August 28, 2007

Jon Arnold / Elliot Katz - Microsoft Vista - Enterprise Update

On this week's podcast, Jon's guest was Elliot Katz, Senior Product Manager, Windows Client, with Microsoft Canada. Jon talked with Elliot about what Vista and Office 2007 brings to the business market, and how they are supporting today's communications and networking needs. Elliot elaborated further on key aspects of what's new with Vista, especially security and mobility. The security topic was particularly timely in light of the recent Skype outage, and Elliot commented briefly on why this was not caused by Microsoft. Elliot also noted how adoption trends of Vista compare between Canada and the U.S.

Elliot Katz
Product Manager, Windows Client
Microsoft Canada Co.
Mississauga, ON
As a senior product manager for Windows Client at Microsoft Canada, Elliot Katz is responsible for marketing strategies and key initiatives for Microsoft Windows desktop products, including the release of Windows Vista.

Elliot joined Microsoft Canada as the Windows 3.1 Product Manager in 1992. Over the past decade he has been instrumental in steering numerous products to launch, including Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows XP, Pocket PC and the Tablet PC. Having contributed to many areas within Microsoft Canada including sales, evangelism and the overseeing of product management teams, Elliot returned to his role as Product Manager for Windows Client in 2002 to drive the marketing vision of the operating system. Prior to joining Microsoft Canada, Elliot spent 15 years working with industry leaders in both hardware and software.

A native Torontonian, Elliot holds a B.Sc. from the University of Toronto and an MBA from York University. He enjoys traveling throughout Europe, bike riding, and playing defense for his pickup hockey team.

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August 21, 2007

Jon Arnold / Mark Farmer - meemo and Mobile Email for the Masses

On this week's Canadian IP Thought Leaders podcast, Jon's guest was Mark Farmer. Mark is the Vice President of Marketing for Toronto-based OceanLake Commerce, a company that has recently launched a new mobile service called meemo that works on regular cellular phones. Mark spoke with Jon about the market opportunity for consumer-based mobile email, and the need for affordable solutions that can be used with existing handsets.

He discussed how email is a natural extension of text messaging, and for the under-30 market, the time is right now for mobile email solutions such as meemo. Jon and Mark also touched on the business models that could arise from this, including both subscriber-based and advertising-based.

Mark Farmer, Vice President Marketing, OceanLake Commerce
Based in Toronto, Canada, Mark Farmer brings almost 15 years of technology and marketing experience to his role at OceanLake where he is responsible for leading market strategy, product positioning and communications. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Farmer held several senior marketing positions at various technology companies primarily in the mobile communications marketplace. Most recently he was Director of Marketing for QuickPlay Media where he oversaw the launch of the company, its brand and portfolio of mobile platforms and services. Before joining QuickPlay Media, he was Director Services Marketing at Amdocs for their services portfolio including managed services, consulting and integrations services. He came to Amdocs by way of acquisition of Solect Technology Group in April 2000. Solect was acquired for US $1.2 Billion, which at the time was the largest private acquisition in Canadian corporate history. At Solect, Mr. Farmer held various product-marketing positions with responsibility for service management and their broadband market strategy. Mr. Farmer graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Engineering).

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August 13, 2007

Jon Arnold / Mike Fox - High Tech Recruiting

On this week's podcast, Jon's guest was Mike Fox, who runs Toronto-based recruiting firm, Brightlights. Mike is an established high tech recruiter, and he spoke with Jon about the state of the industry. His focus is mainly on senior level talent, and he talked about the challenges that start ups face in attracting these people, especially for Canadian-based companies.. He also emphasized the richness of Toronto's job market, and the diversity of talent that makes it a great place for startups.

Mike added his perspective on how the job market has changed from the bubble days, and how imporant it is for seasoned tech workers to adjust their expectations to today's realities. He also provided some practical advice for people just starting out and looking for a career in tech.

Mike Fox is passionate in his efforts to help organizations meet their true potential. His last 15 years have been in recruitment in the Technology sector, focusing on executive, senior management, sales, marketing, and technical roles. He has a deep understanding of the ICT sector and his monthly reading includes MIT Technology Review, Computing Canada, Business Week, Business 2.0, Information Week, Harvard Business Review, and Strategy and Business among others.

Mike was a senior recruiter for one of Canada's largest recruiting firms (CNC Global) and was the top performer, out of 187 recruiting specialists, for each of his last five years with the company. He also spent 1.5 years working with Mandrake, an Executive Recruiting Specialty firm. Previous to that he worked with Comdisco Disaster Recovery Services, Hamilton Computers (which later became GE Capital), Vernon Computer Financing, and ran his own training company. He has been a sales representative, a sales manager, a product manager, and a fledgling entrepreneur. This provides a wide experience base from which to provide clients a perspective on the best candidates possible.

Mike interviews 200-300 professionals each year and brings a wealth of knowledge to provide you with information on best practices. He has been a speaker at 2 Conference Board of Canada National Conferences as well as the IHRIM (International Human Resource Management Association) National Conference. As well, he was a past Board Member of The Strategic Leadership Forum and now the MIT Schulich Enterprise Forum.

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August 07, 2007

Jon Arnold / Dave Dobbin - Toronto Hydro Telecom

On this week's podcast, Jon's guest was Dave Dobbin, President of Toronto Hydro Telecom. Jon invited Dave to talk about how and why public utilities become telecom providers, and in his particular case, why they recently launched One Zone, a WiFi service serving Toronto's core downtown area.

Dave touched on several aspects of their initiatives, including some pertinent regulatory issues that explain why they focus on the business market with voice services, and do not pursue residential telephony. He also drew some parallels to the U.S. market and how the regulatory environment differs there.

Jon and Dave also discussed how their broadband infrastructure is based on fiber optics and is different from broadband over powerline. Finally, Dave shared some perspectives on One Zone, including an overview of how different types of subscribers use the service.

David Dobbin, President, Toronto Hydro Telecom Inc.
David Dobbin is responsible for leading the market growth and development of Toronto Hydro Telecom Inc., with operational responsibilities for business strategy, sales and marketing, network operations, services creation and customer care.

Dave has extensive knowledge of the telecommunications industry in Canada. In recent years, he has provided strategic counsel to carriers and large corporations both nationally and internationally on projects related to telecom network construction and optimization. He has been instrumental in assisting a large number of municipal electric utilities in Ontario enter the telecom business.

Prior to joining Toronto Hydro Telecom, Dave was the Chief Operating Officer of Telecom Ottawa Limited where he created a successful telecommunications subsidiary for Hydro Ottawa Holdings Inc. Prior to this, he served in senior level executive positions with organizations such as Hydro One Telecom and BDO Watson/Watson and Associates.

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July 25, 2007

Jon Arnold / Brian Mahony - IPTV Middleware Focus

On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Brian Mahony, VP of Marketing for Ottawa-based Espial Group. The company is one of the leading independent vendors focused on IPTV middleware, and Brian provided both an overview and an update on this market. It's a key enabler of IPTV, and Brian spoke to the realities of today's deployments and adoption trends across various geographies. Espial also just had a successful IPO, and Brian shared some high level thoughts with Jon on what this means to the company and their future plans.

