Welcome to IP Communications Insights, and the Launch of our Newsletter!

The IP communications space is ever-evolving, and there are many sources we all rely on for news, information and insight. Everyone has their favorites, and we follow different sources for different things.  We all follow what we can manage, which can be a full time job itself, but with the endless stream of magazines, e-zines, blogs, press releases, etc., information overload becomes a problem.

So, why another newsletter? And what is IP Communications Insights about? Here's the story. Both of us - Jon Arnold and Marc Robins - are independent analysts focused on the IP communications sector, and have been immersed in it for several years. There is a lot of vertical coverage out there, and we believe our broad perspective has a place, which has been validated in our consulting practices. For us, IP communications is largely rooted in VoIP, but there are numerous branches to this tree, many of which stem from VoIP, such as residential VoIP, SMB VoIP, Triple Play and Unified Communications.  Aside from VoIP, we follow carrier networks, peering, telepresence, IPTV, WiFi, Web 2.0, Open Source, security, and mobile communications. We also cover how these branches touch the various marketplaces they serve, including the service provider, SMB, SOHO and consumer market segments.

This newsletter is a new voice, and a voice we believe is missing in the market. We see our newsletter as a source of independent insight that provides views and content you won't find anywhere else. Sure, we both have blogs, which are platforms for our views of the day, but the newsletter format has more focus, is more digestible, and provides a broader palette to work with. Furthermore, the blogs build up their own following, but the newsletter can be shared and distributed to a broader audience. We feel IP Communications Insights is an ideal vehicle to do this, especially as IP technologies become mainstream and touch far more than carrier networks and desktop phone systems.

So what can you expect to see in our newsletter? In short, independent industry analysis.  We will provide our insights about important trends and issues, as well as those of others. This will take the form of our own articles and commentaries, as well as interviews with industry thought leaders and articles submitted by other independent voices. We plan to provide an ongoing set of metrics that gauge the state of the IP market. And, we will be sharing learning from our consulting engagements, and apprise you of what we're up to in our practices.

This includes our IP Communications Insights industry studies, which we are in the process of launching. We will be publishing an ongoing series of reports that are very topical, highly strategic, concise and affordably priced. These reports are where we feel we can bring the full value of independent analysis to bear, and you'll be hearing more about these soon.

There is more to the story. The newsletter is one part of our IP Communications Insights portal. This is where the newsletter will be hosted and archived, but the portal is our home for all things IP. The portal is a work in progress, but we plan to have podcasts, videocasts, newsfeeds, and more information about our consulting practices. We also want to hear from you, and what you would like to see from our portal. With all these pieces, our mission is to become your go-to guys for all things IP, and if independent insights from trusted analysts are what you're looking for, then we think you've come to the right place.

In this issue, we discuss our views on the overall state of the IP communications industry. There is a lot to be excited about, but the space is maturing, and we have some concerns to express.  Also, Jon recently interviewed Kurt Sauer, Skype's Chief Security Officer, and the highlights have been excerpted in this issue. We also have a guest article from Thomas Howe on voice mashups, and is a great introduction to a space we are pretty excited about.

Lastly, we want you to know that this new newsletter will be free to all subscribers - all we ask is that our readers provide us with some basic contact information in exchange - a fair deal we believe.  To subscribe, please visit our signup page.