eTechHelp CEO Talks Tech, ITEXPO and More

By Maurice Nagle
TMCnet Web Editor

Communication in any business is an important ingredient to success; today’s fast-paced, anytime-anywhere world makes it even more vital. As businesses of all shapes and sizes seek the best solution to meet need a great place to start is ITEXPO Miami. And, speaking at the Ingate SIP Trunking, UC and WebRTC Seminars at ITEXPO is CEO of eTechHelp Rich Garboski who was nice enough to share some time and thoughts with TMC (News - Alert)—possibly a preview of what’s to come in Miami.

Does the U.S. need Net Neutrality?  Why or why not?

Yes, I believe so. As a person who worked in the telephone industry experiencing the breakup of the Bell system in the early 1980s, I witnessed the benefits of the breakup itself and that was a tremendous amount of technology innovation by a large amount of companies who before that were not allowed to connect to the bell system. In my opinion, the innovation was driven by allowing companies to connect and "share" the network and with that many companies were born that manufactured Key Telephone Systems, PBXs, modems, etc.

Unfortunately the eight Regional Bell Operating Companies have all merged and consolidated into just a few companies again with a few large companies maintaining a stronghold on the Internet which now passes both voice, data, video and other traffic. Because of this consolidation, I believe that the Internet must remain open and accessible to all, no matter how big or small you are. By allowing the large corporations like AT&T (News - Alert), Verizon, Time Warner, etc. to create separate lanes for content or lower the priority for traffic that competes with services they offer, we will be back to a monopolistic business model where companies with the strongest financial resources control this industry.  

While I believe in free markets to determine who the winners and losers are, this is an area that I believe requires regulation and the Internet should be treated as a common carrier.

What do you think of Microsoft’s decision to rebrand Lync as Skype for Business?

The move was inevitable. I saw this coming when Microsoft acquired Skype and foresaw that it was going eventually going to be integrated with Office and Windows. 

From a marketing standpoint, Skype has much more name recognition in the marketplace than Lync and rebranding I think is a smart idea. Although time will tell, I'm betting that Microsoft will keep a free version of Skype while offering the Skype for business version to its free customers through its already established network of Skype users and also its Windows base.

What does the recent trend toward high-profile network breaches tell us about digital security and what both businesses and individuals are doing to protect their digital assets?

What it is telling us is that security must be taken seriously and businesses need to ensure that they have a strategy surrounding security and implement that strategy. While much of the attention has been paid to data breaches, security for voice applications opens a whole new area to address in terms of security.

How is WebRTC enhancing communications today, and what is its potential in the longer term?

WebRTC will bring a whole new experience to communications for businesses and individuals as well. To the traditional telephony market it is quite the disrupter and could replace the telephone with a browser application and headset.

How often do you use video for business communications? Why do you feel it is/is not helpful in your interactions?

I will use video for several reasons, one for collaborating with clients, vendors and partners worldwide for eTechHelp, my online consulting business and for eTechTV to conduct interviews. While I will take advantage of it when I can, people still enjoy and want the privacy that an audio-only communications session provides and video, while being used more and more in communications, the book is out as to whether or not all communications will involve video.

I remember back in the 1980s when the videophone was going to be the next "big thing." It was never adopted and never really gained popularity. I think that the privacy issue of audio-only communications was the determining factor back then.

How have technology innovations changed how you work in the past two years? What product had the greatest impact on your business?

For eTechHelp, technology has allowed the company to make major strides in client acquisition not being limited to a small geographical area. With remote support tools and increased Internet speeds, there is no limitation as to where or who we can provide our online consulting services to. Whether it's a Cisco telephone system in Texas we are deploying or a PBX (News - Alert) we are maintaining in Virginia, we can deliver our services anywhere, anytime, and make ourselves accessible to our clients throughout the planet. 