Brian Mahony is Espial's Vice President of Marketing and manages marketing and product management activities. Mr. Mahony has 15 years of marketing experience in the IT and telecom industry. Prior to joining Espial in 2006, Mr. Mahony was Vice President of Marketing for Netcentrex. From 2002 to 2006, Mr. Mahony promoted Netcentrex’ brand leadership until that company’s acquisition by Comverse Technology. Mr. Mahony has also held various management and consulting roles including at Siemens Unisphere Networks, Nextel Corporation, Loral Corporation and Nortel Networks Corporation. Mr. Mahony has a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Arts from Boston College.

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July 18, 2007

Jon Arnold / Iain Klugman - Communitech and the Waterloo Tech Market

On this week's podcast, Jon's guest was Iain Klugman, CEO of Communitech. This was a follow up podcast to recent trip Jon took to visit the Waterloo tech community. Communitech is a member-funded organization devoted to supporting this community in areas such as funding, government advocacy, startup advisory and recruitment. Iain spoke with Jon about the role Communitech plays, as well as the characteristics that make Waterloo such a strong community for tech startups. He also shared his insights about what successful startups have done right and what aspiring startups should be thinking about.

Iain Klugman
A Nortel veteran as Director of Branding and Advertising; Executive Director of Communications with CBC; and CEO of Ontario Tourism. Federal stints with the Privy Council Office and Industry Canada.

Overall, a 20-year background in marketing with a unique mix of technology and management experience. Iain’s Nortel work supported start-up technology companies around the globe. Here in Waterloo Region, he’s committed to supporting technology businesses where they need it most: right in the trenches, providing practical services and programs to members of all sizes. Part of his role is as key contact for government relations, to make sure that all levels of government know about the developments and capabilities in Waterloo Region´s tech sector. Iain is also committed to community partnerships, sitting on several boards, including the Prosperity Council, the Guelph-Waterloo Biotechnology Council, the Accelerator Centre and the Research + Technology Park.

Iain holds an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University, an MPA degree from Dalhousie University and an HBA from Laurentian University

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July 16, 2007

Jon Arnold / Rod Piukkala - Telus and Emergency Communications

On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Rod Piukkala, Director, Telus Business Solutions. Within this group his focus is on the Ontario Public Sector, and he joined Jon to speak about the current state of emergency communications in Canada.

He provided an overview of the challenges faced by first responders to emergency situations, and the need to collaborate quickly with real time information. Rod provided some specific examples with a health care scenario, and shared his own perspective of what it is like being on the front lines when these events occur. He also spoke about how Telus is addressing this market with their Web-based SafetyNet solution.

Rod Piukkala is a Director, TELUS Business Solutions, Ontario Public Sector, for TELUS Communications Inc., working out of Toronto. He has been employed with TELUS since September 2006 after retiring from the public safety sector in July of that year. He is presently responsible for ensuring the products, services and solutions offered by TELUS are compatible and responsive to the needs of Ontario municipalities and public safety agencies, the Province of Ontario and the federal government. Key focuses of those offerings are emergency management and security applications.

He is formerly the Deputy Chief of Police with the Durham Regional Police, east of Toronto, which employs in excess of 1100 members. He has previous experience as the Chief of Police of a mid-sized police service (Oxford Community Police Service) and held progressive leadership roles within Peel Regional Police where he attained the rank of Superintendent. He was a high profile member of Peel Regional Police for in excess of 26 years, with extensive Homicide investigation experience. Peel Regional Police has approximately 1900 staff.

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July 03, 2007

Jon Arnold / Rob Moffat - Wallace Wireless and Business Continuity

On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Rob Moffat, President and co-Founder of Toronto-based Wallace Wireless. The topic was business continuity, and the market opportunity around providing this to mobile devices. Rob addressed issues and challenges related to business continuity and how important it is becoming to provide wireless solutions. Jon and Rob talked about how Wallace Wireless is approaching the market, as well as the advantages of being Toronto-based, especially in terms their business partnership with Waterloo-based RIM.

Rob Moffat
President and Co-Founder, Wallace Wireless
Rob Moffat co-founded Wallace Wireless with a vision to bring practical wireless applications to market. He is a 17 year veteran of software development in the high-tech, financial services and telecommunication sector where he was instrumental in growing Metex Systems into a leading supplier of large grained software components for Telco provisioning and billing.

Rob is a graduate of the University of Toronto and has been an active entrepreneur for over 25 years. Rob is a popular speaker who frequently presents about wireless technologies and applications at industry conferences.

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June 22, 2007

Jon Arnold / Don Albert - Skype - Canadian Update

On this week's podcast, Jon's guest was Don Albert, VP and General Manager for Skype North America. Don provided an update on how Skype is doing in Canada, and shared some metrics on users and broadband adoption. The discussion touched on several topics, including Skype for Business, SkypeIn/Out, the Canadian developer community, and routes to market for Skype. Don noted how the family of Skype-supported endpoints continues to grow, and that by year-end, their online store will start shipping to Canada.

Don Albert is Vice President and General Manager of Skype North America, in which role he manages North American operations for the Internet communications company owned by eBay.

Don moved to Skype in early 2006 from eBay, where he managed business development in the Strategic Partnerships Group for four years, during which time he formed strategic partnerships with companies ranging from HP to Toyota to Twentieth Century Fox. Don was recognized in 2004 as a Marketer of the Year by Promo magazine for his team's innovative marketing partnerships.

Before joining eBay, he held senior management roles at several leading Internet and media companies. He was Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales at wireless technology startup fusionOne and Senior Vice President of Advertising Sales and E-Commerce at rich-media pioneer PointCast. He led early efforts in online classified and directory advertising at AOL's Digital City, where he was head of advertising sales and marketing, and at washingtonpost.com, where he was part
of the launch team and Senior Vice President of Advertising Sales.

Posted at 12:38 PM • Comments (1)

June 21, 2007

Jon Arnold / Deloitte / MyThum Interactive - Canada's New Media Sector

On this week's podcast, Jon hosted 3 guests to talk about the New Media sector in Canada. This podcast was a follow up to the Canadian New Media Awards, which Jon covered on his blog in late May. Joining Jon was Gary Gluckman and Richard Lee from Deloitte, along with Michael Carter, CEO of MyThum Interactive.

As noted on Jon's post, Michael's company won the Company of the Year Award at CNMA, and he talked about what the award means to MyThum, as well as the many positive benefits that have come with the recognition. Gary and Richard spoke about the new media sector in general, and the growth drivers behind it in Canada. Three speakers made for a crowded, but lively session, and anyone interested in New Media will find this of interest.

Michael Carter - President and CEO, MyThum Interactive

Michael Carter is the President and CEO of MyThum Interactive, a leader in interactive mobile media. In his leadership role at MyThum, Michael draws on more than a decade of wireless, e-commerce, interactive entertainment and management consulting experience.

