services like deep threat detection, correlation, and rapid response by analyzing security data across the entire Cisco environment. Furthermore, the platform offers significant benefits from an artificial intelligence (AI) standpoint. By applying Splunk’s AI and machine learning capabilities to the massive streams of data generated by Cisco devices, partners can automate formerly manual security and operational processes. This automation drastically improves efficiency, reduces labor costs and speeds up time-to-resolution for issues, allowing partners to deliver more profitable managed and professional services and expand with a viable security proposition. A key operational advantage is the unified visibility the combined platform delivers. Through it, partners can gain comprehensive insight into an entire fleet of devices across all their customers from a single, unified dashboard. This not only shortens the time it takes to get to market with powerful monitoring and security solutions, but also provides the deep operational clarity needed to deliver effective managed services and quickly troubleshoot complex customer environments. The final significant component resides in the ease of doing business: partners can sell Splunk products through existing Cisco Enterprise Agreements (EAs) and purchasing programs, simplifying procurement for customers and making sales transactions much simpler and faster for the partner. Check out the full podcast as expert guest, Moshe Beauford breaks down the key benefits of the Splunk-Cisco play for channel partners.

At the Cisco Partner Summit, Technology Reseller News' Moshe Beauford spoke with Nathaniel Stearns, Splunk and cybersecurity consultant at Keos Technology, to discuss Cisco's integration of Splunk following its landmark acquisition and what it means for partners navigating the next era of AI-driven security. Stearns explained that Keos Technology—Splunk's largest professional services provider in the United States—works closely with resellers, distributors, and channel partners to provide pre- and post-sales support around Splunk implementations. “Cisco has been making very accelerated leaps to integrate all of Splunk’s products into its existing portfolio,” Stearns noted. “It's expanding their security capabilities in a really powerful way, and there's a large amount of education happening across the partner ecosystem.” As Cisco weaves Splunk into its infrastructure and security portfolio, Stearns emphasized the growing role of AI integration. “Artificial intelligence is all the buzz these days, but when it comes to driving business outcomes, AI has to be well integrated into valuable tools,” he said. “Cisco is doing a uniquely good job of connecting these tools—networking, security, observability, collaboration—and adding AI to make each one stronger.” For partners, this evolution represents a major opportunity. Stearns explained that Cisco's combined suite—including ThousandEyes, AppDynamics, and now Splunk—offers unmatched visibility, security, and operational intelligence. “Cisco has done a tremendous job bundling these all together and making it the single marketplace you want to go to for your security solutions,” he said. Looking ahead, Stearns predicts that Splunk's integration into Cisco will double its impact across the enterprise landscape. “Splunk was already a strong platform, but now that it's part of Cisco, there's an opportunity to double its business because it fits so perfectly within Cisco's ecosystem,” he added. “Resellers will have a unique opportunity to package these tools together and deliver holistic security and observability solutions.” Learn more about Keos Technology at https://www.keostechnology.com/.

At the Cisco Partner Summit, Technology Reseller News' Moshe Beauford spoke with Jeff Drury, Director of Engineering at CVE Technologies Group, about how Cisco's expanding AI portfolio is reshaping partner enablement, education, and customer strategy across the channel. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, with offices in Oregon and Hawaii, CVE Technologies Group has been a trusted Cisco partner since 2002. The company provides technology solutions, engineering support, and technical services to customers across the Intermountain West and beyond. Discussing the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, Drury described AI as “the new buzzword — it's replaced ‘cloud' as the vaguest but most talked-about trend in technology.” He explained that customers are approaching AI adoption in three ways: by using built-in AI features within existing tools, leveraging large language models (LLMs) to improve workflows, and developing proprietary AI solutions — with the last category being the most complex and skill-intensive. Internally, CVE is also adopting AI to streamline operations. “We're looking at how to ‘dog food' our own AI initiatives, especially around LLM integration, to improve business processes and make us faster and more agile,” Drury noted. Education and enablement remain central to CVE's approach. “Cisco's been very good about providing enhanced and focused training once we show initiative and investment in a space,” said Drury. “Education is the key and the burden of being a successful channel partner — it's constant.” Looking ahead, Drury hopes for greater interoperability across AI-driven tools. “Standalone AI information for one product isn't beneficial if it can't talk to other systems. Interoperability between vendors' AI technologies will be key as the market matures,” he added. Learn more about CVE Technologies Group at https://www.cvetech.com/.

At the Cisco Partner Summit, Technology Reseller News' Moshe Beauford sat down with Cyndi Privett, Principal & Owner of Viewpoint Research, to discuss Cisco's sweeping updates to its partner program, the introduction of Cisco IQ, and how AI is reshaping partner profitability and customer experience. Privett described the new 360 Partner Program 2.0 as a major milestone in Cisco's evolving channel model. “There's now much more clarity around how Cisco intends to measure its partners going forward, and what the real levers of profitability will be,” she said. The redesigned incentive structure rewards partners that expand their portfolios beyond networking into security, collaboration, and managed services, with a strong focus on premium services and recurring revenue. A highlight of the event was the debut of Cisco IQ, a platform designed to give partners deeper insight into customer environments and enhance proactive support. “Cisco IQ is a big step forward—it's about enabling partners to deliver an up-leveled support experience and deepen their customer relationships,” Privett noted. Privett also reflected on Cisco's vision for machine AI, as outlined by Chief Customer Experience Officer Liz Centoni, which could one day allow multi-vendor “war rooms” to be fully automated. “We could soon see virtual war rooms where bots from Cisco, IBM, and others collaborate autonomously to solve outages or security breaches. That's the future Cisco is building toward,” she added. While Privett praised Cisco's forward-looking approach, she cautioned that not all partners will immediately benefit. “Those who can evolve, expand into new architectures, and lead with AI will thrive. Those who can't may find incentive dollars shrinking. But that's how every technology cycle works,” she said. From its unified edge strategy to its “picks and shovels” approach to AI enablement, Cisco's transformation signals a new era for partners ready to align around automation, intelligence, and measurable business outcomes. Learn more about Viewpoint Research at https://www.viewpointresearch.com/.

