Nyansa uses analytics algorithms, cloud computing and
machine learning to measure every end-user network
transaction, providing proactive problem detection

The concept of user performance management (UPM) is easy to understand but very difficult to implement. The Holy Grail of UPM would be a single, unified dashboard where IT operations would be able to “see” the status of every user. If a website were taking too long to load or an application were performing poorly, the operations staff could click on that user and immediately see where the problem is. 

Mist Systems rolls out new AI-enhanced Wi-Fi features
to help network managers monitor wireless network
performance and improve network security

A couple of months ago I was having dinner with a fairly well-known Silicon Valley executive who predicted that success for an IT vendor is based on two things: having lots of data and a robust artificial intelligence (AI) engine to discover new insights.

If that is true, then Mist Systems seems to be in a strong position, as the company’s solutions were designed to use AI to solve some of the bigger challenges in Wi-Fi today.

With patience and perseverance, CEO Rich McBee
finally reels in ShoreTel, achieves size and scale
for cloud communications conversions.

Like so many technology markets, unified communications is rapidly moving to the cloud, and the on-premises vendors have had to develop a plan to capture this growing market opportunity. The on-premises market certainly isn’t dead, but my research shows that UC as a service (UCaaS) is growing (18%) at about six times the rate of premises-based solutions (3%).

Mitel is one of the on-premises vendors that has done a hard pivot to the cloud, aggressively pitching its MiCloud communication services. However, Mitel is relatively small, and its size (or lack thereof) has acted as a limiting factor — its channel and reach has had limits. This is why Mitel CEO Rich McBee has put in place an aggressive acquisition strategy, rolling up many small companies to create a larger, bigger vendor that has more customers and channel partners and is better positioned for overall growth and take share.

Traditional antivirus can’t keep pace with today’s threats. Here’s how one start-up is using machine learning to fight a better fight.

Protecting an organization’s data, people and applications has never been more critical or more difficult.  The number of entry points and connected endpoints has skyrocketed and the bad guys keep getting smarter.  Clearly, something has to change. 

Using Aerohive products, City Furniture upgraded its Wi-Fi
network and digitized operations, moving POS operations
to iPads and setting the stage for Bluetooth beacons

Founded in 1971, City Furniture got its start when Kevin Koenig and his brother Keith Koenig constructed wood bed frames in a garage. They started with a single showroom, Waterbed City, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but have now grown to 27 locations across the state and operate under the brands of City Furniture and Ashley Furniture HomeStore brands.

Once primarily put in place for virtual desktop infrastructure,
HCI is now handling mission-critical workloads — UC included.

When two seemingly unrelated things come together, the combination often can have great results. For example, a Reese’s peanut butter cup is the “perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter and the perfect companion for movies sports and parties.”

Does such a thing exist in the tech world? Sure. When mobile devices first started sporting cameras, that combination seemed weird. But now it’s become a core requirement for every Snapchatting, Tweeting, Instagramming teen out there.

What about hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) and unified communications (UC)? Seems like an odd combination, but bringing the two together actually makes a lot of sense — particularly in this communications era that has enterprises rethinking the architecture of their solutions.