With direct connections to all Canadian wireless operators and access to major U.S. carriers, MyThum enables brands and media companies to build relationships with more than 220 million consumers through their mobile phones. Since 2002, Michael and his team have launched over 600 hundred successful mobile initiatives, many being the first of their kind in North America.

MyThum powers the direct-to-consumer mobile content storefronts for Warner Music Canada, Universal Music Canada and Best Buy USA and interactive television solutions for broadcasters such as MuchMusic, MTV Canada, Global Television and Rogers Sportsnet. MyThum is also the mobile marketing partner for leading brands such as Molson, Nike, Nissan and Shoppers Drug Mart.

Gary Gluckman - Partner: Technology, Media and Telecommunications Industry Practice, Leader: Media and Entertainment Practice, Deloitte

Gary Gluckman is the leader for Deloitte’s Media and Entertainment practice in Canada. He is also a Taxation Partner in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) industry practice and a member of Deloitte’s TMT Executive Management Committee.

Gary has almost 15 years experience as a tax consultant to leading TMT companies. He has significant experience in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations and international tax planning. Gary has advised Canadian and foreign-based multinationals on federal and provincial tax planning matters, foreign investment and financing structures, as well as domestic and foreign reorganizations.

Current and past clients include, CHUM Limited, CTV Globemedia, Microsoft, J.L. Albright Venture Partners, Birch Hill Equity Partners, Amp’d Mobile, IRESS Market Technology, Panavision, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Truition Inc., The Cookie Jar Company, and VFM Interactive.

Gary is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, and the Canadian Tax Foundation. He is also invited to frequently speak at events and conferences on a number of topics, including the media industry.

Richard Lee - Partner: Technology, Media & Telecommunications Industry Practice, Deloitte

Richard Lee is the Consulting lead for Deloitte’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) industry practice in Canada, a member of the firm’s TMT Executive Management Committee, and one of the leaders of Deloitte Canada’s Customer & Market Strategy practice.

Richard has more than 20 years experience as a consultant, including over 15 years working with leading telecom and media companies. In that time, he has worked on three continents, staying at the forefront of changes in the communications and media sectors. Current and past clients include, Allstream, Bell Canada, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the BBC, Lucent Technologies, MasterCard, Reuters, Rogers Communications, Sprint, and SBC.

Richard specializes in working with senior management to develop and implement practical, growth-oriented, customer-facing business strategies. His recent work focuses on building his clients’ capabilities to increase revenue by improving customer interactions. Specific projects cover customer strategy development and implementation, customer segmentation, channel strategy, and sales force effectiveness.

Richard started his consulting career with Deloitte in London, England. He moved to Toronto in 1993 after two years with Deloitte in Sydney, Australia.

He is the co-author of the white papers The Case for Using Mobile Phones for Payments (November 2004) and The Wallet Goes Wireless (July 2005) and is a frequent media commentator on trends and events in the communications industry.

Posted at 06:19 PM • Comments (0)

June 15, 2007

Jon Arnold's Waterloo Mini-Tour, Part 3: Podcast with Dave Bullock, LiveHive Systems

For the third podcast of the mini-tour, Jon visited the offices of LiveHive Systems, and met with Dave Bullock, the company's President. LiveHive's flagship offering is called NanoGaming, which greatly enhances the interactive component for watching live events on television, especially sports and reality shows. They have been doing this quite successfully with the NFL and the reality show Survivor. Dave explains their business in more detail, especially the two screen interactive concept that their business is built around. If you're following disruptive broadcasting and the future of interactive entertainment, this podcast is for you.

NOTE - this podcast was not recorded under ideal conditions, and we have done our best to make it as good as possible.

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Jon Arnold's Waterloo Mini-Tour, Part 2: Podcast with Linda Fegan and Mark Whaley

On the second podcast, Jon spoke with Linda Fegan and Mark Whaley. Linda is the Director of Marketing and Communications for Canada's Technology Triangle Inc., and Mark is a Councillor for the City of Waterloo. Linda provided additional insight to John Tennant's comments about what makes the Waterloo Region so attractive for tech companies. Mark did the same, as well as talk more about what it means for Waterloo being selected as the #1 Intelligent Community in the world by the Intelligent Communities Forum.

NOTE - this podcast was not recorded under ideal conditions, and we have done our best to make it as good as possible.

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Jon Arnold's Waterloo Mini-Tour, Part 1: Podcast with John Tennant, Canada's Technology Triangle

On June 7, Jon spent the day in Waterloo, Ontario, doing a mini-tour of their thriving tech scene. More detail about his trip can be found on Jon's blog. Part of Jon's trip included a series of 3 onsite interviews that he has shared with PPN, and are being posted here as podcasts for your benefit.

The first podcast was conducted with John Tennant, the CEO of Canada's Technology Triangle Inc. This organization is a major focal point for suppporting tech companies and investment in the Waterloo Region. John discusses this in detail on the podcast, along with the many initiatives they have underway to promote the region to the world.

NOTE - these podcasts were not recorded under ideal conditions, and we have done our best to make them as good as possible.

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June 12, 2007

Jon Arnold / Mike Barry - Vecima Networks and the State of WiMax

On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Mike Barry about the current state of WiMax, and what his company is doing to move it forward. Mike is the CFO of Saskatchewan-based Vecima Networks, one of the few publicly-traded Canadian IP communications vendors. Jon and Mike talked about where fixed WiMax is today, including issues around standards, in-building coverage, what's driving adoption and what types of operators are embracing it. Mike also commented about emerging trends and applications, especially around video. He also touched on elements that make Saskatchewan a good place for their company to be based.

Mike Barry, Chief Financial Officer, Vecima Networks, Inc.
Mr. Barry joined Vecima Networks in March 2000. Mr. Barry worked for the Government of British Columbia as a First Nations land claims negotiator from 1996 to 1999 and as an energy efficiency and technology manager, developing energy efficiency requirements for equipment and appliances, from 1990 to 1996. He also worked as a consultant from 1987 to 1997, specializing in venture capital financing, project management and initial public offerings. From 1983 to 1987, Mr. Barry was Director of Corporate Development at SED Systems. From 1971 to 1981, he worked for the Government of Saskatchewan as Executive Director of Revenue. Mr. Barry has been a director of a number of companies including Agra Industries, SaskTel, Prince Albert Pulp, Prairie Malt and Intercontinental Packers.

Mr. Barry received a Bachelor of Commerce degree, with honours in finance, from the University of Saskatchewan in 1969, and a Master of Arts degree in economics from the University of Washington in 1971. Mr. Barry was presented with a Canadian Standards Association Award of Merit in 1995 for his contributions to the development of energy performance standards.

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June 05, 2007

Jon Arnold / Chris Lyman - Fonality and Open Source Telephony

On this week's Canadian IP Thought Leaders podcast, Jon spoke with Chris Lyman, CEO of Fonality. The topic was open source telephony, a space that Fonality has become a leading player in. Chris and Jon talked about the state of open source telephony, and how using Asterisk, Fonality has been driving adoption not just in the business market, but in the home as well.

