LifeSize Takes on Cisco in Videoconferencing, Sees Sales Rise

LifeSize Communications Inc., a unit of computer-mouse maker Logitech International SA (LOGN), expects revenue to jump as it competes with rivals including Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) to add clients in the videoconference market, set to more than double in the next five years.


LifeSize’s sales are forecast to rise two to three times faster than the market, which is expected to grow 15 percent this year, Chief Executive Officer Craig Malloy said in a phone interview. Revenue at the Austin, Texas-based company rose 34 percent to $36.5 million in the fiscal first quarter, making LifeSize Logitech’s fastest-growing business.

“We’re seeing very, very rapid growth in videoconferencing,” the CEO said. “We’re going to piggyback on key trends and accelerate our growth.” LifeSize is targeting $1 billion in revenue in coming years, Malloy said, without giving a precise timeframe.

Technology companies are using mergers and acquisitions to grow in videoconferencing. Romanel-sur-Morges, Switzerland-based Logitech, the world’s biggest maker of mice, was among the first to make a deal in the industry when it bought LifeSize for $405 million in 2009. Cisco the same year announced it was buying Tandberg ASA, the world’s second-biggest maker of videoconferencing equipment, and Polycom Inc. (PLCM), the world’s largest standalone maker of videoconference gear, agreed to buy Hewlett-Packard Co.’s competing business in June.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), the world’s largest software maker, agreed this year to buy Skype Technologies SA, the world’s most popular Web-calling service, to strengthen its bid to convince corporate clients to replace traditional phone and videoconferencing systems with its software.

‘Beyond Consumer’

“Logitech wanted to diversify from PC peripherals,” Malloy said. “We’re a natural extension for them to go beyond consumer channels and into business ones.”

Global videoconferencing endpoint revenue, which includes equipment and doesn’t include services, will reach $4.15 billion in 2016 from $1.66 billion last year, according to research from Frost & Sullivan Inc.

“Companies are looking for ways to reduce costs due to the financial crisis,” Iwona Petruczynik, a Warsaw-based analyst at Frost & Sullivan, said in an interview. “People are moving away from in-person meetings to save money and time, and this is a great way to do it.”

LifeSize, the third-biggest videoconferencing provider with about 15,000 customers worldwide, offers high-definition video conferencing services, mainly targeting medium and large companies, the CEO said. LifeSize in July bought Mirial, a specialist in software for video-conferencing on tablets and mobile phones.

Android, Apple Devices

The Mirial deal allows LifeSize to “offer video communication to any Android or Apple-based device,” Malloy said, closing a gap in its product offering. “Mobility services are one of the key trends in the industry and they will help us gain market share.” He declined to say whether the company is looking at other acquisition targets and said LifeSize plans product innovations “the likes of which the video-communications industry has never seen.”

LifeSize is also adding cloud-based services such as virtual infrastructure for companies that don’t have in-house video expertise or information-technology resources, the CEO said.
 
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Contact Matthew Frank at 585-368-2101 or Elizabeth Rizzo at 518-694-3904 to see how MAC Source communications can help you with Video Conferencing.

Skype Acquires Start-Up Company GroupMe

One of the best things about the communications industry nowadays is the fact that you can see someone using nothing but your computer and the built in or external webcam.  8 years ago this was possible (when a company named Skype was founded), but was still in its infancy.  Web cams and video services were basic.  They didn't have the ability to process information, and speeds were so-so at best.  

Now, with companies like Skype, anyone can communicate with friends and family. Even multiple people at the same time.

In the era of mobility, companies struggle to compete.  So what do they do?  They buy each other out.  Skype, one of the more well known video messaging services, has agreed to buy GroupMe.  GroupMe is a service that lets users make conference calls and text a group of people.

The kicker to this?  Microsoft is still in the process of acquiring Skype, which means, that if the acquisition goes through (and most analysts say it will) that Microsoft will have a great use for the new service.  To a computing software company like Microsoft, the fact that they may have access to a mobile group messaging service like this is extremely important. With steep competition from Apple and Google in the mobile world, and with everything shifting from desktops and laptops to sablets and smartphones, this gives Microsoft a huge advantage.

Although Skype and GroupMe will operate independently right now, the CEO of Skype said that eventually they will merge their technologies.

The world is changing.  Consumers and businesses are going mobile.

