: Denphone Digest :: February 2010 :: Volume 2, Number 1 :

February Issue

Greetings and Happy New Year from the team at Denphone.

A new year and a new decade is upon us. How will this decade turn out? With even the FCC in the United States starting to talk about replacing the traditional public phone network with VoIP we are certain that we are going to see some big changes in the world of telephony.

Software tools such as Google Voice have been making big waves as well. In Japan we expect to see changes - for example more companies moving traditional telephony functions such as fax and voice blasts into the cloud - although not perhaps at the speed we will see change taking place in the USA. Certainly though, IT and Telecoms Managers will be looking for new and cost saving ways to move equipment out of their datacenters and to a more "software as a service" approach to telephony - and that is where Denphone is aiming to be.

In this issue we have an interview with The Hynd Groups's Managing Director William Ramsay where he talks about overcoming the challenges of building a successful recruiting agency in Japan. We also look at the newly released Denphone FaxGenie Fax Service, Speakerbus' iTurret sip based dealerphone and check out some of what is hot on the internet.

As ever, if you would like to see something featured in Denphone Digest, feel free to contact us and we will see what we can do for you.

If you are having trouble reading this email version, click to read the web version: http://www.denphone.com/denphone-digest-February-2010.

In this issue:

• Presidents Corner - Huw Williams
• Denphone News: Fax as a Service - FaxGenie
• Behind The Scenes with The Hynd Group- Health Care Recruitment in Japan - Interview with Hynd Group Managing Director William Ramsay
• Featured products: Speakerbus i turret iD808 SIP-based Dealer Phone
• Around the internet

Presidents Corner

It has been quite snowy in Tokyo recently, though I dont believe we have received any calls from snowmen, perhaps he should think about getting a mobile instead.

Unified messaging is an expression many of you will have heard. Essentially it is all about pulling together different messaging mediums such as email, voicemail and fax. For those of us who are regularly on the road, having access to all these through a single, remotely accessible interface, is a real benefit. It also makes it much easier to search for messages from a particular client regardless of how they were received. A real business benefit.

We now offer unified voicemail and fax as part of our service. There is more detail about the fax service in this newsletter. We also releasing now WarpGenie, our own extension to the venerable NTT VoiceWarp service. Our extension is designed primarily for BCP applications. More about that in the next issue of Denphone Digest.

Huw R. Williams

President

Denphone K.K.

Denphone News: Fax as a Service -
FaxGenie

Denphone is pleased to announce the launch of their new fax
service - FaxGenie.

Denphone FaxGenie is a turn-key office fax solution designed especially for use in Japan.

A very environmentally and cost-effective solution, Denphone FaxGenie allows companies to remove paper from their side of faxing. This allows for reduced printing, paper and storage costs, as well as saving employees valuable time.

Users can send faxes by email, and receive faxes by email. With support for up to 92 fax lines (4 PRI or INS1500 lines) or multiple ISND / BRI / INS64 or as a hosted fax solution, the Denphone FaxGenie can support a large number of users and automate recurring tasks such as fax blasting and document storage.

The fax service has the great benefit of allowing the removal of fax machines from a customers premises. This saves significant costs - not just on the equipment side, but also with cheaper calling costs, the removal of paper and storage costs. It allows for greater protection of confidential information as sensitive data is not left lying around on the copy machine as well as utilizing email which means one user can be assigned as the recipient or many users as recipients. It is also very environmentally friendly.

Fax users can be located anywhere in the world email will reach, and can connect to a large range of telephone numbers - Tokyo 03, Osaka 06 or even New York numbers. Connection options include SIP and IAX trunks, as well as normal internet connections.

FaxGenie allows:

Inbound Fax to Email

Inbound faxes are received by the Denphone system and converted into .tiff image files. These files are then attached to email and sent to the intended recipients.

Outbound Email to Fax

Users send email, from an email client such as Windows Outlook or Thunderbird, to an assigned email address. A pdf file is attached to the email, and that is sent as a fax. The user can specify an number to be faxed in the body of the email, or alternatively a list of numbers to be faxed (great if you have to send out bulk pricing information to a number of branches).

