BriefingRoom on Connected Planet Online

Ditech helps maximize network capacity and ensure wireless call quality as rapid-growth carriers transition to IP networks  

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., December 15, 2008 – Ditech Networks (Nasdaq: DITC), a leading provider of voice quality solutions to the world’s communications industry, announced today that its industry-leading voice processing platforms are now deployed by four major mobile operators in the Middle East region.  Algerian carrier Djezzy, Pakistan’s Mobilink and Egypt’s Mobinil, some of the chief carriers in the area, are implementing Ditech’s Voice Quality Assurance (VQA) solution to provide their subscribers with superior mobile call quality without purchasing additional spectrum or network infrastructure, a common issue in this region. In developing markets such as the Middle East, new mobile service plans are being sold at an incredibly fast pace. Unfortunately, while promising for local economies, rapid increases in subscribership can have a negative impact on voice quality. In Ditech’s 2008 audit of over 630 million wireless calls worldwide, developing markets including the Middle East were plagued with poor voice quality on 59 percent of all calls.   To quickly and cost-effectively accommodate new users, many carriers implement low bit-rate or half-rate codecs.  In the presence of background noise or during peak calling periods, however, this tactic can seriously impact the call experience. Rapid-growth carriers like Djezzy and Mobinil have adopted Ditech’s VQA to help maximize their network capacity while maintaining voice quality for subscribers. Additionally, Ditech can offer mobile carriers voice quality solutions for 2G/TDM networks and the more advanced 3G, IP, LTE or WiMAX networks. This enables growing mobile carriers to provide superior voice quality over their 2G/TDM networks as well as next-generation networks.  This eases migration for carriers by alleviating the need to deal with several different vendors for each technology. Ditech’s voice quality products allow them to operate hybrid networks, which frequently occurs when deploying new technologies or services throughout a network. “Carriers in the Middle East have numerous challenges to overcome in maintaining a differentiated service for their customers, namely, high subscriber growth, varying customer requirements, and diverse geographies,” said Karl Brown, VP of Marketing for Ditech Networks.  “We are proud to play a key role in balancing the region’s mobile growth with providing superior voice quality to customers.” Ditech’s VQA solution is available on the Ditech’s Broadband Voice Processor (BVP) Flex and Packet Voice Processor (PVP) voice processing platforms, which provide a high-density, high-performance foundation for processing the large number of calls that traverse carrier networks. Both platforms are highly adaptable and easily reconfigured or upgraded while in service to meet operations needs or to accommodate new technologies carriers may want to deploy. 

About Ditech Networks Ditech Networks is shaping the future of voice quality through continuous innovation and leadership for the world’s communications companies. Ditech’s voice quality solutions are deployed in wireless and wireline networks to optimize the call experience. By delivering consistent, dependable voice quality, Ditech’s products help global communications companies meet the multiple challenges of service differentiation, network expansion and call capacity. Ditech’s customers include Verizon, Sprint/Nextel, Orascom Telecom, AT&T, China Unicom, Global Crossing and West Corporation. Ditech Networks is headquartered in Mountain View, California. For more information, visit www.ditechnetworks.com.   

Press Contact:   Rob Adler      415-984-1970                                       

 Investor Contact:       Bill Tamblyn      650-623-1309

AT&T is combining the power of its global network platform with a subscription-based PeopleSoft solution from Oracle to provide midsize companies in the U.S. with a better way to handle human resources, payroll and back-office operations.  

AT&T Inc. recently announced an end-to-end, hosted PeopleSoft payroll and payroll tax solution that combines AT&T’s business process outsourcing services with its innovative utility computing platform and application management capabilities. It gives companies the ability to use a PeopleSoft application to add employees quickly, track pay and benefits and connect with financial back-end systems while calculating payroll deductions.

The solution is targeted to midsize companies as a bundled package that includes a monthly, per-employee fee, which helps businesses reduce the upfront costs typically associated with a large, complex software implementation and softens the impact of license fees.  

