In Your Opinion

We will far exceed them based on all of the new international, cloud and energy sales that we have had this year as they are bigger-ticket sales. As a result, we are increasing our goals for 2011.” Vince Bradley, president and CEO, World Telecom Group

No, we are down 30 percent from last years numbers.”  Matt Duray, president and CEO, The Connect Group

“Yes, we are securing new contracts almost daily. We should finish the year with revenues 25 percent above where we started.” David Goodwin, co-founder, Advanced Technology Consulting Inc.

“Yes, estimated at 115% of plan.” Jeff Ponts, executive vice president, Datatel Solutions Inc.

Absolutely. In fact, with the complete automation overlay that the company is undergoing, our recruiting efforts will really be taking off, so we expect tremendous growth. We are moving into many new areas and thus hiring and expanding more than in recent years.” Vince Bradley, president and CEO, World Telecom Group

“Yes, certainly above 2010 and, hopefully, over the 2009 sales.”  Matt Duray, president and CEO, The Connect Group

Absolutely. We have a lot in our pipeline, some are larger opportunities that should allow us to exceed 25 percent growth next year.”  David Goodwin, co-founder, Advanced Technology Consulting Inc.

Yes, through a combination of lead generation and recruiting efforts.” Jeff Ponts, executive vice president, Datatel Solutions Inc.

I believe there will be a very slight recovery.”  Dany Bouchedid, CEO, COLOTRAQ

I think in terms of the teleconomy (the economy of telecommunications), which I believe is already recovering. We are seeing many signs of that. On the customer level: faster decision making, more efficient human resource utilization, more dynamic budget allocation, etc. In the channel: much more efficient and value added product sets like cloud, Ethernet, wireless, energy, etc.  Seeing 2010 as transitional year, I believe that in 2011, the teleconomy will dramatically bounce back from the depths of 2009.” Vince Bradley, president and CEO, World Telecom Group

Since the economy seems to be in a pattern where any recovery will continue to progress on a very slow track, I do not think that an economic recovery is likely in 2011.  Given the high unemployment rate, suppressed business spending and investment and the continuing need for federal stimulus, it probably will take several years to realistically apply the word recovery. I do, however, expect economic conditions to gradually improve throughout 2011.”   Thomas Crowe, partner, Law Offices of Thomas K. Crowe, P.C.

Yes. I think there will be political gridlock for the next two years. This will probably make a lot of companies think that things can’t get worse so they will start spending some of that so-called one trillion dollars they have sitting on the sidelines.”  David Goodwin, co-founder, Advanced Technology Consulting Inc.

Yes, after the last election The Power in Washington and several states has been divided sufficiently to cause a gridlock in the legislative processes. The lack of new arbitrary laws and regulations will give the market the confidence to start the process of rebounding and expanding.”  Travis Graff, managing partner, Tehama County Telephone, and co-founder and CEO, TC Telephone LLC

I think there will continue to be a weeding out of poor performers, which will turn into more opportunity for strong companies to get even stronger.”  Paul Hayes, director of strategic initiatives, SYNNEX Corp.

“I think it will be a slow recovery and will take beyond next year to fully rebound.”  Michael Machonkin, vice president of sales and marketing, GLOBALINX

I believe like the stock market, technology purchases are a leading indicator of an improving economy. Our VAR partners pipelines are growing significantly over the previous year. I believe the economy growth will be low to moderate, but steady.”  Jeff Ponts, executive vice president,  Datatel Solutions Inc.

Yes, the economy is already showing signs of rebounding in the enterprise space and with infrastructure spends, mobility expansion and small business growth, 2011 should be a stable, but not stellar, year.”  Janet Schijns, vice president of Global Training & Knowledge Management, Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions (EMS)

Managed/hosted everything.” Frank Ahearn, president, Business Communications Management

For us who are in the infrastructure arena, the hot product was cloud computing.”  Dany Bouchedid, CEO, COLOTRAQ

Hosted (cloud) was very hot.”   Vince Bradley, president and CEO, World Telecom Group

We could not find anything that created excitement.”  Matt Duray, president and CEO, The Connect Group

 Hosted VoIP. We are selling 2-3 systems per month.”  David Goodwin, co-founder, Advanced Technology Consulting Inc.

Hosted VoIP and managed networks.”  Travis Graff, managing partner, Tehama County Telephone, and co-founder and CEO, TC Telephone LLC

The hot product for 2010 was smartphones, clearly driven by the rapid development of mobile applications.”   Paul Hayes, director of strategic initiatives, SYNNEX Corp.

VoIP for us. That has been our focus and we continue to see growth in the hosted marketplace.”  Michael Machonkin, vice president of sales and marketing, GLOBALINX

All forms of conferencing have hit the mainstream. While the hype has been around desktop video, the money continues to flow from the audio services.”  Greg Plum, director of channel development, the Conference Group

“SIP and MPLS were the big winners for midmarket deployment for 2010.”  Jeff Ponts, executive vice president, Datatel Solutions Inc.