“Nobody can be an expert in everything — so you surround yourself with the right partners,” says Chris Young, CEO of Smartel. “That's how you deliver real value, reduce costs, and earn long-term trust.” In this latest episode of the TELCLOUD POTS and Shots Podcast Series, Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, is joined by Jake Jacoby, CEO of TELCLOUD, and special guest Chris Young, CEO of Smartel, for a compelling look at how collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and unified connectivity strategies are transforming the POTS replacement landscape. Young introduces Smartel as a 23-year veteran in mobile solutions and wireless expense management, known for simplifying large, complex wireless ecosystems. Their approach centers on centralized management, data ingestion tools, standardized policies, and a responsive customer service model, all aimed at lowering costs and streamlining operations for enterprises nationwide. Jacoby explains why Smartel is an ideal partner for TELCLOUD's POTS replacement vision. As organizations confront escalating copper costs, service shutdowns, and outdated infrastructure, Smartel's audits often reveal both unused POTS lines and mission-critical lines at risk. By pairing Smartel's visibility with TELCLOUD's life-safety-grade replacement platform, the two companies deliver cost savings, continuity, and a long-term service model built to last decades. The discussion widens to the larger industry transformation. With the copper sunset accelerating and AI reshaping telecom workflows, both executives describe POTS replacement as a gateway opportunity — the immediate need that opens the door to broader conversations about edge connectivity, SD-WAN, IoT, backup strategy, and comprehensive modernization. As Young notes, “POTS is our biggest door-opener right now — everyone needs it, and it leads to deeper relationships almost every time.” Jacoby adds that while POTS is hot today, the service is required for the next 20 years, creating dependable recurring revenue for partners who can guide customers through the transition. Both stress that customers ultimately want simplicity, reliability, and cost control — and partnerships like TELCLOUD + Smartel are built to deliver exactly that. And true to the Shots tradition, the episode closes with a tasting of Don Julio Ceniza, an exceptionally rare Extra Añejo aged in charred oak barrels. Smooth, smoky, and difficult to find, Jacoby describes it as one of his personal favorites — and surprises both Doug and Chris by sending each of them a bottle to enjoy off-camera. The perfect pairing for a discussion about premium craftsmanship and long-term value. The POTS and Shots series continues to blend industry insight with cultural storytelling, helping MSPs and partners navigate the telecom transition while taking a tour of the world's greatest tequilas. For more information, visit telcloud.com or call 844-900-2270. Learn more about Smartel at www.smartelinc.com.

In Part 1 of the Telco Days 2025 podcast series—produced in partnership with Telco Days 2025—Doug Green of Technology Reseller News sits down with Dawid Mielnik, General Manager Telco at Software Mind, a global software and technology services provider. With more than 25 years of telecom experience and a 1,600-person engineering organization across Europe and the U.S., Software Mind helps operators modernize everything from voice and signaling to OSS/BSS and cloud-native telco stacks. As Mielnik explains, “We're big enough to scale, but small enough to care—our clients always know exactly who is on the team and who owns the outcomes.” Mielnik highlights Software Mind's software-first mindset and deep telecom expertise as core differentiators. Unlike traditional integrators, Software Mind not only deploys technology but also builds, customizes, and fills functional gaps with tailored software. “Our clients appreciate that we know telecom from the inside—IMS, signaling, roaming, legacy architectures, BSS/OSS. That domain knowledge makes all the difference,” he notes. He also shared real-world examples illustrating how Software Mind accelerates modernization. For a major European telecom group, the company migrated a legacy voice system to a fully containerized Kubernetes environment, reducing deployment cycles from 12 hours to under two hours. Another engagement rebuilt a monolithic CVM platform into microservices on Google Cloud, enabling daily deployments instead of monthly releases. “It wasn't just a technical upgrade—it changed how the entire delivery team worked,” Mielnik says. Looking ahead, Mielnik points to cloud-native architectures and AI as the forces reshaping telecom for the second half of this decade. Operators continue to grapple with large legacy stacks, while AI is rapidly being embedded across operations, assurance, fraud prevention, and customer engagement. “AI is making its way into every layer of the telecom network, and cloud is the foundation for the next wave of transformation,” he explains. The discussion also introduces Telco Days, Software Mind's annual thought-leadership and knowledge-sharing initiative. What began in 2018 as a Kubernetes training program has grown into a global hybrid forum where operators and partners discuss modernization, AI, customer engagement, and data strategy. All sessions from Telco Days 2025 are now available on demand to the entire industry. Learn more at: https://softwaremind.com/