The solution is delivered over AT&T’s next-generation Synaptic Hosting^SM platform that creates a virtual infrastructure that lets customers add computing capacity, bandwidth and storage space as needed. The platform further allows customers to adjust capacity quickly, while paying only for the amount used. In addition, AT&T is offering a fixed-fee, fast-track program for out-of-the-box PeopleSoft solutions that helps speed the installation time and cut costs when compared with a customized PeopleSoft implementation. 

The announcement builds upon the long, strategic relationship between AT&T and Oracle. AT&T is a PeopleSoft Application Hosting Partner and an Oracle PartnerNetwork Certified Advantage Partner. 

“The relationship between AT&T and Oracle is a testament to the commitment we share to each other’s success,” said Ronald E. Spears, president and chief executive officer, AT&T Business Solutions. “Today’s announcement is further proof of how the intelligence of AT&T’s network and its software service-based delivery model complements Oracle’s application solutions to make it possible for even more businesses to operate successfully at greater scale and velocity.”  

Keith Block, executive vice president, Oracle North America Sales, said: “We are excited to work with AT&T to address the need for a cost-effective, predictably priced human resource service for companies that prefer to focus their efforts on their core differentiators. This is especially true in today’s uncertain economic climate where companies of all sizes are looking for ways to reduce costs, increase flexibility and decrease business risk.”  

AT&T is committed to delivering, managing and supporting sophisticated applications of all types required by companies of all sizes. For example, AT&T today provides solutions for companies that want to extend their business-critical information to mobile employees through hand-held devices. AT&T recently announced new mobility services, AT&T Mobile Enterprise Applications, that are designed to help companies in targeted vertical industries deliver mobile field service automation, sales force automation and information technology support for Oracle applications. 

As a Certified Advantage Partner in the Oracle PartnerNetwork, AT&T has a strong history of implementing and supporting hosted Oracle products including Oracle^® Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE) for multinational companies. OBIEE provides interactive dashboards with real-time analytics such as ad-hoc queries, alerts, enterprise and financial reporting in formats that are simple and intuitive to interpret. The dashboards are published and delivered over the AT&T network in familiar formats including mobile handsets.  

More information about AT&T’s hosting and application services can be found at http://www.business.att.com/enterprise/Portfolio/application-hosting-enterprise.

Global Communications and IT Solutions Leader Identifies Top Technology Trends to Help Businesses Reach New Heights in Year Ahead  

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – The global economy is front and center, and enterprises worldwide are looking to get the biggest bang for their buck in 2009.  With that in mind, Verizon Business has identified 10 business technology trends to help corporate and government information technology (IT) leaders do more with less.“These challenging times present IT leaders with an opportunity to make technology work harder and smarter to get the job done,” said Nancy Gofus, senior vice president of global business products for Verizon.  “We’re at a crossroads, where cost-cutting and technological innovation can actually unite to create new business capabilities in spite of the economic climate.  Verizon Business stands ready to help large businesses and government agencies worldwide make the most of communications and IT to propel their enterprises forward.”

Here’s Verizon Business’ list of 10 hot trends for 2009:

Enterprise 2.0 

The workplace is ever-changing and yesterday’s work style is being replaced with a more interactive exchange of ideas inspired by social networking tools such as Facebook, Wikis, Mash-ups, Twitter and Digg-it. Web 2.0 is quickly evolving into Enterprise 2.0 as these rich capabilities are creating new business models for some companies and empowering new strategies for others.  Removing traditional barriers of walls, wires, time and distance — reflective of today’s often globally dispersed enterprises — in favor of new social networking tools will enable workers to connect to their extended network of customers, suppliers, vendors and employees in new and exciting ways. Look for Enterprise 2.0 to help organizations take their game to the next level through enhanced collaboration, communications and sharing ideas.   

