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Cloud Communications Week in Review

By Rory J. Thompson
Web Editor

The Cloud Communications community continued its upward trend again this past week. Let’s take a look at who did what.

Our first story comes from Down Under, where Australian telecommunications company Telstra (News - Alert) announced it is launching a cloud-based video conferencing system specifically for business-to-business (B2B) communications. The company’s goal is to make it easier for businesses to integrate video conferencing in the workplace. Telstra’s video conferencing system is the most recent of several announcements, indicating that the company is ramping up efforts to attract new customers to its telecommunications products. Last February the company introduced the Blue Jeans Network, a cloud-based multipoint video conferencing service. In May, Telstra opened up its Telstra Internet Protocol Telephony (TIPT) platform to third-party app developers.

Also overseas, it was announced that the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) has just filled urgent demand by entering into a partnership with NTT (News - Alert) Communications Corporation, an ICT solutions provider. As part of this partnership, PLDT will be able to offer its enterprise customers an infrastructure as a service (IaaS) solution called Enterprise Cloud. NTT’s Enterprise Cloud lets enterprise users access virtual data centers through a customizable customer portal. The data centers are composed of servers residing the U.S., U.K., Germany, Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. It's a fully functional virtual private cloud that allows customers to access things like VPN connectivity and computational resources through highly secure channels. 

Closer to home, it was reported that DC-area law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge had selected single service provider Masergy Communications for its cloud communications needs. The Dallas-based cloud services and networking company consolidated everything the law firm needed into a simple, effective package. It began using Masergy's Managed Cloud Networking platform that provides multiprotocol label switching and virtual private LAN services, and those services handle video communications so well that the law firm has reported a three-fold increase in the number of videoconferences attorneys are having with their clients. Masergy's cloud networking reportedly also allows the law firm to vary the amount of bandwidth it uses. This works well for weeks when the first half will be packed with videoconferencing sessions and the latter half will be nearly empty. The managed network responds according to the law firm's needs; it provides the capability when attorneys need it, and it scales it back when they do not.

There’s always something new happening in the cloud, so be sure to check back in with us daily.