CV_Fall_21

FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS - Subscriptions to ChannelVision magazine are free to executives working for telecommunications service providers. Simply go to channelvisionmagazine.com and click on the subscribe link. Fill out the form completely and you will start receiving the magazine within six weeks. ADDRESS CHANGES, RENEWALS and CANCELLATIONS - Go to channelvisionmagazine.com and click on the subscribe link. For address changes and renewals, simply fill out the form, submit it and your subscription will automatically be renewed with your most current information. To cancel your subscription, go to the “Cancellations” header, click “here” and follow the instructions. CORRESPONDENCE - Send letters to the editor via email to Martin Vilaboy at martin@bekabusinessmedia.com . All other correspondence should be directed to Martin Vilaboy at 10115 E Bell Road, Suite 107 - #517 Scottsdale, Arizona 85260. PRESS RELEASES - ChannelVision magazine welcomes press releases and any other information relating to the sale, marketing and distribution of communications services. Releases should be emailed to Martin Vilaboy at martin@bekabusinessmedia.com. REPRINTS - For high-quality article reprints, minimum of 100 quantity, please contact the publisher at 480-503-0770. ADVERTISING - For a media kit or information about advertising, contact Group Publisher Berge Kaprelian at 480-503-0770, berge@bekabusinessmedia.com. Ad Index Communication Disclaimer: This index is provided as a free service to our advertisers. Every effort is made for accuracy, but we cannot be held liable for any errors or omissions. plans, came out of the pandemic stron- ger. But companies that were forced to cut their IT budgets in 2020 have two problems now: they are behind their competitors, and they have been unable to make up for budget cuts from a year ago. As an example, Computer Econom- ics cites a company that was forced to cut its IT budget 10 percent in the middle of 2020; a 5 percent increase this year will feel like good news, even though it doesn’t make up for the reduction. And while a record 75 percent of companies are increasing their IT budgets, not all that 75 percent are growing over their original plans from the beginning of 2020, Computer Economics’ data showed. Stronger Growth The study also forecasts continued spending increases in cloud software and infrastructure, as well as an increase in spending on digital trans- formation and automation. “Once companies got over the shock of suddenly having all of their employees work from home and the associated security risks, the trend was toward more digital transforma- tion. More cloud. More SaaS,” said the survey. “These initiatives made many companies more flexible and resilient in the face of the recession. They strengthened business continuity and improved productivity. Moreover, the changes also improved companies’ ability to manage changing workloads, as customers found new ways to inter- act with them overnight.” According to the report, the steps taken by companies during the remote work transition have put them in a stron- ger position to continue and expand their initiatives for digital transformation. So overall, 2021 looks to be a year for a continuation of the projects of 2020. Because technology played such a pivotal role in the quick economic recovery from the pandemic, Computer Economics researchers predicted stronger growth in the next few years as the economy grows. “It is unlikely that with increased inflation and a fast recovery that IT budget increases will persist in hover- ing between 2 percent and 3 percent, as they did before the pandemic,” the report stated. It points out that for years, compa- nies took the gains from the cloud, SaaS and automation and put them back into their IT budgets to contain growth. This could end for two reasons. First, more than 60 percent of compa - nies have at least half of their applica- tions in the cloud. Second, we are past simply converting on-premises systems to the cloud. We are now in the stage of digital transformation where we are not just replacing existing tools — we are enhancing them. The study suggests the next few years will be about taking existing digital tools and changing how we interact with customers, and this requires more invest- ment in technology and people. o BUYERS SIDE ACS Cloud Partners (acscp.com) 23 AireSpring (www.airespring.com) 11 Alliance of Channel Women (www.allianceofchannelwomen.org. ) 81 American Tower (www.americantower.com) 43 AppSmart ( www.appsmar t.com) 3 Bicom (www.bicom.com) 13, 72 Blackfoot ( www.blackfoot.com/carrier) 54 Broadvoice (www.broadvoice.com) 17 BullsEye Telecom ( www.bullseyetelecom.com) 27 C3 Cloud ( c3cloud.com) 83 CableFinder (cablefinder.net) 59 CDG (www.cdg.ws) 58 Channel Partners ( channelpartnersconference.com) 76 Choice Communications (www.choicecommunications) 28 Cox Business (www.coxbusinessprogram.com) 9 Dell (www.delltechnologies.com) 71, 75 Easton Telecom Services (www.eastontelecom.com) 31 EPOS/Sennheiser (espoaudio.com) 51 Ericsson (www.ericsson.com/en/par tners) 37 FaxSIPit (www.faxsipit.com) 79 Fiberdyne (www.fiberdyne.com) 67 First Communications (www.firstcomm.com) 35 First Light (www.firstlightfiber.com) 45 Five9 (www.five9.com) 25 Fusion (www.fusionconnect.com) 19 Granite Telecommunications (www.granitenet.com) 33 National Retail Solutions (nrsplus.com) 41 NHC (nhcgrp.com) 7 Nuso (nuso.cloud) 21 One Stream Networks (www.onestreamnetworks.com) 29 Our Virtual Office (www.our vir tualoffice.com) 47 PCCW Global (www.pccwglobal.com) 2 PlanetOne (www.planetone.net) 53 Powernet (www.powernetco.com) 49 Profitec ( www.profitecinc.com) 61 PTC ( ptc.org) 78 Public Telephone Company (www.getptc.com) 55 Snom (snomamerica.com) 57 SolEx (www.solexp.com) 65 Spectrum (par tners.spectrum.com) 15 Star2Star (www.star2star.com) Back cover TCG (www.tcg-par tners.com) 73 Telesystem (www.telesystem.com) 5 teli (www.teli.net) 77 Wave Broadband (www.wavebroadband.com) 39 80 CHANNEL V ISION | Fall 2021