Work as Activity Versus Place 

Organizations want their employees to get their jobs done no matter where they are.  For that reason, teleworking is becoming a strategic imperative.   Companies will continue to recognize the productivity-boosting benefits of enabling mobile teleworkers or at-home teleworkers to remain securely connected to corporate resources.  The environment will also benefit as more businesses, government agencies and municipalities recognize the energy savings that can result from teleworking and “hoteling” (using office space on an as- needed basis, like a hotel room). Telework, including new high-definition virtual meetings, will create an increased focus on work as an activity versus a physical location, and companies will be able to hire and retain professional talent regardless of where they are located.  Managed mobility offerings will help businesses track, monitor, secure and manage the plethora of mobile devices accessing corporate networks. 

Doing More with Less

Businesses and governments everywhere are looking for ways to do more with less.  That holds true whether it means using managed services or tuning up existing networks instead of building new ones. IT organizations are also looking for the right technologies, such as sophisticated automated speech systems, to better serve customers.  In 2009, it’s all about productivity. Companies can choose which functions to keep in-house and which to hand off to a third party. Flexibility, the need for specific skill-sets and globalization are making selective out-tasking the preferred model. With managed services, companies can focus on what they do best and leave some of the highly specialized work such as IT, security, networks and call centers, to experts. 

Visual Communications 

Video will continue to play a starring role, as companies make the most of their IP connections to create a culture of collaboration.  From the boardroom to the desktop to the laptop to the mobile phone, more collaboration will take place, as companies increasingly embrace the cost-savings, productivity and environmental benefits of virtual meetings versus business travel.   High-definition video will begin to pay off for extended enterprise communications between employees, customers, suppliers and partners.  In addition to interactive video collaboration, video functions will be incorporated in the enterprise for on-demand content distribution, including on-the-job training.  As high-definition video equipment becomes more affordable and interoperable, the opportunity to video-enable corporate IP network endpoints will allow companies to rev-up their existing networks with minimal investment.

Unified Communications Integrated Into Business Processes 

If voice over IP (VoIP) is thought to be the first return on an IP network investment, unified communications (UC) will be the gift that keeps on giving.  Unified communications uses Internet protocol networks to integrate various systems, media, devices and applications to help streamline business processes, accelerate decision-making, and reduce costs. With UC now at the forefront of business communications strategies, companies are making decisions about voice telephony that will help them achieve greater collaboration and productivity.  Workers leveraging presence capabilities in a UC environment can gain more control over work flow and time management as well as expedited communications.  What’s next: UC integrated into automated business processes, where human and machine intelligence commingle in an IP world to drive even greater business growth.

Ready, Set Go IPv6            

The number of IP-addressable devices and systems is skyrocketing within enterprises and few organizations have current documented data on what those IP assets are, how they are being used and which ones are most critical to their operations.  Knowing which IP addressable elements are linked to which business needs will enable IT leaders to prioritize the data and applications that will need to be future-proofed with IPv6 capabilities while phasing out those that are idle or counter productive to operations.  IPv6 will be a necessity for companies to achieve mobility and scalability with increased efficiency and ultimately move their businesses forward.   

Getting SaaSy

The network becomes king once again in 2009 making it the perfect platform for software-as-a-service (SaaS) delivery. Serving content, applications and security in a centralized online environment will become the rage.  Buying computing resources a la carte will help companies control costs while attaining the security, performance, scalability and reliability required for the enterprise.  Consuming IT resources (connectivity, server and storage) on an as-needed basis will keep IT costs in control and eliminate the need, time and effort to outfit every desktop. Centralization will keep IT departments on top of their game in 2009.    360 Security  

Professionals will need to be security-conscious in and out of the office. Whether at home or on-the-go, security needs to be considered every step of the way.  Three hundred sixty-degree security, mandatory on any IT checklist, requires that the flow of data be protected in and out of the corporate network and through the extended enterprise of widespread and mobile customers, partners, suppliers and employees. Security will touch every endpoint, every device and every situation, both physical and logical. Home and office require equal protection as boundaries continue to blur.