In this episode of Technology Reseller News, Publisher Doug Green speaks with Robert Galop and Kevin Nethercott, Co-Founders of Creo Solutions, about how service providers can turn years of “dark” conversation data into immediate, recurring revenue. Creo Solutions, founded two and a half years ago, focuses on helping carriers, CSPs and MSPs 2x–3x their revenue by layering AI-driven services on top of the UCaaS, CCaaS and CPaaS platforms they already sell. Their flagship offering, Pulse Conversation Intelligence, combines vCon-based conversation capture with AI analytics to unlock business value from every call. Galop explains that most organizations are still effectively “flying blind” with their customer conversations. Contact centers typically QA only about 2% of calls, leaving 98% unreviewed and unanalyzed. With Pulse, service providers can give their customers full visibility into compliance issues, churn signals, missed opportunities and coaching moments across all calls. As Galop puts it, “Within the first week, we're usually finding immediate ROI — a compliance risk, a security problem or a saveable customer that would have slipped away.” Nethercott emphasizes that the magic is in leveraging what service providers already have: their network, their platforms and their customer base. Using vCon as the standardized container, Pulse ingests existing call recordings and CDRs via API, processes them with Creo's AI stack, and returns focused insights, alerts, summaries and dashboards. There's no heavy integration project for the provider — “We can go to contract today, get integrated tomorrow, and by day three they can have it running in a customer,” notes Nethercott. Everything is delivered white-label, so the service provider owns the customer relationship and the new AI-powered revenue. For end customers, the platform is designed to reduce noise, not create more of it. Instead of a “data dump,” managers get the exceptions and patterns that matter: which agents handle certain call types best, which phrases correlate with successful sales, what recurring complaints are driving churn, and where frontline staff need coaching. Different roles see different slices of value: marketing can mine real customer language and enthusiasm, sales can see what actually moves deals forward, operations can spot systemic issues, and executives finally get a single source of truth about what customers are really saying. Creo sees strong early traction in healthcare, insurance, legal and home services—sectors where people spend their entire day on the phone but leadership can't possibly listen to every call. By turning every conversation into structured, searchable, AI-analyzed data, Pulse Conversation Intelligence gives service providers a high-impact, easy-to-launch AI story for 2026: a new, sticky revenue stream built entirely on top of services they're already delivering. Learn more about Creo Solutions and Pulse Conversation Intelligence at https://www.creosolutions.tech/ and intelligence.cloud.

In this episode of Technology Reseller News, Publisher Doug Green interviews Bret Kinsella, SVP and GM of Fuel iX, TELUS Digital's GenAI platform. Kinsella explains how TELUS Digital has become a global powerhouse—running large-scale contact centers, building mobile and web apps, powering one of the world's largest AI data-labeling operations, and now delivering generative AI to more than 50,000 TELUS employees and customers. Kinsella highlights a major shift: “AI is actually working—78% of companies have already woven conversational AI into their operations.” He notes that voice AI has rapidly matured, thanks to integrated generative platforms that combine speech-to-text, text-to-speech and reasoning in a single stack, producing far more natural and accurate interactions. TELUS uses these capabilities internally to help retail associates respond instantly to fast-changing device and rate-plan information. Challenges remain—especially noisy environments, complex data that's better shown than spoken, and a lack of interoperability between standards. Kinsella points to frameworks like vCon as the path toward portability and consistency. He stresses that deploying voice AI safely requires security, safety and compliance guardrails, supported by TELUS Digital's Fortify platform, which stress-tests AI systems at scale. And while AI automates mundane tasks, its real purpose is to elevate human performance: “These tools help employees do their jobs better. Once people start using them, they don't want them taken away.” As AI adoption accelerates, TELUS Digital's Fuel iX is built to give organizations trusted, scalable GenAI that improves experiences for customers and employees. Learn more at telusdigital.com and fuelix.ai.

In this episode of Technology Reseller News, Publisher Doug Green speaks with Jason Goecke, CTO and Robert Galop, CPO of Creo Solutions, about why vCons (virtual conversations) represent a “golden grail” revenue opportunity for service providers, MSPs, and telcos. Drawing on decades of telecom and CPaaS experience, the Creo team explains how their company was founded to help providers “2x their revenue” by layering practical AI, automation, and data intelligence on top of existing communications services. Their focus today: turning the billions of conversations crossing telecom networks into actionable business value. The discussion centers on vCons as a standard container for conversation data—not just recordings, but transcripts, metadata, compliance controls, and context. On their own, vCons “don't do anything,” as Galop notes, but once you analyze them at scale with AI, they reveal issues and opportunities that would otherwise stay invisible. In one deployment, a service provider believed they had excellent first-call resolution; Creo's analytics showed that agents were only truly resolving about 24% of calls, with 76% generating follow-ups and extra work. In another case, the very first processed call exposed a serious security gap: an agent forwarding a main number without validating the caller's identity. “Conversations have been dark data,” Goecke explains. “Now you can light up every conversation and drive value from it.” Creo's Pulse Conversation Intelligence platform (part of its broader Intelligence Cloud) is designed to make this revenue opportunity turnkey for providers. Rather than asking carriers or MSPs to build AI infrastructure, Creo takes in CDRs and call recordings (or vCons directly), handles speech-to-text, diarization, vCon creation, and then runs domain-specific analytics. Service providers can immediately offer offerings such as: 100% QA coverage for contact centers (versus the typical 2%), AI note-taking and action items for every voice call (not just Zoom/Teams meetings), and deep baseline insight into what's actually happening across sales, support, and operations. APIs and webhooks then allow these insights and summaries to flow into CRMs, bots, workflow engines, and custom applications, enabling personalized experiences and smarter automation without the customer needing to “speak AI.” A key message for MSPs and channel partners is that they don't need to be AI experts to sell and deploy this. Creo positions itself as a native AI company, using AI throughout its own development and delivery processes so that partners can simply deliver better outcomes: more meetings booked, better QA coverage, reduced manual note-taking, improved compliance, and richer customer journeys. “That really makes it easy for the service providers,” Goecke notes. “We're scratching a lot of very important itches—QA, notes, follow-up—and, oh by the way, it's all AI-forward.” For service providers looking to turn vCons from theory into concrete, recurring revenue in 2026, Creo Solutions invites listeners to learn more at https://www.creosolutions.tech/ and explore the Pulse platform at https://intelligence.cloud/.