Looking ahead, Chris also talked about how new features will be the key to growth, and how over time, open source will become increasingly stable, which itself will set the stage for broader adoption. On the Canadian front, Fonality has a local footprint, and Chris talked about the market opportunity he sees there, as well as how Canada differs from the U.S.

Chris Lyman, Chief Executive Officer, Fonality
Fonality is Chris' third startup. Prior to Fonality, he founded and led Virtualis, a top-ten Web Hosting company. Chris bootstrapped Virtualis for 3 profitable years until raising $8 million in venture capital, and eventually growing the firm to over $7 million in recurring revenue. Keys to Virtualis' growth were its Web-based control panel and its 44,000 member online reseller channel. Chris sold Virtualis to Allegiance Telecom (NASDAQ: ALGX) in late 2000, re-branded it to hosting.com, and joined the Allegiance management team as Vice President of Web Hosting Services. There he led the acquisition and roll-up of additional hosting firms. In 1994, before Virtualis, Chris founded a media-focused systems integration firm in Los Angeles. Chris is a licensed SCCA-Pro driver and owns a motor sports racing team.

Posted at 06:13 PM • Comments (0)

May 30, 2007

Jon Arnold / Jim Glover - BDC - A VC's Perspective

On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Jim Glover, Investment Director with BDC Venture Capital. BDC is the Business Development Bank of Canada, and is a Crown Corporation. They have a broad mandate to support small businesses, including venture capital. Jim and Jon talked about the current climate for Canadian telecom and tech companies, and the role that venture capital is playing.

Jim talked about the challenges VCs face in today's market, as startups need less money now, and also exit at lower valuations. On the positive side, Jim talked about the qualities he sees in companies that are getting funding, and noted that he sees value in companies that are able to create service platforms as opposed to singular software applications. Finally, Jim shared his thoughts on where he sees promising development,such as wireless applications.

Jim Glover is an Investment Director at BDC Venture Capital focusing solely on telecommunications investments. Prior to BDC, Jim had over 18 years experience with a major telecommunication equipment vendor, having held senior positions in product management, engineering, finance and marketing. Jim is a director at Dyaptive Systems, Navtel Communications and New Step Networks and has managed investments for BDC in Nimcat Networks, Sandvine Corporation and Sirific Wireless. He also sits on the advisory board for the University of Toronto, Master of Engineering in Telecommunications Program.

Jim holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from McMaster University.

BDC Venture Capital has invested in more than 400 different companies in the areas of life sciences, telecommunications, information technology and advanced technologies. It currently has over $430 million in venture capital assets under management.

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May 22, 2007

Jon Arnold / Stéphane Marceau - Mobivox and Mobile VoIP

On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Stéphane Marceau, CEO of Montreal-based MOBIVOX. Stéphane was a guest last year, and with the recent launch of their service, it was a good time for an update. MOBIVOX is focused on enabling mobile calls for Skype users, and Stephane talked about the opportunity that companies like his are trying to address in this large and rapidly growing market.

Stéphane and Jon also talked about how the various features of MOBIVOX enhance the mobile Skype experience, especially voice recognition and "Voxgirl", the auto attendent who responds to your speech commands to initiate calls and see who is available on your Skype contact list. Other features discussed included conference calling on the fly, and the handoff of calls from mobile to landline without having to drop out and dial back in. Finally, Stephane talked about the Montreal tech market, and what makes it attractive for startups like MOBIVOX.

Stéphane Marceau, CEO, MOBIVOX
Stéphane Marceau brings to MOBIVOX over 12 years of senior global experience in the fields of telecom and IP. As Vice-President with Bell Canada, he built several new business lines, including the residential VoIP group. Stéphane served as VP and head of many different Bell groups - consumer strategy, e-commerce, online SME markets and – as well as led several acquisitions and partnerships. Prior to his time at Bell Canada, he advised wireless and telecom companies in Western Europe, the U.S. and Canada on Internet strategy and technology related opportunities. Stéphane is also on the board of several Montreal-based Internet startups.

Stephane holds a Master's degree in Management of Technology from the University of Waterloo and a BA in Finance from the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Posted at 06:23 PM • Comments (0)

May 17, 2007

Jon Arnold / Stefan Dubowski - Talking Open Source and Web 2.0

On this week's podcast, Jon brought back Stefan Dubowski for his second segment on PPN. They did their first podcast last March, and the time was right for a return visit. Stefan is the Editor of Decima's Telemanagement magazine, one of Canada's leading telecom publications. He's a veteran industry watcher, and like Jon, attended the IT360 Conference held earlier this month in Toronto.

Jon and Stefan talked about the conference's keynote from tech guru Don Tapscott, as well as their impressions about what they saw there related to Open Source and Web 2.0. Stefan spoke at greater length about the trends he's seeing in terms of how these technologies are being adopted, as well as the reservations that larger enterprises still have around using them as a replacement for PBX systems.

Stefan Dubowski is the editor of Decima's Telemanagement, the preeminent journal of Canadian business communications technology. His expertise in the Canadian telecom landscape stems from years covering the space, first as a staff reporter at CanadaComputes.com, then as a senior writer, department editor, assistant editor and associate editor at IT World Canada’s numerous publications. Two of his articles have garnered nominations for the Kenneth R. Wilson Awards for business journalism and he received an honourable mention at the Accenture business journalism awards in 2001.

Posted at 12:36 PM • Comments (0)

May 09, 2007

Hilmar Gunnarsson / Jon Arnold - Oz and the Mobile Messaging Market

On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Hilmar Gunarrsson, the EVP of Sales and Marketing with Montreal-based Oz Communications. Oz is one of the leading providers of mobile messaging solutions, and Hilmar provided his perspective on the state of this market. Hilmar and Jon talked about the popularity of mobile messaging in Europe, and why it has been slower to take root in North America. He sees that changing, and Hilmar discussed how mobile messaging is broadening to IM and social networking, where subscribers are looking to enjoy all of these services on their cellular phones.

Hilmar Gunnarsson – EVP, Sales and Marketing, Oz Communications
As Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Hilmar drives OZ's Sales and Marketing activities; additionally he is a member of the Company's Board of Directors. Hilmar has played multiple roles within OZ since joining the company in 1999 and has been instrumental in driving the Company's growth by working closely with OZ's strategic customers and partners. Prior to joining OZ, Hilmar founded Idea, a company focusing on multimedia communications, and held senior Marketing and Product Management positions at the Bank of Iceland. Hilmar holds a Business degree from the University of Iceland.