To view the full article on the WSJ click the LINK

Video Conferencing: Saving Money While Saving Sales

In this day and age, with all the technology and communication channels out there, it is extremely rare to actually speak to someone face-to-face anymore.  Now most people are probably thinking "I always speak to my friends and family face-to-face."  "When I go out I see people."  That's all fine and dandy, but what about in a business setting?

Many businesses now use instant messaging, e-mail, and the old fashioned mode of contact, the telephone.  The problem with the first two is that it's extremely hard to get the right tone.  Unless you type in capital letters, use emoticons (smiley faces), or actually say the tone you meant, most people wouldn't understand, and could take offense.  The problem with telephones is that most of what people say and do is expressed by body movements and facial expressions.  The movie Hitch said it the best:

"60% of all human communication is nonverbal. Body language. 30% is your tone. So that means that 90% of what you're saying ain't coming out of your mouth."  

So, what does this mean for business?  A LOT!

Many businesses claim to be in the 21st century when they talk about the technology they adopted for their business and for communication purposes.  They talk about how they can have a live person 24/7 to talk to customers, or that they respond through e-mail.  That's great, but it's not enough.  The next step is Video Conferencing.

Video Conferencing is a great way to communicate with clients and customers. It's a great way to communicate with co-workers who are not in the same office or who work remotely.  In fact, businesses that use video conferencing have found they actually save more money.  Think about it.  No need to reimburse employees for gas or rent out a hotel or conference room for employees to go to.  Employees can log onto their computer and open a program, or go to the video conference room and just hit a button.  It's that simple nowadays.

Video Conferencing also comes in handy when you need to see the person you are talking too.  Many people can read body language, and in a sales or interview situation, this is imperative.  Imagine you are talking to a customer on the phone, and everything seems to be going well.  You think the sale is going to go through and you will hit your goal.  The next day, you find out, it isn't going to happen.  Why?  The tone of voice the person was giving out sounded fine, but what about the person's body language?  Wait, yor're on the phone, you can't tell.  Video conferencing allows you to see who you are talking to and essentially, read the person.  How are they sitting?  Are their arms crossed?  Are they leaning back or leaning forward?  What about their attention (are they on their phone or paying attention to you?  These are all things that need to be thought about, yet wiht most companies, it doesn't cross their mind.

In the end, Video conferencing may seem expensive up front, but could help when it comes to making the sale, or saving your business money.  It is one of the few technologies that will help businesses move into the 21st centurty.

To learn more go to http://www.macsourceinc.com/

Next Generation Firewalls

Many companies today don't realize how important security is for their company.  For instance, many companies think that if they don't do credit card transactions, don't allow guests on their network when people come to their company, and block sites like Facebook, that they are secure and nobody can get through their gate.  Unfortunately this is not true.

In today's connected digital world, many companies are allowing their employees to use mobile devices such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets on their network.  With everything being connected, the merging of innovation and ideas come together.  This is great for companies that want to move forward and look towards the future (because everything is going mobile).  But what happens when these devices that are used outside of the business come into it?  It's ok, you have a firewall right?

Just because websites like Facebook are blocked internally and guests cannot access the web at a company, does not mean that company is safe.  Because employees use mobile devices and are using them other places besides work, they are still prone to malicious software.  They could easily go to a coffee shop and play Mafia Wars or Farmville on Facebook, and never know that someone had gotten into their laptop or embedded some malicious software or tracking software on their device through those apps.  Then, when that employee brings the laptop to work, it is on your network.  It found it's way around that great firewall that you have.

So what do you do about this situation?  Lock employee's hardware down so they can't do anything at all no matter where they go?  Wrong.  You get a Next Generation Firewall or NGFW.

A Next Generation Firewall or NGFW allows you to control applications, users, and content, not just ports.  This gives you significantly more protection for your network and allows you to identify threats that you never thought could get it.

Visit our website to learn more.

Weighing Security Risks of Facebook and Other Social Networks for SMBs

Nowadays small businesses with limited funds for marketing and advertising are being forced to open their doors and networks to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.  While these sites are primarily free, they can end up costing a company a lot of money if their network is not properly secured.

Of course all businesses are vulnerable to security breaches and while large corporations are able to take a hit in terms of money being lost, small and medium size businesses do not always have the funds or the manpower to ward off network security vulnerabilities.  According to a study, incidents involving social media (whether its disgruntled employees trying to defame the company or worms and viruses getting on the network) the average amount of money spent is around $4 million.  Most SMBs cannot afford to pay this price.