Cisco's channel partner ecosystem has undergone a profound transformation following a series of announcements at its 2025 Partner Summit in San Diego. The core focus of said announcements is enabling partners in an era of artificial intelligence (AI) via edge computing and Splunk. This significant shift is driven by new AI and edge offerings (Cisco Unified Edge and Cisco IQ), which promise to provide partners with fast-tracked time to market for next-generation, Cisco-powered solutions. This move is a seismic change to how partners operate, shifting the focus from traditional hardware sales to integrated, outcome-focused solutions with AI at the center of it all. The networking giant further backed the evolution with substantial commitments in marketing spend and major investments in partner education and enablement to build expertise in AI and security. All this is set to be formalized in the upcoming Cisco 360 Partner Program, launching in 2026. We sat down with Technology Reseller News Senior Technology Reporter Moshe Beauford, who offered his expert perspective on the Cisco partner news.

In this episode of Technology Reseller News, Publisher Doug Green speaks with Rob Bye, President & Founder of Zenture Partners, about why the traditional telecom procurement and management model is breaking down—and how AI-driven lifecycle management can restore clarity and control for large enterprises. Zenture Partners is a strategic consultancy and AI-powered lifecycle management provider focused on giving enterprises full visibility into, and control over, their global telecom ecosystem, from contracts and circuits to invoices and risk. Bye explains that most large enterprises now live in a state of telecom chaos: hundreds of vendors, hundreds of invoices, and little understanding of contract terms, renewal dates, dependencies, or actual business impact. The old world of a single global MPLS provider has given way to an “internet everywhere” model, with 16,000+ ISPs worldwide, SD-WAN, and cloud-first architectures. At the same time, IT priorities have shifted—cloud infrastructure, security, AI-infused SaaS and CX platforms now consume leadership attention and budget, while telecom is largely ignored “as long as nothing is on fire.” When things break, teams react, extinguish the fire, and then move straight back to higher-visibility projects. Traditional telecom brokers and “no value” agents, Bye argues, have often added complexity rather than removed it. Unlike familiar IT resellers and VARs, telecom agents rarely bring a unified, data-driven platform to the enterprise. Zenture's model is different: it acts as an extension of both IT sourcing and network teams, combining consulting plus a global AI-enabled platform. Enterprises still contract directly with service providers, while the carriers fund Zenture through residual commissions. For customers, the Zenture platform is delivered at no cost, with no contract, ingesting data from TEM systems, carrier portals, invoices, and spreadsheets into a single pane of glass and highlighting where attention is truly needed. AI is at the center of this transformation. Zenture uses AI to continuously evaluate inventory, identify high-risk sites (such as shared last-mile paths or POP exposure), benchmark pricing, and generate recommendations on whether to renew, replace, or upgrade services as contracts approach term. Agentic AI is also used to integrate with carrier marketplaces and portals, automating quoting, ordering, status checks, inventory updates, and billing validation across hundreds of providers. Instead of humans manually combing through dense, ever-changing telecom invoices, AI flags changes, ties new charges to past orders, and confirms that disconnects and adds have been billed correctly, allowing IT and sourcing teams to focus on decisions, not data entry. Looking ahead, Bye sees AI-driven procurement reshaping RFIs, RFPs, benchmarking, and contract review. Enterprise “house” agents will query external platforms like Zenture's marketplace, shrink long vendor lists to a short set of best fits, and then assist stakeholders with risk analysis and legal review. But this doesn't eliminate the human partner; it elevates them. As Bye puts it, “AI isn't going to replace anyone—it's like the moving walkway at an airport. It just helps you get where you're going faster.” Zenture's client success managers increasingly act as digital workforce managers, overseeing and training AI agents while still providing strategic guidance on vendor consolidation and cost optimization. Ultimately, Zenture Partners aims to help enterprises move from a reactive, invoice-driven view of telecom to a strategic, outcome-focused model—consolidating vendors, simplifying billing, optimizing costs, and freeing IT teams to concentrate on cloud, security, and customer-facing innovation. To learn more about Zenture Partners and its AI-powered lifecycle management platform, listeners are invited to visit https://www.zenturepartners.com/. Software Mind Telco Days 2025: On-demand online conference Engaging Customers, Harnessing Data

