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AVST, Collab9 partner on UC platform for governments

In UC news, AVST and Collab9 announce a partnership for FedRAMP-authorized cloud services, while two surveys find corporate email isn't going away anytime soon.

Katherine Finnell
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Published: 04 Aug 2017

Software-based unified communications provider Applied Voice & Speech Technologies Inc., or AVST, has partnered with unified-communications-as-a-service provider Collab9 to offer cloud-based services that meet federal, state and local government requirements. The partnership combines AVST's UC platform CX-E and Collab9's hosted UC platform.

Collab9 is a FedRAMP-authorized UCaaS provider. FedRAMP, or federal risk and authorization program, was created to support government adoption of cloud computing. It is a risk-management program that provides a standardized approach for assessing and monitoring the security of cloud products and services.

"The introduction of new technology in the public sector has been hampered by the limited availability of proprietary, OEM-driven solutions," said Steve Boberski, vice president of business development at Collab9, in a statement.

He said the cloud UC platform partnership offers government entities an accelerated migration path to the cloud through secure integration with legacy time-division multiplexing, hybrid and voice over IP (VoIP) telephony offerings.

Digium updates Switchvox UC platform

Digium, a provider of business phone systems, announced three updates to its Switchvox UC platform that aim to streamline features, pricing and support.

Digium, based in Huntsville, Ala., announced a new line of appliances for its VoIP phone system. The E510 appliance supports up to 150 phones and 50 concurrent calls. The E520 appliance supports up to 300 phones and 100 concurrent calls. The E530 and E540 appliances both support 600 phones and 200 concurrent calls. The E520, E530 and E540 are also supported by Digium's partnership with Dell Technologies and are powered by Dell EMC hardware. The E530 and E540 appliances include Dell Technologies administration capabilities.

Digium also simplified its licensing and unbundled software from its appliances, which reduces the amount of information and technical expertise needed to provide quotes. The Switchvox UC platform pricing has been reduced from $2,745 to $1,000. Licenses can be purchased for $90 per user.

The UC platform provider is also offering 24/7 technical phone support for new Switchvox users. Current Switchvox users have the option to upgrade to the new support feature.

Corporate email remains top communication method

While messaging-based collaboration apps are growing in popularity, email won't be going away anytime soon, according to two surveys from HR consulting firm Robert Half Technology. The surveys found 73% of CIOs and 53% of office workers think email will be the most common way to communicate internally through 2020.

In a survey of 2,500 CIOs, 41% said they find email to be the most effective method of daily communication with teams at work. Nearly half of the 1,000 office workers surveyed said they use email for most of their day-to-day communication with co-workers.

However, for the CIOs and office workers who said email is on the way out, instant messaging (IM) is the likely replacement. Nearly one-third of professionals said IM was their primary mode of communication, according to the surveys.

Office workers who use IM for daily communication said they found the technology convenient and necessary. More than half of workers said their organizations have clear guidelines on the use of its internal messaging platform, such as the requirement for users to update their status.

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