The technology and telecommunications industries are littered with cautionary tales of innovative companies surrendering market dominance due to their inability to react quickly enough to new and disruptive competitive forces.

The fate of BlackBerry, the one-time 800 pound gorilla of the mobile device market, currently hangs in the balance, the result of a deer-in-the-headlights response to Apple’s introduction of the consumer-friendly iPhone, or so surmises a consensus of industry observers.

In the post-Supercomm world, tradeshows in North America have become focused on specific technology areas, rather than diffused across multiple segments of the industry. The WebRTC Conference & Expo in Atlanta, conducted at the end of June, was no exception. It’s hard to think of a hotter topic careening through the corridors of the communications industry these days than the rise of browser-based unified-communications.

The excitement surrounding WebRTC continues to grow unabated. Innovation abounds and every day I am bombarded on the Twittersphere (in addition to multiple LinkedIn groups, RSS blog feeds and frequent webinars) with another product announcement or a new and interesting demonstration of the technology.   I am encouraged that so many share our opinion that WebRTC is a truly disruptive force.

As Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of a major communications solutions provider, I am constantly identifying and investigating trends that indicate the direction of communications in our society. One trend that everyone planning for the future should understand is the generational shift in communications driven by the 18-29 demographic, known as GEN-Y.

In today’s always on, always connected world we are busier than ever.   Wouldn’t it be great if we could simplify at least one aspect of our hectic lives? GENBAND Mobile Life allows you to do just that. 

If you’ve ever found a $10 or $20 bill in a seldom-used coat pocket, you know it’s a nice surprise.  You probably thought the money had been spent or lost – and now you have it back.

Far from ethereal, cloud computing is attracting a solid following across all segments of the communications industry.  In the enterprise space, for example, businesses of all sizes are steadily recognizing the performance and costs advantages of a managed services model over a strategy based on the purchase and upkeep of premises-based equipment.

One of the perks of working for a company that supplies solutions for communications companies operating in all four corners of the world is the occasional opportunity to do some globetrotting. The 2012 version of Futurecom, held in Rio de Janeiro the second week of October, presented me with such an occasion.