Eco-Responsibility as Sound Business Strategy 

Companies will evaluate eco-responsibility along with their technology investments as part of an overall business strategy.  Corporate social responsibility is becoming increasingly important in how companies are viewed by their employees, customers and investors.  What’s good for the environment also happens to make good business sense.  According to “Smart 2020: Enabling the low carbon economy in the information age” published by The Climate Group, information communication technology (ICT) can reduce total global carbon emissions by 15 percent by the year 2020. If companies can reduce their energy consumption, they can also reduce their energy costs to gain a competitive advantage.  What’s more, savvy companies today are embracing the green initiative to get ahead of government and business mandates that will eventually force the issue.

Cutting Through the Compliance Clutter 

Compliance and regulatory oversight are here to stay. In 2009, expect more, not less, with IT in the hot seat for ensuring IT systems are fully compliant and all the right controls are in place. Enterprises should be prepared to be strategic, think innovatively and act decisively.  Professional services and Web-based dashboards that help track, monitor and enable controls for compliance will provide the foundation for companies looking to get it right.  These “smart” tools also will allow an organization to quickly review whether its partners, customers and suppliers, which form an extended network, are complying with relevant standards and regulations, a critical consideration in today’s increasingly connected world. 

“To these predictions,” concluded Gofus, “we will add one more: Businesses worldwide will need to be quick and nimble in the coming year. Those that leverage the benefits of technology to power their business objectives will weather the storm and become even stronger in the long run. Our expert staff is trained to help companies navigate these turbulent waters and deliver a comprehensive suite of integrated, secure communications and IT solutions, including managed and professional services that enable companies to focus on their core business.”     

About Verizon Business

Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a global leader in communications and IT solutions. We combine professional expertise with the world’s most connected IP network to deliver award-winning communications, IT, information security and network solutions. We securely connect today’s extended enterprises of widespread and mobile customers, partners, suppliers and employees — enabling them to increase productivity and efficiency and help preserve the environment.  Many of the world’s largest businesses and governments — including 96 percent of the Fortune 1000 and thousands of government agencies and educational institutions — rely on our professional and managed services and network technologies to accelerate their business. Find out more at www.verizonbusiness.com. 

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 I-Tracing integrates Qosmos network intelligence technology to deliver a network-centric solution protecting access to personal data in telecom operator databases 

Paris, November 24^th, 2008 - Qosmos, the industry leader in network information extraction, and I-Tracing, a major IT consulting and engineering company specialized in data traceability, have joined forces to protect access to telecom operators’ sensitive data.

Qosmos and I-Tracing’s joint Data Theft Prevention solution enables telecom operators’ information security, regulatory compliance and anti-fraud departments to collect, analyze and store database access records in real time, and generate reliable reports and alerts for effective protection of sensitive subscriber data. The ready-to-use solution combines Qosmos’ ixMachine range of network-based information extraction appliances with I-Tracing’s information processing and management applications.

Telecom operators’ databases contain private customer information of a highly sensitive nature, ranging from subscriber phone numbers and addresses, to private bank details, call history and geo-localization data. Preventing the theft or misuse of this confidential information is critical both financially and legally, but also in terms of reputation. Data protection represents, therefore both a strategic and technical challenge for operators, who must implement a secure and comprehensive tracking system across the various access points to their subscriber databases: from internal customer relations and technical support teams, to outsourced customer care services.

“We have chosen to integrate Qosmos’ information extraction technology in our Data Protection and Security solution portfolio for its unique ability to collect detailed and reliable database access records directly from operator networks. This network-based approach offers carriers complete visibility – in real time – into who is accessing what, when and how, guaranteeing immediate detection and response in the case of a breach. It also complies with legal obligations to track access to personal data,” explained Théodore-Michel Vrangos, Co-Founder and President of I-Tracing.

Installed in passive transparent mode on the operator network, the Qosmos/I-Tracing solution monitors network traffic in real time, and extracts complete and detailed access records for all intranet and web-based applications, whether they be standard or custom, and whatever network protocol is used (Telnet, http, etc.). The solution is entirely configurable by the operator to meet specific data protection and regulatory compliance requirements, and can be easily integrated into the operator’s network without impacting existing applications or subscriber service platforms.