Posted at 12:32 PM • Comments (0)

May 01, 2007

Jon Arnold / David Mandelstam - Sangoma and Open Source Telephony

On this week's podcast, Jon welcomed back David Mandelstam, President/CEO of Toronto-based Sangoma Technologies. David was a podcast guest here last March, and Jon brought him back for an update on Open Source telephony. Sangoma continues to be an innovator in this market, and David talked about their recent news to include Octasic's echo cancellation with their analog voice cards. David provided an overview of the importance of providing cost-effective carrier-grade echo cancellation for IP telephony, and how this is another step forward in how Open Source telephony is maturing to rival IP PBX. Jon and David also talked about broader market trends, including how they see Microsoft and IBM becoming key drivers of Open Source telephony adoption.

David Mandelstam, President/CEO, Sangoma Technologies

As a pioneer in the connectivity hardware and software products for telephony, Wide Area Network (WAN) and the Internet, Founder/President/CEO of Sangoma Technologies, David Mandelstam, is responsible for overall management of the Company and its future strategic direction.

David and his research and development team focuses on Sangoma’s family of AFT (Advanced Flexible Telecommunication) T1/E1/J1 voice/data cards that are engineered for today’s demanding soft PBX, IVR and VoIP applications, such as Asterisk™, Yate™, and others. They offer a new price/performance standard unparalleled in the industry that its competitors are now following.

Before starting Sangoma in 1984, David ran an engineering company and was engineering VP of an energy conservation company.

Posted at 11:39 AM • Comments (0)

April 25, 2007

Jon Arnold / Mario Belanger - Avaya Canada and Enterprise Communications

On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Mario Belanger, President of Avaya Canada. Mario and Jon discussed the current trends around the adoption of IP communications among Canada's enterprises. These included Unified Communications, the challenges vendors face in developing effective channels to support IP, and the potential IP brings as a business transformation enabler. Avaya's acquisition of Ubiquity was also discussed in the context of a successful Canadian vendor, and what they bring to Avaya's IP communications portfolio.

Mario Belanger, President of Canadian Operations, Avaya Canada

Mario Belanger is Avaya’s president of Canadian operations. He is responsible for directing Avaya Canada’s sales and operations, and providing strategic direction to expand the company’s leadership and market share in Canada. Avaya is a leading global provider of communications networks and services for businesses with Canadian headquarters in Markham, Ontario, and offices across the country.

Most recently, Mario was president of Paradyne Worldwide Corporation where he was responsible for sales, marketing, customer service and research and development. Prior to that, he was vice president and general manager of AT&T Paradyne Canada where he was responsible for Canadian sales and marketing activities. Before joining Paradyne in 1986, Mr. Belanger held management positions at Xerox Canada and Bell Canada.

Mario is a graduate of Bishop’s University. He has received numerous sales excellence and leadership awards over the course of his career. A native of Montreal, Quebec, he currently resides with his family in Markham, Ontario.

Posted at 12:36 PM • Comments (0)

April 17, 2007

Jon Arnold / Craig Betts - Solace Systems and Intelligent Content Routing

On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Craig Betts of Ottawa-based Solace Systems. Craig is the founder, as well as CEO and President, and his company has a leading focus on an emerging network solution - intelligent content routing. Craig framed the discussion by explaining what this term means, and why it's becoming important - not just for service providers, but for enterprises as well as companies that are in the business of regularly pushing content out to communities of interest.

Good examples would be a news service like Reuters, or a financial information service like Bloomberg. Their subscribers depend on timely, accurate and relevant content on a continual basis. Craig talked about the challenges of doing this in existing networks and how solutions like his can not only deliver content more efficiently, but can also enable the creation of new content streams, and hence new revenue sources. For now, the focus is mainly on data content, but multimedia is coming, which will only increase the need for intelligent content routing.

Craig Betts - President and CEO, Solace Systems

Mr. Betts founded Solace Systems with the vision of embedding application intelligence directly into networks. Specifically, Mr. Betts observed that hardening content infrastructure into lightning fast hardware would enable data and content service providers to offer highly scalable new revenue generating services and improve distributed communications for large enterprises. Mr. Betts works closely with all aspects of the business and maintains strategic relationships with customer executives to assure successful product deployments.

Prior to Solace Systems, Mr. Betts was CEO of Waterfall Networks, a developer of Web conferencing equipment, Vice President, Technology at In-Touch Survey Systems and a Project Executive at IMRglobal (acquired by CGI Group). Mr. Betts holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Queen's University.

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April 13, 2007

Jon Arnold / Kate Morgan - Podcasting as a Business Tool

On this week's Canadian IP Thought Leaders podcast, Jon spoke with Kate Morgan. Kate is the President of Podwise Social Media, a Toronto-based firm focused on the business value of new media tools such as podcasting and blogging. Her company is a strong advocate of using these tools to help clients create a more personal touch for their business, especially in professions such as law.

Kate talked about the stong demand she is seeing from businesses who are just discovering social media tools, and want to use them in a beneficial way. Most of these companies are not technically savvy, and need help in creating these tools, as well as the content. Kate commented about the novelty effect of podcasts and blogs, as they are still very new to most businesses.

She emphasized the importance of producing quality content, and gave examples of how a law firm would use podcasts to explain basic legal principles. While one could get the same information in text form off a website, she noted that a podcast provides a more humanized feel, which professions like law don't easily give off. Finally, Kate distinguished between educational content and providing advice - the latter which she would not advocate for her clients to do.

Kate Morgan, President of Podwise Social Media Inc.

Kate Morgan founded Podwise Social Media Inc. in 2006. Podwise is a Toronto based marketing firm which specializes in educating professionals on the power and potential of social media tools to improve communication between the corporate and public spheres. Podwise faciliates the creation, management and integration of engaging blogs and podcasts into more traditional marketing and public relations strategies.

Kate has always been passionate about technology and media, specifically the impact of the Internet on business communication, as more aspects of our personal and professional lives move online. Her previous experience as Marketing Director at Hull & Hull LLP, and her degree in English from Queen’s University, have been essential to her expertise in new media marketing strategies.

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March 30, 2007

Jon Arnold / Steve Mast - Delvinia and New Media Marketing

On this week's podcast, Jon's guest was Steve Mast, who is the VP and Managing Director of Toronto-based Delvinia Interactive. Delvinia is a digital marketing agency, and is one of Canada's leading exponents of utilizing new media for their clients. Steve spoke about the various approaches companies are taking in using new media, and how the performance metrics differ from traditional marketing tools.

In particular, the conversation focused on a program Delvinia has just completed for the Royal Bank, which is Canada's largest financial institution. Titled the Next Great Innovator Challenge, the bank wanted a program where they could engage the youth market - primarily college/university students - in a contest to come up with great ideas for how banks can reach today's youth with financial services. The winners were in fact, just announced, and the bank got some terrific results. Much of the program was web-based, including a blog, which served as a valuable reference resource for the contestants.

Steve talked about how these elements worked together, as well as the realities of putting a program like this together for a large bank. For anyone interested in how new media is finding its way into mainstream marketing programs, this podcast is for you.

Steve Mast, Vice President, Managing Director
Delvinia Interactive
Steve's keen eye for creative, strategy and innovative thinking stem from a uniquely diverse background. Steve was educated as an architect and started his career as a Game Producer, developing video games and 3D animation programs. He went on to direct and produce TV spots, music videos, corporate videos and special effects for full length feature films.