Fax Genie Features:

• Web-based management GUI
• Japanese and English Language Support
• Fax blast / broadcast
• Fax List Management Interface
• Fax to Email / Email to Fax
• PBX DID Integration
• Fax Que and Fax Routing
• Multiple Fax Lines
• Analog Copy Machine to Fax Server Integration
• Fax to CRM / Storage
• Fax to Print
• Paper, Printing and Storage Cost Reduction

Denphone FaxGenie can be installed as an inhouse system in larger
organizations, and we can interface to document management solutions such as
Xerox Docushare or develop customized interfaces to other similar
products.

Denphone FaxGenie is a highly flexible solution that can save your
organization money, save your staff time, and help the planet at the
same time. For more information please href="http://www.denphone.com/contact">contact Denphone.

Behind The Scenes with The Hynd Group- Health Care Recruitment in Japan

Simon Gibson - January 6, 2010

One of the biggest challenges any organization faces when trying to get a foothold in the Japanese market is how to source the talent needed to make that drive a success. The Hynd Group is a Tokyo based health science and life care recruiting company that focuses exclusively on that task. Denphone's Simon Gibson caught up with the Hynd Group's Managing Director William Ramsay recently for a chat about just what it is that has made his company such a success.

Simon: Can you tell us a bit about your company?

The Hynd Group was established in 2006. We are a Tokyo based executive search company specializing in the areas of health science and life care. We service only non-Japanese clients including those established in Japan and those looking to get a foothold into the Japanese marketplace. We focus exclusively on foreign companies in Japan because they are looking to hire bi-lingual Japanese professionals who have some exposure to international business or English in the workplace. Non-Japanese companies also hire at mid and senior level to drive change and growth through their businesses where as traditionally Japanese companies hire at entry level and promote their staff to senior positions although this has been changing recently. One other reason why we work exclusively with Foreign capital companies is that they pay around 20% more than Japanese companies so they can attract the most ambitious talent in the market.

One other point about our service is that we provide search services. This means that clients contract us to find, approach, screen, select and persuade the best talent to join their businesses in senior positions. We generally do not focus on helping “job seekers” find jobs unless they are in the top 5% of their profession so can be hired into key positions at our clients.

The thought behind the Hynd Group was to find the newest technology from overseas in the health care and life science markets and matching it with the best sales and marketing people in Japan. Based on that, we are always looking for companies with new and exciting products and when we do, we approach the strongest people to lead the introduction and expansion in Japan.

Simon: How did you get started in the recruiting industry?

I came over as an English teacher with 2 years teaching in Poland and Turkey behind me. After 2 years teaching in Japan I knew I had to something else. So I started applying for jobs through newspapers here, trying to find a job in business, and that is how I got my start in recruiting. I knew if I couldn't make a go of it I would have to go back to the U.K. and start a “career.”

The first thing you have to realize about recruiting is that the first six months to a year are very, very tough and you have to be extremely dedicated to your own success and not give up. Most of the rewards come after that first year. It helps to have friends and girlfriends {laughs} to borrow money off!

I remember when I got my first bonus I went out and bought myself a Vespa motor scooter and then went to a sushi shop and ordered the most expensive plate of Sushi. It was 900 yen and I think probably O-toro. Until then I have been in Japan for over 2 years but only ate cheap sushi from the 150 yen plates and had wondered what the best stuff was like. Not sure it tasted much different but at last I got the chance to see for myself.

Simon: What sort of obstacles did you have to overcome to get the Hynd Group off the ground?

To begin with there are a range of administrative obstacles, but these are not too difficult to deal with as long as you have someone who is Japanese to help you with things like company registration. Also, recruiting businesses in Japan require recruiting licenses and there is quite an involved 6 - 8 month application process.

Then you have to be decisive, and make decisions quickly and then not go back and change things. For example simple things like the colour of your logo to more important things like pay structure. Goal setting is important to keep yourself moving forward from zero and a year on it is amazing to look back and see how much you achieved.

Cash flow is also key, one you start getting money in you can start working out how to spend it (while continuing to make it!) and from there your company can grow to something bigger. One of the things you come to understand is you have to establish the reputation of your business in the market. Before I established Hynd I had developed many successful business relationships however these were under a different company name. You have to do more than just let these people and business know you are starting your own business, you have to provide a service which they know and trust under your new name.

Simon: The challenges faced by a new company seem similar to those faced by many companies last year as a result of the recession. I know a lot of companies, including recruiting companies didn't make it through, so how did the Hynd Group ride out the recession?

