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New Alteva Innovation Center Signals Promising Future for Cloud UC

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New Alteva Innovation Center Signals Promising Future for Cloud UC

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October 04, 2012
By Sandra M. Gustavsen
Analyst, Business VoIP

Amid the economic challenges and uncertainties many businesses and industries face today, the buzz of innovation around the maturing Hosted IP Telephony and Unified Communications (UC) market is refreshing and encouraging. Cloud UC services continue to break into a market long dominated by traditional premises-based IP-PBX (News - Alert), contact center, messaging and other on-site UC solutions.


In fact, though forecasts differ slightly, the various market research firms all predict strong growth in the Cloud UC market.

Infonetics (News - Alert) Research projects that the number of seats for hosted business VoIP and UC services worldwide will more than double between 2012 and 2016. Research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan says the North American Hosted IP telephony installed base will reach 17.5 million users by 2018, representing 15 percent of the total business telephony user base.

Cloud UC provider Alteva was established in 2003 as one of the first Hosted Service Providers in the U.S. and now serves customers in more than a dozen countries, competing in the mid-market by providing hosted Unified Communications (UC) services to companies with 50 to 5,500 employees.

Alteva’s growth in the market has been impressive with roughly 50-percent growth in both 2010 and 2011, and the company was recently ranked as the ninth-largest hosted IP telephony and UC provider in North America by Frost & Sullivan. Alteva became an independent subsidiary of Warwick Valley Telephony Company in 2011, referred to now as WVT Communications Group.

Alteva’s growth is a testament to the bright future for hosted UC services. The company is clearly  anticipating continued growth going forward, recently opening a state-of-the-art ‘Innovation Center’ in  growing technology hub Philadelphia, PA. The new national headquarters is impressive in terms of the design which is meant to cultivate innovation, creativity and forward thinking.

The office’s all-glass exterior gives passers-by a peek inside a company poised for the future. The open space design has no cubicles and no ceiling offices in order to maximize employee networking and teamwork.

Perhaps most notable is Alteva’s focus on the customer. The new office includes hands-on ‘Experience Zones’ where customers and partners can actually see and try out the Alteva technology and UC capabilities. 

The flagship Innovation Center triples Alteva’s office space (two other offices are also located in Philadelphia). Alteva plans to open similar centers, using this prototype, across the country.

The Alteva portfolio of hosted UC services is backed by two major corporations – BroadSoft and Microsoft (News - Alert). Current services include Hosted VoIP (Alteva utilizes the BroadSoft BroadWorks switch for call control), Hosted Microsoft Communication Services (e.g. Microsoft Exchange Unified Messaging, Microsoft Office Communication Server (OCS) and SharePoint), a Fixed Mobile Convergence solution, Audio and Video Web Conferencing, Voice Applications for the desktop PC, Data Connectivity (including DSL, T1, DS3, Ethernet, Fiber and Wireless) and Data Backup. Alteva customers simply pay a monthly fee to utilize the desired hosted services. On-site, customers need only deploy a router and a third-party standards-based IP telephone for each user such as those from Aastra, Cisco, Panasonic (News - Alert) or Polycom.

What’s ahead?

As the Cloud UC market continues its upward trend, Alteva will be adding to its lineup of hosted services. The company introduced several new services in 2012, namely an online data backup service from MozyPro, a hosted call reporting and accounting service and Hosted SMB UC Bundles. More applications are on the way, and these will be based on customer feedback that surfaces from the new Experience Zones located in Alteva’s new Innovation Center.

Alteva plans to listen closely as they interact with customers and partners that come to “feel the cloud,” actually getting the chance to try out various UC capabilities. What better way to determine the capabilities to develop next?

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO Austin 2012, happening now in Austin, TX. Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Follow us on Twitter.




Edited by Braden Becker

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