Steve joined Delvinia in 2000 to build its Digital Customer Experience and Interactive Marketing practice, and is one of the partners at the agency. Currently he holds the position of Vice President, Managing Director. Steve’s commitment to superior service has been pivotal in creating Delvinia’s list of distinguished clientele, and he continues to be the key contact for our major accounts.

Immediately prior to joining Delvinia, Steve spent 7 years at Microforum Inc. in various roles, including Director of Operations and Production for the Creative Services group. He became a leader in converging technologies, marketing and media as he managed the production and client service groups in Interactive, Broadcast Video, and Print Production.

Steve continues to give back to the digital marketing industry by actively participating on councils and committees, and speaking at various industry events. Currently he is a member of the Association of Internet Marketing and Sales (AIMS), the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB) and the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA), where he is the vice-chair of the Integrated Marketing and Customer Experience Council. Steve also co-chairs the CMA’s Digital Marketing Conference, and is a judge for the CMA Awards and the Canadian New Media Awards.

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March 27, 2007

Jon Arnold / David Cork - Natural Convergence and SMB IP Telephony

On this week's podcast, Jon focused on the small business market and the adoption of hosted solutions for IP telephony. Jon's guest was David Cork, the CEO and co-founder of Ottawa-based Natural Convergence.

David's company was one of the first to focus on the small end of the SMB market for IP telephony, especially via a hosted solution. On the podcast, David spoke about the business opportunity, and how this market has been historically underserved. His company in particular has been built around the problems faced by small businesses and he spoke to how a hosted solution could address those needs.

Jon and David also explored the dynamics of this market, with David sharing his insights about why hosted telephony is a good fit for small businesses, or businesses with multiple branch offices that are too small to justify their own premises-based systems. On the domestic front, David discussed their role in the upcoming offering coming from Toronto-based Rogers, marking the first entree from a major MSO into the SMB market.

David Cork, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Natural Convergence
David Cork has over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. Prior to co-founding Natural Convergence, he served in a variety of leadership and executive roles with Bell Northern Research, Mitel Corporation, ObjecTime and Nortel.

David has proven his ability to execute business plans. While with Nortel, he held the position of Chief Operating Officer for eXtremeVoice, Nortel’s national ASP offering in the area of Internet Call Waiting. Previously, he laid the foundation for sales growth at ObjecTime and built Mitel's Computer-Telephony Integration unit into a multi-million dollar business.

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March 15, 2007

Jon Arnold / Yves Laliberte - Aastra Telecom and the State of IP Telephony

This week's Canadian IP Thought Leaders podcast featured Yves Laliberte, EVP of Aastra Telecom. Aastra is based in Toronto, and is one of the leading business telephone OEMs, for both legacy and IP markets. Yves addressed the current state of the market, and compared the differing paths that enterprises and SMBs are taking as they adopt IP.

He also focused on the importance of Open Source and SIP for enabling more flexible and feature rich solutions than were possible in the TDM world. Finally, Jon and Yves talked about the road ahead, and how Unified Communications and FMC will be driving the market, and how that will impact vendors like Aastra.

Yves Laliberte is Executive Vice President of Aastra Telecom Inc. With over twenty years experience in the IT , Telecommunication and Networking industry, Yves has a proven tack record of creating winning business strategies, driving profitable growth, building sound management teams, establishing strategic alliances and implementing effective fiscal management. Yves has earned a BBA from Bishop’s University, an Executive Business program from Queen’s University and an International Executive Business program from INSEAD in France. While in University, Yves achieved the rank of Lieutenant in the Canadian Armed Forces.

His career includes over 20 years of senior leadership roles in general management, sales, business development, and strategy formulation with industry leaders such as Avaya, Cisco Systems, AT&T, and IBM Canada. In addition, he has demonstrated the ability to manage and grow start up organizations such as AlphaNet. He is a member of the Canadian Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) and a graduate of the Corporate Director Leadership Program.

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March 09, 2007

Jon Arnold / Brian O'Higgins - Third Brigade and Enterprise Security

On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Brian O'Higgins, the CTO of Ottawa-based Third Brigade. The topic was network security, and Brian has extensive experience in this area beyond his tenure with this company. Third Brigade specializes in intrusion prevention, and Brian spoke to the security threats that arise with IP, and how they use deep packet inspection to identify them.

He provided many examples of these threats, and spoke to how difficult it is today to truly protect a network from external threats, especially with employees increasingly accessing the network remotely from their laptops. Jon and Brian also touched on session border controllers, and how edge-based solutions approach security differently from those that reside in the core.

Brian O’Higgins, Chief Technology Officer, Third Brigade Inc.

Mr. O’Higgins is seasoned professional in the security industry, and is best known for his role in introducing PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) technology and products to the security landscape. He is also a recognized speaker on IT and Internet security.

Prior to joining Third Brigade as a member of the founding executive team, Mr. O'Higgins was the co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Entrust, a leading Internet Security company. While at Entrust he had overall responsibility for the technology vision and direction for the company. He was previously with Nortel where he established the Secure Networks group in 1993, and was instrumental in spinning-out this group as an independent company, Entrust.

Prior to this, Mr. O’Higgins was with Bell-Northern Research (BNR) where he was involved in a variety of technology development programs including public key security systems, technology for new telephone products, in-building wireless communications systems and high-performance computing architectures for digital telephone switches.

Mr. O’Higgins’ current list of affiliations includes advisory board positions with Defence R&D Canada, Information Technology Association of Canada, Communications and Information Technology Ontario, Algonquin College, and the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association. In addition, he currently serves on the boards of Recognia and Fischer International.

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March 01, 2007

Jon Arnold / Claude Galipeau - BlogTV.ca and New Media

On Jon's latest podcast, he spoke with Claude Galipeau, who is the Senior VP, Digital Media for Toronto-based Alliance Atlantis Communications. The company is one of Canada's largest and most progressive media players, and is the driving force behind the introduction of BlogTV to Canada. In January 2007, BlogTV.ca was launched, and Canada was the first market that Israel-based BlogTV has expanded into.

Claude and Jon talked about what BlogTV.ca is all about, and how traditional media companies like Alliance Atlantis are experimenting with various forms of new media. BlogTV.ca has the potential to be many things, and Claude touched on some of these possibilities. He also shared insights about how BlogTV's popularity in Israel, where the content is more explicit, and how widely used it is on mobile devices. Jon and Claude also discussed issues around business models and various ways that BlogTV.ca will try to build its audience.

Claude Galipeau is Senior Vice President, Digital Media, Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. He is responsible for new media business strategy, programming and operations for all Alliance Atlantis properties.

Claude previously was Executive Director, Digital Programming and Business Development, at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Claude’s background includes working for Alliance Atlantis Communications, as Vice-President, Broadcasting, and heading business development at Salter Street Films.