Security was the hot product in 2010 and it will stay hot for many years to come, particularly if you consider the risks inherent in putting more data and applications in the hands of mobile workers.”   –Janet Schijns, vice president of Global Training & Knowledge Management, Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions (EMS)

True SIP.” Frank Ahearn, president, Business Communications Management

I feel that cloud computing will continue to be the hot product through 2011 as more and more providers and specialized agents emerge.”  Dany Bouchedid, CEO, COLOTRAQ

True cloud not just hosted/SaaS. Energy will also be very hot as well.”  Vince Bradley, president and CEO, World Telecom Group

Unified communications.”  Matt Duray, president and CEO, The Connect Group

More hosted VoIP/UC, more conferencing and bigger bandwidth/Ethernet.”  David Goodwin, co-founder, Advanced Technology Consulting Inc.

Hosted VoIP and cloud computing.”  Travis Graff, managing partner, Tehama County Telephone, and co-founder and CEO, TC Telephone LLC

Cloud-based applications, including hosted unified communications, will be the hot product for 2011, especially when combined with a mobility solution.”  Paul Hayes, director of strategic initiatives, SYNNEX Corp.

“We see a lot of traction coming with hosted customers as well as SIP trunking in some cases, a hybrid combination of the two.”  Michael Machonkin, vice president of sales and marketing, GLOBALINX

Cloud and colo.”  Troy McCracken, CEO, Spectrum Inc.

While I have heard the term unified communications thrown around ad nauseum and with varying meanings over the past decade, I think this is the year subscription services for UC platforms will gain some ground.”   Greg Plum, director of channel development, the Conference Group

SaaS will continue to lead discussions in 2011, but any significant implementation will be delayed until 2012.”  Jeff Ponts, executive vice president,  Datatel Solutions Inc.

I believe location-based services coupled with machine-to-machine analytics will be the hot product of 2011, extending the mobile device and traditional voice services into a new era that will enable new levels of productivity.”  Janet Schijns, vice president of Global Training & Knowledge Management, Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions (EMS)

Carrier consolidation.”  Frank Ahearn, president, Business Communications Management

Revenue retention will continue to be a challenge in 2011 as the agent community continues to deal with the ripple effects of the recession. A close second will be getting up to speed quickly on some of these emerging technologies.”  Dany Bouchedid, CEO, COLOTRAQ

Keeping up with the convergence that will be occurring in the cloud will be the biggest challenge.”  Vince Bradley, president and CEO, World Telecom Group

Based upon what Ive seen in my law practice representing agents, the greatest challenge agents face in 2011 will be the same challenge they faced in 2010 dealing with carriers who are looking for ways to lower their commission obligations in order to improve their cash flow and boost their bottom line. If your agent contract is worded properly from the start, you have much less to fear. But if there are any loopholes in your agreement, you may want to revisit the issue with the help of an experienced telecom lawyer. Even if your contract is worded properly, theres no guarantee the carrier wont try to evade liability but at least you can sleep better at night knowing that youve acted prudently to protect your interests.”  Ben Bronston, co-founder, Nowalsky, Bronston & Gothard

“Getting people to be confident enough to pull the trigger on projects.”  Matt Duray, president and CEO, The Connect Group

“If the past is indicative of the future, the providers not all of them challenge us the most, e.g., cuts in commission, eliminating or restructuring the channel, poor delivery of goods and services and poor agent/customer support. If they would meet the expectations they set which translates into less strain on our time and resources, we would be able to help/sell more customers everybody wins that way.”  David Goodwin, co-founder, Advanced Technology Consulting Inc.

Finding a partner that is responsive to you and the market and will be there tomorrow.”  Travis Graff, managing partner, Tehama County Telephone, and co-founder and CEO, TC Telephone LLC

“To find new ways to be viable to your client base and bring them genuine value.”  Paul Hayes, director of strategic initiatives, SYNNEX Corp.

Agents should evaluate how they need to evolve to become a consultant to their customers as new technologies are introduced and customers need a path to understanding how to incorporate into their existing structure. Agents will need to quickly become subject matter experts and help guide their customers on a roadmap to implementation.”  Mike Jerich, vice president of indirect channels, Global Crossing Ltd

Education in disruptive technologies will be the biggest challenge for 2011. Managed services and SaaS will dominate the headlines and the agents customers thought processes.  If the agent does not take the time to educate them in the new application-driven world, they will find themselves obsolete and out of work.” Jeff Ponts, executive vice president, Datatel Solutions Inc.

Adapting to customers ever-changing needs. I dont think this is unique to this coming year, but in general. We are in an industry that is constantly growing, morphing and developing. It is critical that agents keep up with trends and technology so that they continue to provide insight into solutions that will most benefit their customers needs.”  Michael Machonkin, vice president of sales and marketing, GLOBALINX

Maintaining their base of revenue.”   Troy McCracken, CEO, Spectrum Inc.

Change. Agents must be ready, willing and able to embrace new technologies that are being introduced to the market.  Pricing models, new ways to access services and a multitude of social applications will make 2011 a year unlike any other that we have seen in recent history.”  Greg Plum, director of channel development, the Conference Group

The greatest challenge agents face in 2011 is evolving their pricing strategies and margin goals to adapt to the changing customer landscape.”   Janet Schijns, vice president of Global Training & Knowledge Management, Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions (EMS)