“The significant synergy between I-Tracing’s technical expertise and Qosmos technology offers telecom operators a very fine-grained understanding of the information in transit on their networks, and provides them with network-centric tools specially designed to protect access to their sensitive data,” commented Thibaut Bechetoille, CEO of Qosmos.

 About Qosmos

Qosmos provides software and hardware platforms that identify and extract information traveling over networks in real time with unparalleled precision and depth. The technology has been designed for use across a wide range of applications such as lawful interception, data retention, regulatory compliance, content-based billing, audience measurement and network optimization. Using Qosmos technology, Network Equipment Manufacturers, Software Vendors and System Integrators can enhance their solutions with detailed network intelligence to better monetize, optimize or protect networked information. www.qosmos.com

 About I-TracingBased in Paris, I-Tracing is a major IT consulting and engineering company specialized in data tracing, security and electronic evidence. I-Tracing brings an added-value service approach from Consulting, Audit & Investigation, to turn-key Solution Integration & Engineering, and Managed Services and Operations. Specialized in log and trace management, deep packet inspection and IT security governance, the main application areas are: data tracking & traceability, fraud management, permanent control, e-discovery, data evidence, lawful inspection & data retention, digital signature, PKI, security log management, SIEM (Security Incident Event Monitoring), IDU - Information Data Usage for marketing and sales, data warehouse & business intelligence, IT legal compliance (Sarbanes-Oxley, ISO2700x, ITIL, Basel II, Sovency, MiFID, etc.). 

I-Tracing has delivered several major IT engineering and consultancy projects for financial groups, telecom operators, industry and services, retail, government agencies, etc. www.i-tracing.com

Media Contact:

Debby Stefaniak / Full Circle Communications

dstefaniak@fullcirclecomm.com / Ph: +1-215-712-2490  

Nominum, the leading provider of network naming and addressing technologies, today announced the availability of a comprehensive new security release for its Vantio caching DNS server platform.  The latest Vantio software release provides multi-layer intelligent defenses that defeat DNS cache poisoning and other attacks, including the recently publicized Kaminsky vulnerability.  By offering built-in defense-in-depth, the Nominum solution far surpasses the recently released industry standard UDP Source Port Randomization (UDP SPR).  In fact, Vantio’s new defenses negate the brute force advantage attackers gained with the latest DNS cache poisoning vulnerability.   “Literally one day after details of the Kaminsky cache poisoning attack were revealed, UDP Source Port Randomization was defeated in 10 hours by security researchers using brute-force spoofed responses,” said Dr. Paul Mockapetris, Chairman and Chief Scientist at Nominum and inventor of the DNS.  “Nominum’s multi-layered approach eliminates the risk of a successful attack.” Key benefits of new Vantio DNS security features:

• Resists and stops all forms of cache poisoning attacks
• Defends automatically against query response spoofing and takes attackers out of loop
• Prevents hijacking of subscriber traffic, or “pharming” attacks
• Identifies perpetrators and records attack attempts
• Provides protection in Enterprise and Service Provider networks that use network address translation (NAT), which can undermine UDP SPR (NAT devices include server load balancers and firewalls)
• Reduces the chance of poisoning answers for valuable domains (www.mybank.com) to zero

 Protection Well Beyond the Industry Response

Nominum and its customers were instrumental in implementing and deploying UDP SPR as part of an industry-wide response to the cache poisoning threat. This feature offered immediate protection to over 120 million broadband subscribers supported by Nominum DNS servers at nearly one hundred carriers and ISPs (click here for a partial list of Nominum’s key customers). UDP source port randomization is only a first-step response to the new vulnerability, and network operators need additional deterministic defenses to address important exploits. Cache poisoning attacks rely on many techniques, and response spoofing is only one of them. UDP source port randomization is designed to mitigate risk of spoofing, but is not effective against a determined attacker or other forms of attacks. Response spoofing can be easily subverted when more network resources are available to an attacker that allow for sending many spoofed responses.  Nominum’s new defenses are critical to ensuring the attacker does not succeed.  ”Layered defenses in the DNS system are an effective way to address serious attack scenarios that aren’t covered by UDP Source Port Randomization alone,” said Dan Kaminsky, the security researcher who discovered the latest DNS vulnerability. “As new DNS vulnerabilities are discovered, a layered approach such as Nominum’s will help in ensuring ongoing Internet security.” Vantio features the following four security layers with key security features highlighted: 