Claude has also worked as a senior adviser to the Government of Ontario’s Cabinet Office, Premier’s Office and Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs; a senior advisor and lobbyist at the World Association of Newspapers based in Paris; an independent media consultant; and, from 1990-1991, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Administration at the University of Ottawa.

Posted at 03:39 PM • Comments (0)

February 21, 2007

Jon Arnold / Joe Warnement - Digital Fairway and Managing Enterprise Convergence

On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Joe Warnement, CEO of Toronto-based Digital Fairway Corporation. The company is market leader in advanced OSS solutions with a strong focus on managing multimedia communications in a converged network environment. This is an area of growing importance, and Joe spoke to the pain points that enterprises are experiencing as they go down the path of network convergence.

Joe further discussed how enterprises underestimate the backend requirements for network convergence, and the specific issues around managing the corporate communications infrastructure. Digital Fairway was part of the Dow Chemical VoIP deployment in 2004, and working with Cisco, they gained valuable experience in what was then the largest VoIP enterprise roll out. They have built upon that considerably, and Joe commented the market opportunity he sees ahead.

Joe Warnement, Chairman and CEO, Digital Fairway
Joe brings 20 years' experience leading teams in both communications outsourcing and management consulting businesses, centered on corporate development and new enterprise launches.

Prior to joining the Company, Joe was President of the Communications Service Line at EDS where he formulated the business and operating strategy that resulted in the formation of a highly successful, internationally recognized enterprise communications outsourcing business within EDS. Joe also served as Global Managing Director and Vice President in the Telecommunications and Utilities industry practice at A.T. Kearney.

Prior to joining A.T. Kearney and EDS, Joe was the Global Director of the Telecommunications and Utilities Practices at Arthur D. Little Management Consulting, a Managing Director at Theodore Barry & Associates and an Associate in Mergers & Acquisitions with Goldman Sachs.

Posted at 12:26 PM • Comments (0)

February 07, 2007

Jon Arnold / Don Smith - Mitel and IP Telephony Trends

On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Don Smith, the CEO of Mitel. Based in Kanata, Ontario, Mitel is one of the leading providers of IP telephony solutions, and has been at the forefront of innovation for some time. On the domestic front, Jon and Don talked about the recent announcement they made with Rogers to offer hosted IP telephony to Canada's SMBs. This is a first in North America among the majors cablecos, and Don explained how it is especially different since Rogers offers both fixed and wireless services, making this a great opportunity to provide FMC services.

On a broader scale, Don spoke about some of the bigger trends driving the adoption of IP telephony, including teleworkers, as well as the productivity gains to be had from Presence and Unified Messaging. To illustrate, he provided examples of some vertical market scenarios, such as contact centers and health care. He also talked about how Mitel stays competitive against the big legacy vendors, and has been successful regardless of geographic boundaries.

Don Smith brings more than 30 years of international business experience in identifying new technology markets and coupling vision with execution to his position as Chief Executive Officer of Mitel®. Since assuming this role in 2001, Don has led Mitel’s highly successful venture of bringing next-generation IP Communications solutions to the global marketplace.

As CEO, Don is responsible for upholding and advancing Mitel’s leadership in the IP Communications market, devising and executing forward-thinking business strategies and corporate policies, and overseeing Mitel’s global operations. His in-depth insight and understanding of the evolution of IP Communications within enterprise and carrier networks has guided Mitel’s successful transition from a traditional PBX provider into an international, market-leading IP Communications solutions vendor.

Posted at 10:47 AM • Comments (0)

January 31, 2007

Jon Arnold / Mark Whaley - City of Waterloo and Global Tech Leadership

On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Mark Whaley, who is a Councillor with the City of Waterloo. Jon saw Mark present at a conference earlier this month in Hawaii, and liked the Waterloo story enough to do a podcast about it, now that both of them are much closer to home. Waterloo is a bit more than an hour west of Toronto, and in tech circles is best known for local hero RIM. As Mark explains, there is much more to the Waterloo tech story, and he does a great job talking about the role the University of Waterloo plays here, and its close relationship with the prviate sector.

On a more timely basis, is the recognition Waterloo just received from the Intelligent Community Forum, where for the second year running, Waterloo placed in the top 7 of global communities utilizing broadband for the betterment of their community. Mark talked about what the ICF is all about, and the characteristics of what makes for a leading community. He's a big part of how Waterloo is doing this via their Intelligent Waterloo Committee, and he provides a lot of insight about their thinking.

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Mark Whaley is a lifetime resident of Waterloo, Ontario. He was one of the first ever recipients of the Waterloo Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to his community over the past 25 years as environmental leader and social activist.

As Councillor, Mark is the Councillor Liaison to the Recreation and Leisure Services Department that encompasses approximately 395 City employees and provides services to tens of thousands of Waterloo residents annually.

On the economic development front, he was the originator of Waterloo’s bid to become one of the world’s top 7 Intelligent Communities, and was a pioneer in working for WiFi coverage for the entire city, being one of the first municipalities anywhere to do so.

Before he was elected, Mark promoted Waterloo on the world stage as the Chairman of its three bids in the International Awards for Liveable Communities, where Waterloo received two silvers and a gold award as one of the world’s most liveable communities. The LivCom Awards were launched in 1997 and are endorsed by the United Nations Environment Programme. LivCom is the world’s only Awards Competition focusing on Best Practice regarding the management of the local environment.

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January 23, 2007

Jon Arnold / Gianni Creta - OneConnect and SMB VoIP in Canada

On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Gianni Creta, the CTO for Toronto-based OneConnect. They are Canada's first independent hosted VoIP provider, and they're specifically focused on the SMB market. There are few such providers in Canada, and Gianni talked about the opportunity OneConnect sees in serving this market.

SMB VoIP is hot now, although adoption in Canada has lagged the U.S. Gianni addressed the realities of bringing IP to SMBs, not just in terms of market awareness and perceptions, but also the challenges faced by providers who do not own the last mile, particularly in Canada, where the incumbents are so dominant.

Gianni Creta, Chief Technology Officer, OneConnect
As Chief Technology Officer and one of the partners at OneConnect, Gianni oversees the network and technology teams responsible for the deployment of OneConnect’s Hosted IP Multimedia platform. Since inception, Gianni has managed the growth of OneConnect’s network to include over 500 customers using the service across Canada and the US.

Gianni maintains a close relationship with customers and suppliers to ensure that OneConnect’s service offering continues to be at the forefront of the market. Gianni brings to OneConnect computer telephony integration experience from Nortel Networks, where he received an Award of Merit for his outstanding achievement.

Previous to OneConnect he served as the Chief Technology Officer at Globalive Communications – the leading provider of next generation IP-based telecommunications solutions globally. At Globalive, Gianni developed the proprietary softswitching and application technologies, architectured new applications for the Globalive business units, and innovated their technology roadmap and strategy. Gianni is an Honors graduate from the University of Toronto’s Computer Engineering Program.