In this episode of Technology Reseller News, Doug Green interviews Lyle Pratt, Founder & CEO of Vida.io, following the company's announcement of a $4 million Series A funding round—a major milestone marking rapid growth, platform maturity, and expanding traction across MSPs, SaaS vendors, and business software providers. Pratt explains that Vida.io is an AI Agent Operating System for business, designed to help companies deploy, manage, monitor, and scale AI agents that perform real work across voice, SMS, email, and web chat. While many products offer a chatbot or voice agent, Vida.io delivers the full operational backbone required for real-world use: observability, SOC 2/HIPAA compliance, billing-as-a-service, UI components, and detailed interaction scoring. Since the last podcast, Vida.io has grown dramatically, surpassing 100 million AI agent interactions and onboarding a rapidly expanding network of partners. Initially focused on MSPs, the platform is now widely adopted by SaaS companies that embed AI agent capabilities directly into their vertical applications—roofing, moving, and other SMB-focused sectors—bringing instant scale to Vida.io's distribution. A key breakthrough discussed in the interview is Vida.io's ability to deliver low-latency, high-intelligence voice agents that reliably meet real-world customer experience expectations. “If latency is off even slightly, users get frustrated. We had to solve that,” Pratt notes. The result: AI agents that in many cases outperform humans, including one customer reporting 40% more meetings booked compared to human-based calling teams. Vida.io's partner program remains the company's primary growth engine. MSPs are now using AI agents to capture revenue from call flows they previously handed off to outsourced call centers—often redirecting hundreds of thousands of monthly minutes back into their own billing. The platform also supports direct SIP registration, enabling AI agents to function as standard PBX extensions across NetSapiens, Broadsoft, Metaswitch, and other systems widely deployed by MSPs. Pratt emphasizes that the AI revolution is fundamentally redefining UCaaS and business communications: “When the price of intelligence approaches zero, the entire enterprise software ecosystem transforms.” Even if LLM progress froze today, he argues, the impact on communications and business automation would still be historic. As the industry approaches 2026, Pratt sees a major new revenue frontier for MSPs—one that doesn't require deep AI expertise but does require timely action. Vida.io provides the tools to make AI agent deployment fast, repeatable, and profitable. To learn more or join the partner program, visit https://vida.io/. Software Mind Telco Days 2025: On-demand online conference Engaging Customers, Harnessing Data

In this Technology Reseller News, Podcast, Doug Green interviews Don Boxley, CEO and Co-Founder of DH2i, for a deep dive into one of the biggest challenges facing IT teams today: the migration gap between legacy Windows-based SQL Server deployments and the containerized, Linux-driven future that modern applications increasingly require. DH2i, a long-time Microsoft and Red Hat partner, delivers high availability, secure communication, and cross-platform mobility for SQL Server, Oracle, and MySQL environments. Their flagship platform, DX Enterprise, enables customers to run the same production-grade SQL instance across Windows, Linux, and Kubernetes — and move between them with seamless failover. As Boxley explains, this eliminates the traditional roadblocks that keep enterprises locked into aging infrastructure. With SQL Server 2025 bringing new support for AI-driven applications, Microsoft tapped DH2i to deliver mission-critical HA capabilities for these next-generation workloads. The company also introduced a hands-on, step-by-step Minikube tutorial, allowing DBAs and MSPs to experiment safely with Kubernetes-based SQL deployments on their own PCs before ever touching production. “Most teams think they're stuck on Windows — they're not. With DX Enterprise, you can move SQL Server to Linux or containers without disruption, and your customers won't even know the difference,” Boxley notes. DH2i's developer edition is available as a free download, complete with 30-day support, giving IT teams a no-risk path to testing, learning, and modernizing their database infrastructure. Learn more at https://dh2i.com/. Software Mind Telco Days 2025: On-demand online conference Engaging Customers, Harnessing Data

"When you build for life safety, there can't be a single point of failure," says Jake Jacoby, CEO of TELCLOUD. "Our networks are designed to stay up—no matter what fails." In the latest episode of the TELCLOUD POTS and Shots Podcast Series, Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, sits down with Jacoby to discuss what it really means to build fault-tolerant infrastructure—and why resilience and redundancy are the backbone of modern telecom. Jacoby explains that fault tolerance is about creating systems that can experience a failure without disruption. TELCLOUD applies this philosophy at every level of its network architecture, ensuring 99.999% uptime for critical life-safety communications such as fire alarms and elevator systems. TELCLOUD's geographically redundant design eliminates single points of failure: Multiple data centers across the U.S. (East, West, and Central) mirror one another, so if one fails, another immediately takes over. Each data center includes redundant servers, power systems, and load balancers, ensuring continuous operation even during localized outages. On-premise devices feature dual power sources, battery backups, and often generator integration for sustained operation during power loss. Multiple WAN options—fiber, Wi-Fi, and cellular—enable instant failover, with support for multiple carriers on a single device. "Emergencies don't happen when things are perfect," Jacoby notes. "They happen when power is out or connectivity is weak—and that's when TELCLOUD's systems keep working." For resellers and MSPs, TELCLOUD's architecture provides more than reliability—it's a competitive differentiator. By offering enterprise-grade, fault-tolerant solutions for POTS replacement, partners can deliver a service that customers trust to perform when it matters most. "When our resellers partner with TELCLOUD, they know they're getting the best technology—constantly improving, globally redundant, and built to last," Jacoby says. "Customers don't want to hear about servers and routers—they just want service that never fails." And in the Shots segment, Jacoby introduces a truly special find: Casa San Matías “Resol” Extra Añejo Tequila, aged five years in oak barrels in Jalisco, Mexico. The striking bottle—embossed with a golden sun face—reflects the craftsmanship and attention to detail shared by fine tequila and TELCLOUD's engineering philosophy. "Producers put their heart and soul into tequila," Jacoby says. "That same pride goes into the technology we build—crafted to endure and meant to be shared." The POTS and Shots series continues to blend business insight with a touch of culture—helping channel partners and MSPs prepare for the copper sunset while enjoying a global tour of the world's best tequilas. For more information, visit telcloud.com or call 844-900-2270.

