Dan York

Just a guy in Vermont trying to connect all the dots...

Author's posts

Oct 04

Avaya Acquires UC Security Firm and SBC Vendor Sipera Systems

Fascinating news today that Avaya has acquired Sipera Systems for an undisclosed sum. We’ve covered Sipera here on this blog any number of times over the past years as they have been one of the few firms very specifically focused on “VoIP security”, or, to be more appropriately buzzword-compliant in 2011, “Unified Communications security.” In fact, the first video podcast I did for the Blue Box Podcast (when I was doing that) way back in August 2007 was with Sipera.

Over the years Sipera has hired some truly excellent people in the field, released some useful tools, originated great research and done a great bit in general to help keep the dialog going on publicly about VoIP/UC security.

The Avaya purchase is fascinating because, as Eric Krapf noted in a NoJitter post this morning, Avaya has been OEMing a Session Border Controller (SBC) solution from market leader Acme Packet for quite some time. As Eric notes:

The deal therefore could represent a shift in the enterprise SBC market, at a moment when E-SBCs are emerging as a key component of enterprise real-time communications deployments, especially in SIP trunking deployments. Acme Packet has been far and away the market share leader in SBCs, with over 50%, and its SBC works with all the leading enterprise communications platforms.

However, enterprise vendors including Cisco and Siemens (and now, it seems, Avaya) have released their own SBCs, and in the case of Siemens, the SBC only talks to Siemens platforms on the enterprise side of the device. It remains to be seen whether the Sipera SBC will work only with Avaya Aura–but it seems unlikely that anyone other than an Avaya customer would buy an Avaya SBC.

Now, the news release of course plays up how Sipera’s solutions work with both Avaya and non-Avaya systems but to Eric’s point there may in the future be little incentive for non-Avaya customers to purchase a solution, given that there are other “independent” players out there in the SBC market like Acme Packet, Ingate Systems, Sonus Networks and others.

Regardless of how it all shakes out, it is an interesting move and one that bears watching.

Congrats to our friends at Sipera and Avaya on the acquisition, and we look forward to seeing how it evolves.

Oct 04

1 Day Left To Register for the Harpoon Brewery Octoberfest 5K on Oct 9th

HarpoonOctoberfestRoadRace

How can you go wrong with a 5K race where your entry fee gets you 2 beers, a bratwurst and a beer stein?

Plus, apparently, a lot of people running with you wearing "German" costumes?

Our local Harpoon Brewery in Windsor, VT, is holding their 9th annual Octoberfest 5K Race this Sunday, October 9, 2011, at 11:00am. Followed, of course, by the Vermont edition of Harpoon's Octoberfest celebration (there was also one last weekend in Boston).

I haven't finalized yet if I'll be running in it, but a neighbor of mine is, and it's tempting not only for all the fun and festivities but also because it is raising funds for the Friends of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth (where I've recently had some personal experience).

If you are interested, one thing to note is that there is NO on-site registration. You must register online to run the race, and...

REGISTRATION ENDS TOMORROW, October 5th, at 12noon

From the pictures, it definitely looks like a fun time...

Oct 04

NoJitter.com Launches New Design, Better Interaction

Nojitter2011

Kudos to my friend Eric Krapf and his whole team for the redesign of one of my favorite sites for VoIP and Unified Communications news:

http://www.nojitter.com/

Way back in late 2007, Eric started as the "lead blogger" for NoJitter as the long-standing Business Communications Review (BCR) magazine shut down its print operation and decided to forge a new direction in the online world.

It's been great to see the growth of NoJitter over these past four years, and it's been great to see so many of my friends within the industry writing there.

With this new redesign, Eric mentions many of the new features, but the one I look forward to seeing most is the better commenting system. That was one major drawback of the previous site... hopefully this one works much better.

All in all I quite like the new look and congratulate Eric and the whole team there on the re-launch!