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January 22, 2007

Jon Arnold / Jim Harris - CES Recap and Disruptive Highlights

On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Toronto-based Jim Harris about the Consumer Electronics Show, which he recently attended. Jim is a highly regarded management consultant and best-selling author, most recently for his book, Blindsided, which looks at the impact of how technology is forcing businesses to adapt in unprecedented ways. Jon has known Jim for some time, and contributed his insights about VoIP to Blindsided.

On the podcast, Jon and Jim initially spoke about disruptive technology, including Apple's iPhone, which had its debut the same week as CES. Jim then put Jon on the spot, asking him who the largest producer of digital cameras is. The answer may surprise you.

Regarding CES, Jim commented on two companies he saw there whom he felt could be truly disruptive - SanDisk and SpeechGear. He talked about how SanDisk has come out with a 32 Gigabyte solid state hard drive, which could revolutionize the design and portability of laptop computers. SpeechGear is set to be disruptive in a very different way, by enabling real time, bi-directional speech translation. They can do this now for 12 different languages, which opens up tremendous opportunities for global business, and effectively eliminating language barriers.

Jim Harris joined Cleantech in November 2006 as a Partner. He has extensive experience in the fields of management consulting, media, organizational development and politics.

Management Consulting Experience
Jim Harris is a one of North America’s foremost management consultants, authors and thinkers on change and leadership. As a management consultant Jim has worked internationally with leading businesses, Fortune 500 companies, and organizations aspiring to join these ranks. He has led strategic planning sessions with executive teams, focusing on the most pressing issues: leadership, change, customer relationship management, innovation & creativity. His clients include Canon, IEEE, MasterCard, Munich Re, NEC, Nortel Networks, Novartis, and Sun Microsystems.

His most recent book, Blindsided! is published in 80 countries worldwide and is a #1 international bestseller having hit the top position for business books on The Financial Times of London’s European edition. Soundview Executive Summaries, selected it as one of the best business books sending a summary to 80,000 executives worldwide.

Posted at 12:52 PM • Comments (0)

December 20, 2006

Jon Arnold / Dan York - VoIP Security

On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Dan York, who will be familiar to many in the Pulvermedia world. By day, Dan is the Director of IP Technology for Ottawa-based Mitel, but he's also a thought leader in the emerging area of VoIP security. At Mitel, he's the Chair of their Product Security Team, but he's also the Chair of Best Practices for VOIPSA, the VoIP Security Alliance. He's also quite active on the podcast front, producing a steady stream of audio content on this topic via his Blue Box initiative.

With that background in mind, Jon and Dan talked about the state of VoIP security, and the role that VOIPSA is playing in trying to bring vendors and carriers together. Dan addressed some of the key issues and knowledge gaps facing carriers, as well as the various flavors of security that are being offered by vendors. Attention was also focused on the good work that Canadian vendors are doing in VoIP security, namely specialists VoIPShield and Borderware, as well as larger vendors like Mitel and Nortel.

Time only allowed for a high level discusssion, and we hope to revisit this topic in the near future. And for those who want a steady flow of content on VoIP security, we urge you to subscribe to the Blue Box podcasts.

Dan York, CISSP, is Director of IP Technology reporting to the CTO of Mitel Corporation and focused on emerging VoIP technology and VoIP security. As Chair of Mitel's Product Security Team, he coordinates the efforts of a cross-functional group to communicate both externally and internally on VoIP security issues, respond to customer inquiries related to security, investigate security vulnerability reports and monitor security standards and trends. Previously, Dan served in Mitel Product Management bringing multiple products to market including Mitel's secure VoIP Teleworker Solution in 2003.

As Best Practices Chair for VOIPSA - the VoIP Security Alliances - Dan will be leading the project to develop and document a concise set of industry-wide best practices for security VoIP systems. He is also heading up VOIPSA's move into "social media" with the launch of VOIPSA's group weblog. Additionally, Dan is the producer of "Blue Box: The VoIP Security Podcast" where each week he and co-host Jonathan Zar discuss VOIP security news and interview people involved in the field.

Posted at 11:05 AM • Comments (0)

December 11, 2006

Jon Arnold / James Wanless - Talkster and the Mobile Market

On today's podcast, Jon spoke with James Wanless. He's the President/COO of Toronto-based Talkster, a startup focused on the enterprise mobility market. They have a solution that not only saves money on mobile long distance, but provides tracking and control capability to help companies manage mobility usage.

This is an emerging space, and John spoke in more detail about nature of the problem facing enterprises with extended mobililty usage. There are many new solutions out there that provide cheaper mobile calling, but primarily for the consumer market. Enterprises have a similar need, but also more complex back office issues, and John talked further about this, along with how he envisions the solution. He also compared Canada and U.S., noting how the challenge is greater in Canada, given how long distance is usually included in calling plans.

James Wanless, President and Chief Operating Officer, Talkster
As Talkster president and COO, James Wanless is focused on transforming the fractured, multi-platform voice communications marketplace by consolidating the myriad services people use to speak to family, friends and colleagues onto a single familiar device: the common mobile phone. James is leading Talkster to bring to market a simple, free or low-cost service that lets people place carrier-grade telephone calls to any phone, voice over Internet (VoIP) or voice over instant messaging (VoIM) service worldwide. As president and COO, James oversees product management, research and development, engineering as well as business development.

James has spent nearly twenty years in voice communications and is a pioneer in interactive voice response (IVR) technology, beginning in 1988, when the nascent technology was little more than glorified tape-based answering machines. At Phoneworks, James managed global operations and production for the groundbreaking IVR company that served Fortune 500 companies such as American Express. Seeing the opportunity to expand IVR capabilities utilizing computerized telephony, James co-founded Solvware in 1993 to develop commercial IVR applications for a broad marketplace. Solvware has since grown to include operations in ten countries and Solvware’s IVR-based services, which James expanded to include web-based and mobile content, are in use across three continents.

Posted at 03:22 PM • Comments (0)

December 06, 2006

Jon Arnold / Michael Weening - Microsoft's Connected Services Sandbox

On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Michael Weening, who is Director of the Communications Sector for Microsoft Canada. Jon and Michael had been planning a podcast for some time, with the intent to talk about the Canadian market. With the timeliness of Microsoft's Connected Services Sandbox announcement, the focus was shifted somewhat, and the Canadian market was discussed in the broader context of this initiative. Michael outlined the thinking behind the sandbox as an enabler for service providers to develop new and creative services for subscribers.

The Canadian context was quite strong actually, as Jon and John discussed Bell Canada's role as one of the founding participants. On the vendor side, John also cited Nortel, Mitel and Ubiquity as active participants, and touched on some points regarding the broader Microsoft/Nortel alliance which was recently launched.

Michael Weening, Director, Communications Sector, Microsoft Canada
As the Director of the Communications Sector for Microsoft Canada, Michael Weening leads a national team which is responsible for developing software solutions and innovative partnerships with Canadian telecommunications, media and entertainment, and mobile operators.

Joining Microsoft in 2001, Michael spent his first four years at the company managing the financial services team which drove significant growth for the group through innovative solutions, including the delivery of the first .NET-based teller platform in Canada. Prior to Microsoft, Michae