“We're building for an agile future — one where messaging channels can finally talk to each other.” — Ariel Reid, VP of Customer Experience, GCH Technologies In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Doug Green, Publisher of TR Publications, speaks with Ariel Reid, Vice President of Customer Experience at GCH Technologies, about the company's mission to modernize the wireless messaging and voice ecosystem. Although GCH Technologies is a young company, its team brings over 50 years of combined telecom experience — spanning carriers, aggregators, enterprises, and CPaaS providers. Reid explains that GCH's role as a vendor-neutral platform allows it to help participants across the wireless ecosystem operate more efficiently, transparently, and securely. Reid discussed how messaging infrastructure has evolved into a fragmented patchwork of channels — including SMS, RCS, toll-free messaging, and branded calling — each governed by separate technologies, onboarding rules, and compliance frameworks. “These silos, while well-intentioned, have made it easier for threat actors to exploit gaps between channels,” she noted. GCH's mission is to unify and simplify communication across these environments while preserving flexibility for carriers and enterprises. AI plays a pivotal role in this modernization effort. Reid emphasized that while AI introduces new risks, it also strengthens defense. “For every mousetrap we build, bad actors are building one too — but AI helps us move just as fast, flagging anomalies and onboarding legitimate actors more efficiently,” she explained. A major milestone for GCH arrives January 1, 2026, when the company assumes responsibility for managing the U.S. Short Code Registry in partnership with the CTIA. This transition represents a significant modernization effort for the messaging industry. “We're ensuring continuity while introducing a more modular, data-driven, and future-ready platform,” Reid said. The initiative will centralize information, improve security, and create new opportunities for data-driven collaboration across the ecosystem. For information about the short code registry transition and GCH's modernization initiatives, visit gchtech.com or usshortcodetransition.com. Software Mind Telco Days 2025: On-demand online conference Engaging Customers, Harnessing Data

“Compliance is not going away. CMMC is here — and it's a high-margin, recurring opportunity for MSPs.” — Steven Hess, Co-Founder, Deep Fathom In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Doug Green, Publisher of TR Publications, sits down with Steven Hess, Co-Founder of Deep Fathom, to discuss the U.S. Department of Defense's new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) mandates — and how they create one of the most significant compliance and service opportunities for the MSP and channel community in years. CMMC is the federal government's new cybersecurity enforcement framework for defense contractors and their supply chains. Designed to stop state-sponsored and criminal attacks on the defense ecosystem, the mandate now requires tens of thousands of small and mid-sized contractors to meet strict cybersecurity and documentation standards — or risk losing their contracts. Recognizing that most smaller contractors lack in-house cybersecurity resources, Deep Fathom was built as an AI-driven, turnkey compliance platform that guides companies through the entire CMMC process. “We built Deep Fathom to make compliance accessible — without the hundreds of thousands in consulting fees,” said Hess. The platform automates much of the work and includes an agentic AI assistant that helps users — and their MSPs — navigate complex regulatory steps with ease. Deep Fathom partners directly with MSPs and channel partners, offering three flexible engagement models: Referral — identify and connect clients to Deep Fathom. Value-Add Services — resell and support the platform with hands-on client guidance. Compliance Practice Development — build a full service line around CMMC readiness and ongoing certification. Hess emphasized that no deep cybersecurity background is required: “We've built the expertise into the platform itself. If you understand IT, you can build a compliance practice.” He also noted that CMMC is just the beginning — state, local, and critical infrastructure sectors are expected to follow with similar frameworks, multiplying the opportunity. For MSPs and resellers, Deep Fathom represents a sticky, recurring-revenue model tied to a growing federal mandate. “Compliance is a door opener — and a long-term relationship builder,” said Hess. To learn more about Deep Fathom's partner opportunities, visit deepfathom.ai. Software Mind Telco Days 2025: On-demand online conference Engaging Customers, Harnessing Data

“Hard to get a customer — but once you have that customer, sell them something else.” — Elie Y. Katz, Founder, President & CEO, National Retail Solutions (NRS) In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Doug Green, Publisher of TR Publications, speaks with Elie Y. Katz, CEO of National Retail Solutions (NRS), about how NRS is helping small businesses compete with national chains — and why telecom resellers and MSPs are perfectly positioned to benefit from a new wave of retail technology opportunities. NRS, a division of IDT, began as a mission to modernize small, independent convenience stores through affordable, easy-to-use point-of-sale (POS) systems. A decade later, NRS has more than 38,000 units deployed nationwide, helping merchants streamline sales, manage operations, and now — expand digitally through DoorDash and Grubhub integrations. What started as a POS platform has evolved into a full suite of business services — including NRSPay for transparent, no-contract credit card processing, NRS Purple Payroll for affordable payroll solutions, and cash advance programs that help small businesses stay liquid and grow. Katz is now calling on telecom resellers and channel partners to leverage their trusted customer relationships and add new, high-margin offerings. “Every one of your customers needs credit card processing, payroll, or better cash flow. We make it simple, transparent, and profitable — for you and them,” he explained. With NRS, partners can expand beyond telecom into broader small-business enablement — reaching industries from convenience stores and retailers to medical, dental, legal, and service-based businesses. “The hardest part of sales is building trust. Our resellers already have that trust — now it's time to build on it,” Katz added. To learn more about partnership opportunities, visit SellNRS.com or explore NRS solutions at NRSPlus.com. Software Mind Telco Days 2025: On-demand online conference Engaging Customers, Harnessing Data