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Oct 03

Want to Run UP a Ski Area? The 5K Mountain Goat Scramble is Oct 8th

5KMountainGoatScramble2011
So this sounds like a pretty wacky local race... the "5K Mountain Goat Scramble" takes place this Saturday, October 8, 2011, at our local Granite Gorge Ski Area in Roxbury, NH (just outside of Keene).

It's a 5K race where you run up to the halfway point of the ski trails and then back down ... and DO THAT FOUR TIMES!

I have skied all the trails where the race is running and know the exact route they are doing... it's going to be tough to run that loop four times!

I'm not sure exactly what our plans are for the weekend and so I don't know whether I'll be running it myself, but it does benefit an excellent cause, the creation of a new Children's Museum here in Keene, so I do hope they get a good turnout.

Registration is open and you save $5 if you register by Tuesday, Oct 4th.

Here's the trail map for those who are curious:

5KMountainGoatScramble2011 trails

Oct 03

Social Media Club NH To Meet Oct 6th To Discuss Social Media on Campus, Google+ and more

Socialmediaclubnh
I recently discovered that the Social Media Club of NH will be meeting this Thursday, October 6th, over at my old stomping grounds of UNH in Durham, NH. The Eventbrite invitation has the full agenda and it looks quite intriguing. The first section is about how the Sexual Harassment and Rape Prevention Program (SHARPP) is interacting with students via social media for outreach... and having known some of the founders of that program way back in 1988, it's cool to see that not only is the program thriving but it's reaching out into new ways of communicating.

Second up is a session on Google+, which of course most all of us in the social media space are at least monitoring if not using (I'm of course on Google+).

It sounds like a great event and if you can get to the seacoast region there is still time to register.

Alas, I will not personally be there as I will be traveling back from speaking in Chicago on the 6th but I look forward to making it to some future SMCNH event.

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Oct 02

Speaking about UC Security at IIT Real-Time Communications Conf Oct 5th

Rtcconf2011
If you will be in Chicago this week for the the 7th Annual Real-Time Communications Conference & Expo, I will speaking on October 5th about VoIP and Unified Communications security as part of the security track of the conference.

There's a great schedule of speakers and I'm looking forward to both giving my session and also listening to the security presentations that follow mine. If you are going to be at the event, please do say hello!

Oct 02

Do You Hook Your Reader From Your Opening Sentence?

Question Mark
Do you reach out and grab your reader by the throat from the very first line of your text? Do you evoke some mystery or emotion in your first sentences that makes the reader NEED to learn more? Do you make them ask "WHY?" or "HUH?"

Three Examples of Powerful Openings

Recently in talking about this topic with someone I randomly grabbed three popular novels that I had nearby and to no surprise all three of them had powerful openings. Consider these examples:

Foreign Influence by Brad Thor[1]

Inner Mongolia

The strategic military outpost was such a closely guarded secret it didn't even have a name, only a number - site 243.

It sat in a rugged windswept valley far away from cities and centers of industry. Its architecture was minimalist; a cross between a high-end refugee camp and a low-rent university. Tents, trailers and a handful of cheap concrete buildings made up its "campus." The only outward signs of modernity were the Pizza Hut, Burger King and Subway mobile restaurant trailers which made up the outpost's "food court."

It was just after three a.m. when the attack began. Lightweight Predator...

Right away the use of "Inner Mongolia" means to most of us that it is somewhere very far away and remote. The first sentence immediately makes you wonder "what is so secret?" Who operates this base? What kind of "strategic military outpost" is it? The second paragraph is just a bit of description but then the third sentence drops you right into a conflict. Who is attacking it? Why?

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown[1]

Physicist Leonardo Vetra smelled burning flesh, and he knew it was his own. He stared up in terror at the dark figure looming over him. "What do you want?"

"La chive," the raspy voice replied. "The password."

"But... I don't --"

The intruder pressed down again, grinding the white hot object deeper into Vetra's chew. There was the hiss of broiling flesh.