So, what should small and medium businesses do?  Should they lock down social media sites so no employees can use them?  That's correct right?  Wrong.

SMBs need to have the proper protection.  Most of them use consumer or household level firewalls or other protection.  Many are not aware that these are not good enough to protect their networks and IT infrastructure so they end up being open and vulnerable to attacks and malicious software.

A lot of times all that is needed is the right protection.  What that means is that social networks don't need to be locked down, but instead can be restricted for business use only.  Next Generation Firewalls can help with this.  They can give small and medium business (but also large ones) the right protection and assurance that their network is safe and being used for what they designate it for.

To get a more in depth information click here to read the full article.

Q&A With Palo Alto Networks Founder Nir Zuk.

By Scott Denne

 

After a nine-month search for a new chief executive, Palo Alto Networks Inc. has hired Mark McLaughlin, who was CEO at VeriSign Inc. until he resigned last week. Palo Alto Networks builds firewall appliances that can peer into network traffic, enabling companies to place limits on how their networks connect to the Internet, and personalize how specific employees use certain applications. We sat down with Nir Zuk, the company’s founder and chief technology officer, to talk about where the company is headed and what it was looking for in a new CEO.


Here’s an edited version of the conversation:

Q. Why did it take so long to find a new CEO?

A. We were looking for specific things that are very hard to find. We wanted someone that can put the customer first. You’d be really surprised how many people don’t have a focus on the customer. We talked to many of Mark’s former customers and they all raved about him. We wanted someone with good leadership experience. Mark has that as a West Point graduate, former attack-helicopter pilot and was at several start-ups before VeriSign. Also, it’s really important to me, as a founder, that innovation continue, and not have a CEO who’s going to convert it into a sales and marketing machine. We’re talking about a guy who didn’t come from HP or IBM or one of these behemoths who destroy your passion for innovation.

Q. Why is it so important for the company to remain innovative?

A. It’s all about where you want to get to. If your goals are short-term then yes, turn up sales and marketing and flip the company in a few years. Look at the position Cisco [Systems Inc.] is in now — not just in security, but in everything. If you turn into a sales and marketing machine, your day will come. It may take five or 10 years, but your day will come. We are building a company for the long-term and we have the support of our venture capitalists in doing that.

Q. How are all the security breaches that have been in the news lately affecting how customers think about security?

A. We’ve had the same message to our customers since we started selling four years ago: Look, the competition has not done anything for you in the last 10 or 15 years. They’re selling you the same product again and again and again and again. Customers are starting to realize that and you can see it in the numbers.
Palo Alto Networks has well above $200 million in booking run-rate [meaning that its most recent quarter had more than $50 million in bookings] and over 20 customers that spent more than $1 million. We’re at an inflection point and incumbents can’t survive inflection points in the market. Look at Nokia or Sun or Silicon Graphics. Or even Microsoft, which was never able to get Internet right. Though some survive by moving to a new market like Apple did.

Q. What kind of milestones does Palo Alto Networks need to hit before it will file for an IPO?

A. “We’re thinking about it. It’s about doing what’s best for the company. It’s not tied to any particular milestones.”

Link to original article from The Wall Street Journal

HP reports 56% jump in cybercrime costs

Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal

The cost to business and government organizations of security and recovery connected to cybercrimes has risen 56 percent in the past year, a study released Tuesday said. The report by Hewlett-Packard Co . (NYSE:HPQ) said cybercrime costs to organizations it surveyed have risen to a median of $5.9 million a year, ranging from a low of $1.5 million to a high of $36.5 million.

Recovery and detection are the most costly internal activities, the report said. Over a four-week period, the organizations surveyed said they experienced 72 successful attacks per week, an increase of nearly 45 percent from last year. More than 90 percent of all cybercrime costs were caused by malicious code, denial of service, stolen devices and Web-based attacks.

The average time to resolve a cyberattack is 18 days, the report said, with an average cost of nearly $416,000. This is nearly a 70 percent increase from the estimated cost of $250,000 over a 14-day resolution period in last year’s study.

Results also showed that malicious insider attacks can be even more costly, taking more than 45 days to contain.

Read Hewlett-Packard's announcement of the cybercrime report findings by clicking here.

Written by Cromwell Schubarth.

Link to original article