16 / 76
Feed
Direct
Feed
Direct
Points
Data
Points
Data
“One Marketplace plays a critical role in next-generation
WAN delivery by providing visibility into the right connectivity
for the right applications at the right price at each location,”
said Cornelia Pool, chief digital officer of Global Capacity.
Colt Names Kopp to Lead
Channel
Colt Technology Services announced the appointment of
Mike Kopp to the role of vice president, channel sales. Kopp
joined Colt at the end of 2015 and will be a key member of
the U.S. leadership team, said the company.
In his role at Colt, Kopp will be responsible for the de-
velopment of Colt’s channel strategy, including managing
partner relationships, driving adoption of company channel
programs, and driving sales growth through relationships
with partners throughout the U.S. He brings more than two
decades of telecommunications and channel management
experience to this role, most recently at Cogent Communi-
cations, where he was responsible for introducing and build-
ing the channel program there.
“We are thrilled that Mike is leading our channel team,”
said Ernie Ortega, Colt’s chief revenue officer. “His track
record of building channel programs and his understanding
of the indirect business as well as his relationships with key
partners will be invaluable as we execute on the channel
strategy and drive the level of success that we envision.”
“Colt has a strong value proposition to support multi-
national enterprise customers,” said Kopp. “We offer a full
portfolio of products and services and a support infrastruc-
ture that really differentiates Colt in the marketplace. I’m
really looking forward to working with our partners to dem-
onstrate that differentiation and drive more business.”
CNSG to Offer PGi Cloud
Collaboration Solutions
PGi announced a new strategic alliance with master agen-
cy Converged Network Services Group (CNSG). Through this
agreement, CNSG now will have access to the entire PGi col-
laboration portfolio including PGi’s audio conferencing, web
and video conferencing, event conferencing, webcasting and
unified communications solutions. With a SaaS-based deliv-
ery model, PGi will handle customer implementation, support,
co-marketing and engagement programs.
“Working with PGi means CNSG partners have access to
industry-leading audio, video and web conferencing solutions
and support resources,” said Randy Friedberg, vice president
of business development at CNSG. “In order to navigate the
complex demands of the collaboration market, it is imperative
to align with a proven solution provider like PGi.”
“PGi’s audio, video and web collaboration solutions
will drive new revenue streams for CNSG agents as they,
in turn, provide greater value for their customers,” added
Ralph Hawkins, senior vice president, PGi Partner Channel.
“With competitive pricing, detailed implementation services
and a responsive team, PGi looks forward to growing our
relationship with CNSG in 2016 and beyond.”
Lumos Joins Equinix Cloud
Exchange
Lumos Networks, a fiber-based infrastructure provider in
the mid-Atlantic region, announced it has joined the Equinix
Cloud Exchange, an interconnection solution that provides
direct, private access to multiple cloud service providers. As
a member, Lumos Networks provides Ethernet access to the
exchange, where customers can connect with a wide array
of cloud service providers.
The Lumos Networks connectivity provides a high-
speed, secure, carrier-class alternative to the public Internet
to access the exchange, said the company. In addition to
the Cloud Exchange, Lumos connects to two Equinix data
center facilities in Ashburn, Va., (21715 Filigree Court and
44470 Chilum Place).
“Businesses need robust, predictable connectivity to the
Equinix Cloud Exchange so they can deploy cloud environ-
ments that deliver the benefits they expect,” said Bill Long,
Equinix vice president of interconnection solutions. “En-
terprises cannot afford for their access to cloud resources
to be put at risk by public Internet latency and congestion.
High-performance network access to the cloud is a must-
have for cloud success.”
“By joining the Equinix Cloud Exchange, we’re helping
enterprises expedite and improve their cloud deployments
by giving them industrial-strength access to an impressive
range of cloud service providers,” said Tim Biltz, president
and CEO of Lumos Networks. “Customers can reach providers
on the Equinix Cloud Exchange with the kind of throughput
and latency they need to keep the response time, user
experience and security of cloud services that these mission-
critical applications demand.”
U.S. Business Fiber Penetration
Nears 50%
The U.S. fiber gap continued to narrow in 2015 as busi-
ness fiber penetration in commercial buildings grew to 46.2
percent, according to latest research from Vertical Systems
Group. This benchmark figure quantifies fiber-connected
multi-tenant and company-owned buildings in the U.S. with
20 or more employees, which equates to more than 2 mil-
lion individual business establishments.
Fiber penetration increased in 2015 as network opera-
tors targeted greenfield metro areas and mid-size multi-tenant
buildings for new installations, said Rosemary Cochran,
16
Channel
Vision
|
May - June 2016