That very first sentence immediately causes you to want to know "WHY?" Why is his flesh burning? Who is doing this? Who is this physicist? What is the password for? Who is the intruder? Why is flesh burning? Plus you have the evocative emotion of flesh burning, something against which we can all recoil in horror.

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin[1]

The day was grey and bitter cold, and the dogs would not take the scent.

The black bitch had taken one sniff at the bear tracks, backed off, and skulked back to the pack with her tail between her legs. The dogs huddled together miserably on the riverbank as the wind snapped at them. Chett felt it, too, biting through his layers of black wool and boiled leather. It was too bloody cold for man or beast, but here they were. His mouth twisted...

The dogs would not take the scent... of what? Why are the dogs acting this way? What is causing this behavior? And for those who have been reading this series of books (this is book 3 of 5), who is this "Chett" character? And why are he and they out in this cold?

Does Your Text Do This?

All three of these openings pull the reader in. From the very first lines you NEED to know more. You want to continue. You are hooked from the start.

Does your text do this?

Whether you are writing a news article, a book, a blog post, a novel, a short story... or whatever... do you hook your audience from the start?

If not, how can you change your piece so that you do hook them? Can you write a more powerful opening? Can you set up some mystery? Can you evoke some emotion?

How can you leave them wanting... indeed NEEDING... to read more?

Image credit: Boris SV on Flickr

FTC Disclosure: These links to the books include my Amazon Associates ID and as a result if you actually were to purchase one of these books I might earn a few pennies. If you think this has anything whatsoever to do with me mentioning these books, I can assure you it doesn't.

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Oct 01

My FIR Report for October 3, 2011

Shel and Neville were recording Monday's "For Immediate Release" podcast episode over the weekend, so my report has already been sent in. This week I covered:

Of course, to hear all of that, you'll need to tune into Monday's edition of the FIR podcast after Shel or Neville posts it. Enjoy!

Sep 30

Speaking Next Week on IPv6 and VoIP Security at 7th Real-Time Communications Conference in Chicago

Rtcconf2011
If any of you will be in Chicago next week, October 4-6, 2011, for the 7th Annual Real-Time Communications Conference & Expo, I'll be there on the 5th and 6th as a speaker.

I'll be speaking twice. First on Wednesday the 5th at 4pm on "The Current State of VoIP Security", wearing my VOIPSA hat and leading off a series of talks about security. I'll be providing an overview of the main threats to VoIP and communications security in general, leading the way into the two more specific talks following mine.

I'm rather excited that my second session will be my first public appearance wearing my new Internet Society hat (if you are not aware, I've posted details about my recent move) and will of course be about IPv6... more specifically "How IPv6 Will Impact SIP And Telecom".

Due to ongoing events on the personal front, I wasn't sure that I was going to make it out there... and quite frankly there's still a chance that I won't... but I should be out there.

If you look at the conference schedule, the speakers include outstanding people involved with so many different aspects of real-time communications. It should be truly an excellent event!

P.S. You can still register if you would like to attend!

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Sep 30

The Economist Asks: Who Should Run The Internet?

Theeconomist
Who should run the Internet? Should it continue in the "multi-stakeholder" way it has operated so far? Or should governments have more of a say in how it is run?

The Economist captures that argument in a piece out today entitled "A plaything of powerful nations" that reports on the meeting this week in Nairobi of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). The article rather succinctly covers some of the tension and challenges around public policy issues I briefly mentioned in my recent post about joining the Internet Society.

A key point for me is this (my emphasis added):

The multi-stakeholder approach dates from the beginnings of the internet. Its founding fathers believed that more openness would be both more secure and better for innovation. What is more, since the internet is a network of independent networks, it is hard to construct a form of governance that allows anyone to dictate things from the top.

Yet as the article notes, many governments would like to try - and the power struggle is really only beginning.

There are definitely going to be some interesting times ahead...

NOTE: While I am now employed by the Internet Society, I am NOT involved with the public policy activities of the organization and all comments and viewpoints expressed here are entirely mine alone as an individual.

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