What does this have to do with services development? Glad you asked. A friend tweeted me earlier today with a joke about how I was designing fast, and how if you spent a year on specifications you could design really fast after that. That got me thinking – is there a maximum length of a modern services project? Is there a development cycle so long that it doesn’t make any sense to complete, and if so, how long would that be?

Enter Nyquist, who I think might provide the answer to this question.  Maybe the maximum length of a modern services project should be no more than one half of how fast the market can move. Stay with me here.  Perhaps modern businessmen should ask themselves how much of  a market window they have, then plan to introduce a product or service no more than half of that amount. If they can do this, then they can guarantee that the market hasn’t moved on them. Well, theoretically.

For me, this is yet another drop in the bucket that supports Web as Platform development for telecom.  Using a traditional approach, new service introductions are measured in quarters, and takes as much as two years to vet and bring to market. In that time frame, markets move, and services fail.

Four years ago, I was asked on stage by Carl Ford to speak about service creation along with the head of a European carrier. At the time, I was thinking deeply about horizontal vs. vertical service opportunities, and was concluding that carriers would always be unable to provide vertical applications – and that would be a killer. As I pressed the point with my friend on stage, it became clear that our realities were different, and I soon found out why:

What he didn’t say publicly, but admitted afterwards in a side conversation, was that the problem was in the structure of carriers – they were too large, and the opportunities too fleeting, to really take advantage of the very niched application. I hope I didn’t offend him when I suggested that the problem was with today’s carriers, not tomorrow’s.

Four years later, I see the issue, and the solution. It’s not about niched application sometimes, it’s about sampling rate.

Dan – you rock. Thanks.

If you are unfamiliar with STL, they are the ones behind the “Telco 2.0″ moniker, devoted toward redefining the Telcos role in the next economy.  For me, their models on next generation value creation are required reading for anyone who’s tasked with service creation from both business and technical angles.  More so, their events simply have the best speakers and attendees for anyone interested in hearing from “A-List”.   In the past shows, we’ve heard from senior executives of Amazon,  Vodafone, Orange, Telefonica, RBS, Virgin, Universal Music, TeliaSonera, Nokia, Sprint, Verizon… you get the point.  More so, their analysts are top of the heap : Dean Bubbly, Chris Barraclough, Keith McMahon, and  Norm Lewis (from Orange fame) start the list, and I haven’t even gotten to Thomas or Alexander. Even the wunderkind Martin Geddes did his time in the walls.

As an added bonus, here’s a sketch that good friend Sanjay Jawhar (@sanjayjhawar and from Ideas and Plans) and I did together at the last STL event in Orlando.  Sanjay wanted to demonstrate how carriers just were not understanding the impact of how old approaches of service development constrained innovation. This was a fun one… I come in about 5 minutes into it.  Sanjay, that was really fun. Need to do that again.

Well, you can find out for yourself. On a daily basis, those neat people at Programmable Web scour the earth for mashups, and figure out which APIs are being used in them. Then, they tally who’s using what to figure out which web services are the most popular, and for what.

Today’s scores?
Yahoo leads in APIs, but google is running away in Mashups. The most popular APIs?

1) Google Maps
2) Flickr Photo Sharing
3) Amazon Shopping

Exactly 12 mashups using Voice, with 8 of them using Skype from Ebay.

12. 12!!!! Three years ago there were twelve voice mashups listed on programmable web. I sh*t you not. 12. 9 plus 3.

To all those wonderful people at IfByPhone/CloudVox, Tropo/Voxeo, Twilio, Ribbit, Orange, Orange Labs, meine lieben Freunde auf Deutsch Telekom (may your garden grow forever), Broadsoft and the hundreds of their customers, Jaduka and even Jicksta you hipster… love you more than I can say. You guys moved this market when the big guys failed.  As far as I’m concerned, you have entered the pantheon of engineering teams and companies that actually made a difference not to just yourselves, but to the world.  On behalf of the geeks who have written (at this point) tens of thousands of voice enabled mashups and applications, thank you for giving us the tools we needed. And wait – there’s better stuff coming.

12. Crazy.

ps. For all those VCs that told me that this wasn’t a market, and you know who you are, bite me.

