SIP Trunking Week in Review

By David Gutbezahl
TMCnet Contributing Writer

While Americans across the country are preparing for a 3-day weekend, press releases from SIP Trunking companies have been hitting the Web, showing that employees at these companies are keeping up their momentum. Here are some of the biggest news items from this week in SIP Trunking.

Outside of the United States, the Fourth of July does not mean much, and Spanish company Madrid-Telefonica (News - Alert) has announced a new offering for its customers. Madrid-Telefonica has increased its offerings for large companies through the deployment of the Cisco (News - Alert) Hosted Collaboration Solution. The deployment will bring new collaboration offerings to large companies, including Unified Communications, mobility and video, a virtual contact center, and a complete suite of collaboration applications like Cisco WebEx for Web videoconferences, and Cisco Jabber.

Of course, American companies are still working hard, too. PC hardware and software provider American Megatrends announced the launch of their StorTrends PROFIT Program, a partner program that provides partners with innovative marketing programs, IT infrastructure assessment and sales tools, and support access. Immediately upon launch the new program drew in some major companies, including AR Consultant Group, Mercury Storage, and Advanced Computer & Network Corporation.

While companies have been joining American Megatrends' new partner program, two other companies have entered into their own partnership. NewsCred, a provider of a popular content marketing platform, and Outbrain, a content discovery service, have announced that have entered into a strategic alliance. The partnership will create an important service for marketers, giving them access to thousands of licensed content pieces through NewsCred, while Outbrain will allow easier distribution of content to millions of visitors.

News this week may be pointing to SIP Trunking becoming a tool for the medical industry. Matrix Medical Network, a prospective health risk assessment company for Medicare Advantage insurance plan members, has announced that it will be working with business application provider Infor. Infor will be building a solution that can help Matrix Medical Network identify the best candidates to work in the company's call centers. The solution may not have much to do with medicine, but it could become a major asset for call center Human Resource teams.

Other companies may be celebrating more than the Fourth of July this week, with several awards and honors being handed out this week.

Interactive Intelligence has made it into Gartner (News - Alert)'s Leaders Quadrant within their Magic Quadrant for a sixth year in a row. Acceptance into the Leaders Quadrant comes from a product portfolio that delivers leading products, and is positioned to continue doing so. Interactive Intelligence's cloud and hybrid solutions are considered a major contributor to the company's placement as a leader.

Alto Communication, a provider of customer engagement and contact center solutions, was honored this week by being named to Aragon Research's Hot Vendor in Customer Enablement 2014 report. Alto Communications, one of four companies selected by Aragon Research, was selected for its cloud-based platform, Altocloud. Altocloud analyzes the usage of a company's Web and mobile sites by customers, enabling the program to then select the best method of engagement for a customer.

Whether or not they provide shakes with their burgers, Smashburger has been given the prestigious honor of being named first place in Fast Casual magazine's Top 100 Movers and Shakers. FastCasual awarded Smashburger for its dedication to customer service and building an effective customer engagement experience.

Next week will be an excellent opportunity for those who are looking to improve their call centers. 8x8 (News - Alert), a provider of call center and unified communications solutions, and Call Center IQ, an advisory community for call centers, have announced they will be hosting a free Web panel. “5 Ways to Boost Contact Center Numbers” will be hosted on Thursday, July 10 from 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. (EDT). Panelists will include David Pahlman, president of Teleopti, Mike Butts, director of product marketing at KnoahSoft (News - Alert), and Max Ball, product marketing manager at 8x8.