• Deterrence Layer: Includes Nominum’s leading UDP Source Port Randomization implementation, the recommended industry response to the Kaminsky threat
• Defense Layer: Incorporates Nominum’s “Detect and Defend” capability to detect spoofing attempts and automatically switch the resolution to a secure connection in response to an attack attempt.
• Resistance Layer: Employs Query Response Screening with a set of features that intelligently screen DNS answers to ensure malicious data in DNS responses is not used to answer valid user queries
• Remediation Layer: Sends alerts when an attack is under way and incorporates a new feature that records the attack, allowing the attacker to be identified, and real-time remedial action to be taken by the network operator. 

 “Layered security is the only way to defend against the emerging threats to the Internet,” said Tom Tovar, CEO of Nominum. “Our customers, the largest networks in the world, have an obligation to deliver the highest-level of security in delivering Internet service to consumer, enterprise and government users. Nominum’s new software release ensures that our customers can meet that obligation immediately and completely.”

 Pricing and Availability

The new Vantio release is generally available as standard software purchase for carriers, large enterprise and government customers.  For more information regarding Nominum’s DNS platforms and background on the company, visit www.nominum.com.  

Chelsea Irwin, Engage PR for Nominum

 +1.510.748.8200, x203

cirwin@engagepr.com

New Edition Enables Sophisticated System Testing While Improving Productivity and Quality

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – August 19, 2008 – Fanfare, delivering innovative testing solutions to network equipment manufacturers (NEMs), service providers (SPs), and enterprises today announced the latest release of iTest™, the company’s flagship test automation product.

iTest 3.2 is a comprehensive testing solution for device and heterogeneous system testing. As the complexity of devices has increased, so has the market demand for vendor-agnostic integration between test equipment and test automation software. With iTest 3.2, customers can seamlessly integrate test assets and automate complex system testing using hardware and software from a variety of different vendors.

“iTest provides an agnostic testing solution that unifies all of the different pieces of the increasingly complex testing puzzle,” said Theresa Lanowitz, founder of voke, a leading market and industry research firm. “By providing a common foundation for conducting complex system testing, iTest is a valuable tool for both network equipment manufacturers and service providers that must communicate test assets to one another on a regular basis. This inevitably reduces product release cycles while enhancing the overall quality of product being released to the marketplace.”

Early beta versions of 3.2 have demonstrated that testers employing scripting methods, as well as those who are using a manual approach, both cited gains in productivity up to eight times their previous levels. As a result, customers at various levels of automation can accelerate their testing process, improving productivity and the overall quality of products and services being released to market.

“We have seen a real expansion in the market, where service providers now account for nearly half of our customer base and enterprises are showing an increased interest in our products,” said Tom Ryan, president and CEO of Fanfare. “This demonstrates the growing importance of quality and testing across all segments of the industry. With this new release of iTest, customers will experience significant gains in productivity and quality improvements, whether they are just starting on the path to automation, or they are evolving to the next level of automated testing.”

In order to support more complex and demanding testing environments, the following new features have been incorporated into release 3.2:
• In-Grid Analysis providing intuitive pass / fail capabilities
• Testbed Revolver for improved transferability
• Support of Java Swing, Syslog, and Wireshark applications
• Enhancements to Agilent’s N2X and Spirent’s SmartBits and TestCenter integrations
• Support of Ixia’s IxNetwork and IxLoad test equipment software

Existing Fanfare customers with current maintenance or subscription licenses are able to upgrade to iTest 3.2 as part of their maintenance contract or subscription license. iTest Team, the most popular iTest edition, is available at an annual subscription rate of $6500 per user. Support for IxNetwork and IxLoad is available as additional options for $1000 each per year.

iTest 3.2 is now generally available.