MIAMI, January 21, 2010 — FREETALK^® and 13 other companies today announced the formation of the FREETALK Connect Alliance, an open alliance of companies that will provide innovative applications, products and services to expand the capabilities of the FREETALK Connect communications system. The alliance is open to companies that offer products and services which build on the capabilities of the FREETALK Connect, “Voice 2.0” in concept, and can interoperate with Asterisk, Skype™, SIP, Skype for SIP or the PSTN.

The FREETALK Connect simplifies set up, enabling small business users that are not tech savvy to use it quickly and simply, without formal training. Supported telephones are plugged into the company’s network and the FREETALK Connect auto-detects and configures them. An on-screen wizard then guides the customer through a few business-related questions that help configure the company’s communication system and enables Skype calling from every supported desktop phone in the office. Adding users and administering the system after installation is just as easy.

The FREETALK Connect Alliance opens the door for many new developers, service providers, including cloud computing and Internet communications providers to offer new and innovative applications, products and services for businesses of any size. These will be available later this year in the U.S. through the FREETALK Connect Store (http://www.freetalkconnect.com) and the Skype Shop (http://skype.com/shop), both of which are operated by In Store Solutions.

The charter members of the FREETALK Connect Alliance include:

· AbbeyNet/Sitofono (Italy)

· Cloudvox (USA)

· FlatPlanet Phone Company (Israel)

· FREETALK (Spain)

· IfByPhone (USA)

· In Store Solutions (Hong Kong)

· Iotum/Calliflower (Canada)

· Jazinga (Canada)

· Skype (Luxembourg)

· Tatung (Taiwan)

· Thomas Howe’s Light and Electric (USA)

· Voxeo (US)

· Voxygen (UK)

· Voxbone (Belgium)

“The FREETALK Connect Alliance members are building an entire ecosystem of products, applications and services around the FREETALK Connect communications system,” said Andrew Hansen, B2B manager at FREETALK. “The Alliance’s products and services build on, and powerfully leverage, the strengths of each other, and the market reach of the extremely affordable, fully featured and self-configuring FREETALK Connect.”

Companies that want more information about this alliance, or want to join the FREETALK Connect Alliance should contact FREETALK at alliance@instoresolutions.com.

About FREETALK

FREETALK is a product innovation catalyst – identifying market gaps and working with its global partners to design, manufacture and quickly bring to market products that disrupt traditional categories.  Leveraging untapped market opportunities, FREETALK products are designed to be environmentally friendly, sold online and delivered globally at aggressive price-points. Always at the forefront of innovation, FREETALK is known for creating synergistic products that add unique value to its partners’ branded points-of-sale.

About Skype

Skype is software that enables the world’s conversations. Millions of individuals and businesses use Skype to make free video and voice calls send instant messages and share files with other Skype users. Every day, people everywhere also use Skype to make low-cost calls to landlines and mobiles. Download Skype to your computer or mobile phone at skype.com.

Access to a broadband Internet connection is required. Skype is not a replacement for traditional telephone services and cannot be used for emergency calling. Skype for SIP is meant to complement existing traditional telephone services used with a corporate PBX, not as a stand-alone solution. Skype for SIP users need to ensure all calls to emergency services are terminated through traditional fixed line telephone services, connected to the local exchange, or through other emergency calling capable telephone services.

Skype, associated trademarks and logos and the “S” symbol are trademarks of Skype Limited.

# # #

Ultra-simple System Offers Multiple Options for Small Business Owners
To Save On Calling Costs

MIAMI, January 20, 2010 — In Store Solutions today unveiled the FREETALK^® Connect, the first communications system designed from the ground up to allow small and medium business owners to enable Skype calls from supported office phones. With the FREETALK Connect, companies can make free Skype-to-Skype calls with the more than 520 million registered Skype users worldwide and can view and manage Skype contact lists using their supported office phones. Companies can also receive inbound voice calls from users of Skype around the world via the FREETALK Connect. They can also participate in the Skype for SIP open beta, which will enable them to take advantage of Skype’s low-cost global calling rates for calls to landline or mobile phones around the world from their desktop phones.

The FREETALK Connect simplifies set up, enabling small business users that are not tech savvy to use it quickly and simply, without formal training. Supported telephones are plugged into the company’s network and the FREETALK Connect auto-detects and configures them. An on-screen wizard then guides the customer through a few business-related questions that help configure the company’s communication system and enables Skype calling from every supported desktop phone in the office. Adding users and administering the system after installation is just as easy.