“The tide is turning, but it hasn't gone out yet.” — Alex Quilici, CEO, YouMail In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Doug Green speaks with Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail, about how the company is helping both carriers and enterprises identify, block, and eliminate fraudulent robocalls and impersonation attacks. After peaking at nearly 5 billion robocalls per month, U.S. volumes have fallen by more than a billion calls—a positive trend, though the fraudsters behind the remaining calls are earning more money with fewer calls. Quilici explains that YouMail, a Cloud Communications Alliance (CCA) member, is helping stop telecom “troublemakers” through a suite of AI-driven solutions that protect consumers, carriers, and enterprises alike. For carriers, YouMail's Watch and Score products flag risky robocallers by monitoring live calling behavior. Carriers upload the phone numbers they issue, and YouMail reports back when any number engages in suspicious or illegal activity—empowering providers to act quickly and shut bad actors off the network. For enterprises, YouMail's Quash solution identifies and suppresses impersonation campaigns in real time. Using analytics and carrier collaboration, Quash helps organizations such as banks and hospitality brands detect where fraudulent calls originate, block offenders, and even prepare evidence packages for law enforcement. Case studies on Regions Bank and Marriott highlight real-world success: a 60 percent reduction in telecom attacks and an $8 million fraud judgment. The results demonstrate how YouMail's technology helps legitimate businesses reclaim trust in their communications. Looking ahead to 2026, YouMail is developing a referral and reseller program to extend its protection ecosystem to more carriers and call-center partners. Learn more at youmail.com.

“Availability is resilience. If you can't see it, you can't secure it.” — Roland Dobbins, Principal Engineer, NETSCOUT ASERT Team In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Doug Green, Publisher of TR Publications, speaks with Roland Dobbins, Principal Engineer on NETSCOUT's ASERT (Arbor Security Engineering & Response Team), about the growing risk of outbound DDoS attacks—and why service providers and enterprises must defend against threats moving in every direction. NETSCOUT, a global leader in network visibility and DDoS defense, has been monitoring an alarming surge in outbound and cross-network (east-west) attack traffic driven by new “Turbo Mirai” botnets, particularly the Aisuru variant. These attacks can exceed 20 terabits per second and 6 gigapackets per second, overwhelming even the largest operators. Dobbins explains that while most organizations focus on protecting against incoming DDoS traffic, outbound attack streams can be just as damaging, clogging peering links and taking down critical infrastructure. “We're seeing broadband networks unintentionally launching massive attacks, sometimes over a terabit per second, because of compromised IoT and connected devices,” Dobbins said. “It's not just about defending the target — it's about protecting your own network from being part of the problem.” NETSCOUT's ASERT team, which observes 40,000–50,000 DDoS attacks daily across 60% of the world's IPv4 space, provides continuous research and live mitigation guidance to customers worldwide. Dobbins emphasized that effective DDoS defense requires edge-to-edge visibility, sub-second detection, and suppression of both inbound and outbound traffic. “You can't secure what you can't see,” he added. “Operators need full visibility across their networks, with active mitigation built into daily operations.” Learn more about NETSCOUT's global threat research and DDoS defense solutions at netscout.com. Software Mind Telco Days 2025: On-demand online conference Engaging Customers, Harnessing Data

At the Wildix Partner Day in Venice, Technology Reseller News Publisher Doug Green sat down with industry analyst Dave Michels to discuss his impressions of Wildix's first-ever analyst event and what it reveals about the future of UCaaS, AI, and the channel. Michels, a respected voice in enterprise communications and author of TalkingPointz, described the event as “a real look inside a company that's not just talking about digital transformation — they're living it.” “Wildix zigs where everyone else zags,” Michels said. “They've built a single-tenant UCaaS architecture for the cloud — something almost nobody else is doing — and it's full of advantages. Customers don't care if it's multi-tenant or single-tenant; they care about flexibility, data residency, and performance. Wildix has figured that out.” Michels noted that Wildix's 100% remote workforce and decentralized culture reflect the flexibility it delivers to customers. “They actually practice what they preach,” he said. “They've built a distributed organization that uses their own tools every day, and that authenticity shows through.” A key differentiator discussed was Wildix's hardware-integrated UCaaS ecosystem, including x-hoppers — an AI-enabled communications platform for retail and frontline workers — and x-bees, designed for knowledge workers and collaboration. “The x-hoppers headset is a perfect example of applied AI — it's connected, voice-activated, and aware of business workflows,” Michels observed. “If a shelf runs out of stock, it can alert staff automatically. It's an intelligent, practical use of AI that drives immediate ROI.” Looking ahead to 2026, Michels said that AI is reshaping every part of the communications stack — and that this shift favors channel partners. “AI is the magic drug right now,” he explained. “But to really leverage AI, companies need expertise — and that's coming back to the channel. We're seeing a major swing toward partners because they know how to implement, customize, and deliver these complex, outcome-driven solutions.” Michels concluded that Wildix's approach — flexible deployment options, integrated AI, and strong partner alignment — mirrors where the entire industry is heading: toward configurable, outcome-focused communications. Learn more about Dave Michels' insights and commentary at talkingpointz.com.

