CHANNEL I TECHNOLOGY
In the case of LifeSize, Galton-Fenzi believes that they already offer the most optimised bandwidth, high definition (HD) video networking solution on the market and are shortly to bring a whole new set of components to market – upgrading many of their video infrastructure components and introducing new consoles, ‘new everything’. Keeping ahead of the development curve and at the forefront of video. Galton-Fenzi details: “With LifeSize technology, the quality of service is so much better than that previously experienced by video networking end users, and the technology is also so much easier to use and more reliable.”
So much so that not only does Galton-Fenzi see a big future of the video conferencing and streaming markets, but also a resurgence of the video phone – whether fixed line, or, wait for it, courtesy of another recent Zycko signing, wireless. Meru Networks describes itself as the global leader in wireless infrastructure solutions that enable the All-Wireless Enterprise. Server and storage virtualisation work by abstracting logical resources away from the physical infrastructure so that they can be easily customised to user needs, application requirements and business goals. Meru applies the same techniques to the wireless LAN, which offers the same increase in power and versatility. Like server and storage virtualisation, Meru pools physical resources together and then partitions them in new ways tailored to match users or applications. Where legacy networks cover large areas using a patchwork of microcells, Meru offers a seamless Virtual Cell that extends enterprise-wide. Where others depend on hub-like contention for access, Meru partitions the Virtual Cell into Virtual Ports, each dedicated to an individual user or application.
Wireless LAN Virtualisation makes the edge network a utility. Users gain on-demand connectivity. IT gets simpler management, increased security and greater scalability. The organisation as a whole achieves greater agility at a lower cost. Galton-Fenzi concedes that the All-Wireless Enterprise might be a few years away just yet, but there’s no doubting his excitement at the huge potential of the technology in industry sectors such as education, hospitality, hotels and the like. Issues with signal reliability and integrity might remain, but they are fast being addressed – witness that wireless signals are being transmitted successfully through three metre thick hotel walls. The suggestion is that the European virtual wireless networking market is worth $2 billion, similar in size to the video conferencing sector. Naturally, Zycko being Zycko, the potential to offer an end-to-end networking solution that encompasses video + Meru + Riverbed has not escaped notice.
Clouds of opportunity Move this video networking idea on one step further and what more natural than to explore the possibility of offering some kind of managed, or cloud, service? Galton-Fenzi explains: “Zycko could offer that ‘one throat to choke’ with a a backup, video and voice solution. For example, government has a major video and voice requirement, with major travel restrictions. But there’s no real advantage for them in managing the solution, so
WWW.SNSEUROPE.COM | SEPTEMBER 2011 31
we’re looking at putting together a managed service offering – even having a video attendant to organise the session for the customer. We could then offer our integrators and resellers such a service to offer on to their end users.”
While Galton-Fenzi respects the sheer size and scale of ambition of the major cloud providers – the Googles, S3s and Amazons of the world – he’s confident that, in the enterprise space at least, it will be the small and medium-sizes service providers who prosper, specialising in one or more technology solutions and/ or one or more industry sectors. Zycko’s technology portfolio offers the perfect springboard for such organisations. Data centre diversion?
As if the activities outlined above are not sufficient to keep Zycko fully occupied, the company also has its own data centre component brand – ProLabs. Continuing Zycko’s philosophy of bringing significant value-add and innovation to an established market, the component range comprises transceivers, media converters, memory, cabling, cable management, power, racking and, specifically, Cisco-compatible components. The objective is to offer the Channel a range of data centre products that are just as good as the ‘big names’, at a fraction of the price, and underwritten by the ProLabs name and guarantee. If this guarantee is not sufficient, ProLabs will work with the reseller’s end user customer to carry out testing to prove the components’ suitability for any particular task required of them. Galton-Fenzi mentions that a major US telco spent two years testing all of the ProLabs network components, certifying them all, and has now defaulted to these products, replacing some rather better known incumbents’ products.
Galton-Fenzi summarises: “We’ve put together a consortium of best-in-class component vendors and we guarantee that the products work with other manufacturers’ components – and we’re working on establishing an independent certification programme to bring further peace of mind to the customer.” He might be talking about the ProLabs part of the Zycko business, but his words ring true for the company’s overall technology offering – best-in-class, disruptive solutions that offer real value-add to the Channel and its customers.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44