“Simply put, this product enables Skype calls from every employee’s desktop phone (or handset) in a small business, and it gives business owners all of the advantages of Skype’s low-cost global calling rates and free Skype-to-Skype calls,” said Andrew Hansen, FREETALK’s Manager for B2B. “This quickly adds up to incredible savings.”

Designed for offices with between two and 50 users, the FREETALK Connect offers true unified communications functionality, including Find Me, Follow Me; a unified voice mailbox; automated attendant and auto call distribution. Further distinguishing the FREETALK Connect is its intelligent routing capabilities. Incoming Skype calls, as well as calls over SIP, the PSTN and IAX2, can be routed by the FREETALK Connect to any local or remote Skype user, SIP endpoint, analog or mobile phone.

“FREETALK and Skype are dedicated to developing solutions that break new ground, like the FREETALK Connect,” said Perry Teevens, director of business development & strategic partnerships for the Skype for Business team. “This solution addresses the needs of the many Skype users who have been asking for a simple way to use Skype in their small- and mid-size business environment.”

Beginning in March, the FREETALK Connect will be available for purchase in the U.S. via the Skype Shop, (http://skype.com/shop) from In Store Solutions.

For more information about the FREETALK Connect communications system or to order a unit, visit http://freetalkconnect.com.

About FREETALK

FREETALK is a product innovation catalyst – identifying market gaps and working with its global partners to design, manufacture and quickly bring to market products that disrupt traditional categories.  Leveraging untapped market opportunities, FREETALK products are designed to be environmentally friendly, sold online and delivered globally at aggressive price-points. Always at the forefront of innovation, FREETALK is known for creating synergistic products that add unique value to its partners’ branded points-of-sale.

About Skype

Skype is software that enables the world’s conversations. Millions of individuals and businesses use Skype to make free video and voice calls send instant messages and share files with other Skype users. Every day, people everywhere also use Skype to make low-cost calls to landlines and mobiles. Download Skype to your computer or mobile phone at skype.com.

Access to a broadband Internet connection is required. Skype is not a replacement for traditional telephone services and cannot be used for emergency calling. Skype for SIP is meant to complement existing traditional telephone services used with a corporate PBX, not as a stand-alone solution. Skype for SIP users need to ensure all calls to emergency services are terminated through traditional fixed line telephone services, connected to the local exchange, or through other emergency calling capable telephone services.

Skype, associated trademarks and logos and the “S” symbol are trademarks of Skype Limited.

Our first summit was sponsored by Host.net. Our entire team is humbled by your generosity and your support. We owe you one. No, two.

I would like to extend a personal thanks to my speakers. They stepped up and delivered content that you hadn’t heard at ITExpo before, and completely avoided the “marketing blather” that plagues so many of my previous tradeshow experiences. In particular, I’d like to thank:

• Jason Goecke, Voxeo
• Alec Saunders, Iotum
• Jack Rynes, Jaduka
• Pat Murphy, VoiceSage
• Irv Shapiro, IfByPhone
• Troy Davis, IfByPhone
• Dan York, Voxeo
• Don Van Doren, UC Strategies
• Dan Miller, Opus Research
• Evan Cooke, Twilio
• Danielle Morrill, Twilio
• Moshe Yudkowski, Disaggregate Consulting
• Paul Adams, Broadsoft
• Larry Lisser

I’d also like to thank a man behind the scenes: Jamie Siminoff.   Anybody who works for you or with you is lucky, and anyone who competes with you needs his head checked.  Thank you for your encouragement and support.

Today, I am very happy to announce our first public partnership. Light and Electric will be partnering with TMC, producers of IT Expo and other events, to provide education and training to their 3.5 million readers every month. The first tangible result of this partnership is a new section of the IT Expo show called “The Cloud Communications Show”. This one day event will gather the best and brightest minds working on API based development of applications and services, CEBP experts and social business advocates to discuss what’s working, and what’s not. Just like our practice at Light and Electric, the Cloud Communications show will be very light on hype and very heavy on real world experience, lessons and opportunities. We are honored to work with a company with the audience reach of TMC.

In the coming weeks, we have a number of other announcements as well. Light and Electric is partnering with major suppliers of APIs and cloud services to supply professional services such as custom development, integration, needs and readiness assessments. In addition, Light and Electric is working on several analysis reports with our analyst partners. In all things, our basic approach holds: our primary research is the work we do in the field, and our primary value is the real world knowledge about what works, and what doesn’t.

Stay tuned.