At the Wildix Partner Day in Venice, Technology Reseller News Publisher Doug Green spoke with Jon Arnold, Principal of J Arnold & Associates, for a candid analyst perspective on Wildix's strategy and its growing impact on the SMB and channel markets. Arnold noted that while Wildix may be lesser known in North America, its channel-first model, AI-driven innovation, and SMB focus set it apart from larger UCaaS players. “Wildix isn't trying to be everything to everyone — they're laser-focused on SMBs that want modern, ROI-driven communications, not just dial tone,” said Arnold. “They understand how to meet these businesses where they are, whether they're still on legacy PBX systems or rebuilding after the pandemic's patchwork solutions.” He emphasized that Wildix's message is no longer about PBX replacement, but about transforming communications into a strategic asset. “Voice is no longer just about making phone calls — it's data. Once AI enters the picture, conversations become business intelligence, and that's where Wildix is delivering real value,” Arnold explained. Arnold also praised the company's verticalized offerings, including AI-powered retail and healthcare solutions that demonstrate tangible returns for customers and simplify the sales process for MSPs. “They're giving the channel out-of-the-box vertical solutions with integrations already done — that's gold for partners, because it accelerates time to market and reduces disruption,” he said. From workflow automation and open APIs to remote-friendly deployment, Arnold concluded that Wildix exemplifies a vendor that both lives and delivers on the distributed-work model. “They've stayed true to their SMB roots while bringing the power of AI to that market — and that's a story worth paying attention to,” he added. Learn more about Jon Arnold's research and market insights at jarnoldassociates.com.

At the Wildix Partner Day in Venice, Italy, Technology Reseller News Publisher Doug Green sat down with Steve Osler, CEO of Wildix, to discuss how the company is using AI and automation to transform unified communications — and to empower partners with new revenue opportunities. “The main reason to move to Wildix today isn't just to unify communications — it's to automate and improve business processes, especially with AI,” said Osler. “We're helping companies replace human interactions in routine communication and integrate AI to boost sales and efficiency.” Founded in 2005 in Trento, Italy, Wildix began as a PBX innovator before becoming one of the first companies to deliver a WebRTC-based unified communications platform in 2012. Two decades later, the company is now focused on the next evolution: agentic AI and business process automation. Osler explained that AI is not simply a feature but a catalyst for business transformation. From automated scheduling and customer engagement to Salesforce-integrated workflows, Wildix enables customers to achieve measurable ROI while giving partners full ownership of their customer relationships and billing. “We don't publish price lists because every solution delivers a different value,” Osler noted. “A basic PBX may be $10 per user, but the same platform, integrated with AI and CRM automation, can be worth thousands.” Wildix's vertical specialization is also central to its strategy. Products such as x-bees, a sales tool integrated with Salesforce, and x-hoppers, a communications platform for retail frontline workers, demonstrate how narrowing focus creates greater differentiation and customer value. On the topic of Microsoft Teams integration, Osler emphasized that Wildix complements rather than competes with Teams. “We provide the telephone services and smart automation that Teams can't — the goal isn't to deliver dial tone, but to deliver value,” he said. Looking ahead to 2026, Osler stressed that partner enablement is key to Wildix's growth. “We're training partners not just to sell AI, but to understand it — to identify the right use cases, show value, and implement fast.” For Wildix, AI isn't a distant concept; it's a practical, deployable advantage. As Osler concluded with a smile: “The best way to learn more about Wildix? Ask AI.” Learn more about Wildix and its channel-first UCaaS and AI automation strategy at wildix.com.

At the Wildix Partner Day in Venice, Italy, Technology Reseller News Publisher Doug Green spoke with Stewart Donnor, Sales Engineers Manager at Wildix, about how the company's channel-first innovation and AI-powered automation are redefining the unified communications experience for partners and their customers. “Wildix is 100% channel, and our engineering team works side-by-side with partners from discovery through deal close,” Donnor explained. “We design every deployment around the customer's exact workflow — no cookie-cutter solutions.” Donnor described Wildix's flexible, customizable UCaaS and PBX ecosystem that bridges the gap between traditional telephony and modern digital engagement. The platform supports cloud, hybrid, and hardware PBXs, integrates with Microsoft Teams, CRM systems, and digital channels such as WhatsApp and SMS, and now incorporates Wilma AI — an agentic automation tool capable of handling workflows across more than 500 third-party applications. “AI is now our best employee — it never takes time off and it's always ready to work,” Donnor said. “We're using automation not to replace people, but to extend customer access and improve employee experience.” The Wildix product stack — including x-bees for collaboration and x-hoppers for retail and frontline environments — demonstrates this blend of innovation and practicality. By embedding communication into headsets and mobile endpoints, Wildix gives store associates real-time access to AI-driven knowledge and instant customer assistance, improving both staff retention and ROI. For organizations reassessing their communications post-COVID, Wildix provides migration flexibility for both legacy PBX users and those looking to upgrade hastily adopted UCaaS systems. “Many companies made quick decisions during COVID and had to compromise,” Donnor noted. “Now they're ready for a solution that restores capability without giving up control — and that's where Wildix shines.” With weekly software releases, a direct feedback loop between sales engineering and product development, and security built into every instance, Donnor emphasized Wildix's commitment to keeping partners and customers on the cutting edge. “We're agile, European-born, and secure by design. Each build is unique — future-proofing isn't just a promise, it's baked into our DNA.” To learn more about Wildix's AI-driven UCaaS and partner ecosystem, visit wildix.com.