For our TV show eTech.TV, improvements in video production and editing technology allow us to produce and deliver our content to a wide variety of devices, networks, and syndication channels in a wide variety of broadcast formats. Innovations in video streaming allow the Internet to be the best distribution of video content.  Let's face it, the next generation is viewing more of their content from the Internet and the TV and cable television distribution methods are now competing with this new medium. While the future is hard to predict, we may be looking at getting everything via the Internet.

Has your business implemented a Unified Communications solution? How has it changed the way you and your colleagues operate?

While we deploy and maintain UC communications for our clients, we are still deploying ours. With having integrated call centers and remote consultants as part of our infrastructure, UC is a real need for us.

In terms of productivity, what is the most useful app you use on a regular basis?

I would have to say social networking apps (LinkedIn) are the most useful for sales and client relationships and Remote support tools (eBlvd & LogMeIn (News - Alert)) are a close second.

Do you own and use a wearable tech product? Which one and how has it impacted your life?

Yes, I do own a wearable product that has completely changed my life. In April of 2014, I started using the FitBit product line (The Wi-Fi Scale and Tracking Device) to manage my activity (I'm a dedicated bicyclist, swimmer & runner & also do weight training). I've lost 60+ lbs. and lowered BMI from 33 percent to 15 percent in eight months. It's had a huge impact on my life! 

How useful can wearable technology be in the enterprise?

It could be very helpful, for health companies could offer devices as an incentive to have healthy employees and reduce healthcare costs. Technology like Google Glass video could be used for various recording needs to name a few.

Which is the best mobile device on the market currently? Why?

Tough question, yes the iPhone 6 was nice but personally I'm biased toward Android (News - Alert) and the phones that are mini tablets are to me the best devices like the one note.

Looking back at 2014, how would you characterize the change that has taken place in the technology landscape?

I think the biggest change in the technology landscape is the fact that there are more and more stories about security breaches and new revelations about NSA spying every year. With many foreign countries starting to cancel orders from major manufacturers. For example, Cisco lost some foreign business because of concerns of back doors in firmware due to security and privacy concerns and Brazil wants to run fiber directly to Europe bypassing the US because of spying. This issue could shake up interconnectivity with the global Internet and should be of concern to the market.

What is the most interesting or exciting technology announcement or enhancement of the year?

To me, WebRTC is one of the most exciting developments with ultraprivate cell phone technology a close second. By using the browser as a telephone, one might ask, "Do I even need an actual telephone anymore?" Combine WebRTC with an SBC and UC you have a real disruptor in the UC space.

What is one announcement or product you would like to see announced in 2015?

Well being the FitBit aficionado, I'm awaiting for the new tracking devices like the Surge, which is an all-in-one device that has a watch, heart rate monitor, GPS, Caller ID and other great features that integrate with the latest mobile devices in order to connect to the cloud. (Check it out at https://www.fitbit.com/store)

What are you looking forward to at ITEXPO Miami?

I am looking forward to seeing the latest in technology in Open Source Telephony and UC and will also be conducting interviews for my new TV show coming in 2015, eTech.TV

What is your session about and why should attendees make sure your session is on their ITEXPO to do list?

I am giving two sessions at ITEXPO in the Ingate SIP Trunking, UC & WebRTC Seminars, where I will be appearing on behalf of eTechHelp to give two case study seminars, one on Integration of Cisco Unified Messaging to Microsoft Office365 in the cloud with my client North Central Texas Counsel of Governments and a second seminar on SIP security.  Both of these cases studies involved the Ingate SIParator Session Border Controller securing the network. 

For more on all the latest technology and trends happenings, be sure to register to attend ITEXPO, the business technology event that brings together service providers, enterprises, government agencies, resellers, vendors and developers to demo, discuss and network all the latest innovations changing the marketplace. ITEXPO is being held January 27-30, 2015, at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Florida.   Stay in touch with everything happening at the event -- follow us on Twitter. 

Edited by Maurice Nagle