About Fanfare
Fanfare provides software solutions to high-tech equipment manufacturers and service providers that simplify and accelerate device and system testing. Developers and testers create and share automated tests that control and analyze results from multiple devices, traffic generators, and applications while automatically documenting each test with pass-fail criteria. With Fanfare solutions, companies can move along the path toward automation while accelerating QA cycles, reducing time to market, and increasing the quality of released products. Industries such as communications, aerospace and defense, consumer electronics, automotive, industrial, and medical devices have benefited from Fanfare products. For more information please visit www.fanfaresoftware.com.

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Media Contact:
Marisa Marzano
Big Sky Communications
(705) 484-5105
marisa@bigskypr.com

Conference includes three summits on digital commerce, network transformation and revenue and customer management to target the extending value chain in the communications industry

Morristown, NJ – August 11, 2008 –TM Forum, the leading communications industry consortium, announced today that the organization’s 2008 North American Management World conference will be held at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, Florida from November 16-20^th.

After hosting a capacity crowd of more than 1,500 industry professionals last year, Management World moves to the new, bigger Orlando location with a new tri-summit conference format to address the management, monetization and operational issues facing today’s communications, entertainment and online service providers. 

Coinciding with the larger venue, Management World Orlando will boast an increased scope to better assess and discuss the challenges facing communications service providers as they embrace the content, digital commerce and advertising industries. The 2008 conference will include three distinct summits on transformation, revenue management and customer experience, and digital commerce and advertising that will examine each specific area as it relates to the larger topic of convergence.

The Transformation Summit will explore how business and IT transformation enables service providers and their partners to remain competitive in a dynamic market place. The summit is aimed at the telecom, cable, information and entertainment companies responsible for driving continuous business transformation.

The Revenue Management & Customer Experience Summit will examine important aspects of charging for and gathering revenue for a new generation of services, as well as how customer experience becomes a foundation to a successful and profitable service. The summit covers the entire spectrum from how customer experience can be defined to how services can be assured..

The Digital Commerce & Advertising Summit will examine the management & monetization issues for delivering cutting-edge, digital media services and the new business opportunities for service providers as the communications and media worlds converge. Additionally, the summit will explore how advancements in digital commerce and communications technologies will impact traditional advertising business models for the future.

With C-level keynotes from Rogers Communications, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Telekom, and speakers from worldwide services providers including BT, Verizon and AT&T, Management World Orlando continues the tradition of bringing together top experts to discuss, explore and solve the industry’s most pressing issues.

Mark your calendar now to join these and other leading companies at this year’s Management World Orlando – November 16-20, 2008.

For further details on the Conference and each of its summits, visit the Management World Orlando homepage.
About the TM Forum

With almost 700 member companies in 72 countries, the TM Forum is the world’s leading trade consortium focused on enabling digital services. Serving the information, communications and entertainment industries, the Forum provides leadership, strategic guidance and practical solutions to improve the way that services are created, delivered and charged. Members include the majority of the world’s service providers, network operators, software suppliers, equipment suppliers and systems integrators.

The Forum currently facilitates over 80 technical projects and provides extensive training, conferencing and information services to its members. Through its initiatives to help providers move to low cost, high quality ‘lean’ processes, the Forum helps its members automate business processes and work seamlessly across various parts of the service delivery chain. The organization provides industry benchmarks, guidebooks, process and software frameworks and downloadable software standards. These give service providers the direction and specific roadmaps to achieve much greater business efficiency and operational flexibility.

For further information regarding the TM Forum, related programs such as the Prosspero initiative and its Management World conferences, please visit www.tmforum.org,

You can also contact me at nate@marchpr.com.