Going back to what I said earlier, the most important thing is focusing on working with the best businesses. While the industry as a whole was stagnating, we focused on developing better relationships with the companies we identified as being key players, and understanding their business practices and improving the quality of our consulting. With only 2 or 3 companies hiring, compared to 15 or so 2 years ago, we also had to be very focused on finding the best candidates possible for those positions and as a result maintained our revenue through more placements at less businesses.

The recruiting industry generally saw a pickup in recruiting activity towards the end of 2009 so we hope that continues.

Simon: One of the changes I have seen during my 10 years here in Japan is that more foreign capital companies are hiring local Japanese managers rather than bringing in staff from overseas for the top positions. Is that something you have seen in the pharmaceutical industry?

Not in our industry - the medical field is much slower moving than other industries because it is heavily regulated. One thing we have seen change in the last couple of years is more people moving from the pharma into medical device industry. This is largely due to the changes made to pharmaceutical regulations in Japan in 2005 and as a result there is a deficiency of qualified labor in the medical device industry so we work the process to find qualified candidates in the pharma industry and encourage them to be “pioneers” at our medical device clients.

Simon: What changes and challenges do you see the recruiting industry facing over the next few years?

In the next two to three years business will move back to the more experienced recruiters. Since there was less movement in the recruiting industry last year, the recruiters who have built and maintained solid relationships are the ones who are going to be successful. New recruiters who don't have an established reputation and a solid client network are not going to do so well. Reputation is very important when you are dealing with businesses. It doesn't take long for bad business practices to spread so those types of companies tend to go under within a few years. 90% of our business comes through referrals so we are very conscious of this.

I do wonder if Japanese companies will come into this sector. Traditionally Japanese recruiting companies deal with large volumes of people rather than focusing on the best individuals.

Simon: Can you explain the kind of IT needs a company such as your has?

Good software matching your business processes. A network that is reliable and well protected, especially in terms of virus protection. If your network is down for a few hours day then that is revenue producing time off for your whole company and that costs a lot of money and also most of your staff will focus on moaning about the problem rather than resolving it. For a small business it is important to have a network of outsourced companies that are used to dealing with smaller companies. Companies used to serving larger companies are usually much more expensive. It is also important to find experts.

Simon: And your office telephone system?

The phone system is a business tool in itself. It needs to be adequate and reliable as well as user friendly. It needs a range of functions that support your business' needs and you need good service for your phones. If your phones go down everyone knows and it is panic stations.

Simon: Sounds like you had some problems before switching to Denphone! Anyway to wrap up, lets finish on a high note with some success stories. I realize that for client confidentiality purposes you can't go into too much detail.

We have successfully managed to locate and complete about 4 country manager placements a year which allows us to demonstrate to clients a solid track record, and is a result we are proud of.

One of the most rewarding things is when you locate someone who is strong enough to take the position of country manager. Normally the right person will be recommended to us by 2 or 3 other people in the industry so we know we have the right person. We then have to approach that person and explain what the role of a country manager is and why they can do the job. You give them confidence to take the position and then when you see them 5 years later and they are one of the strongest country managers in Japan, you think “I did that” and feel quite proud you helped that individual and business achieve something they would not have done without your support.

It is also very rewarding working with excellent clients and promoting them to the right people. And then when those people make a career move, they join one of the best companies out there. A lot of recruiters just don't know which companies are doing the best for the people they employ. Knowing that, and the industry helps us to be successful for both our clients and the people we introduce.

Simon: Thank you for your time.

Featured products: Speakerbus i turret iD808 SIP-based Dealer Phone

The general trend in telephony over the past few years has been the move from proprietary analog solutions to open standards based IP telephony solutions - and the world of turret / dealer phones is no different.

Denphone was extremely excited to hear about the release of the Speakerbus i turret iD808 into the Japanese market in December of 2008. Now with over a year of service in Japan behind it, the i turret iD808 has proved to be a highly reliable and flexible cost saving alternative to traditional analog offerings.

The i turret iD808 opens up a number of very interesting possibilities including that of extending the reach of SIP / Asterisk based systems, such as the Denphone PBX, onto the trading room floor.

The i turret is a next generation IP phone, offering traditional trading phone requirements such as hoot and holler and private lines over a wide range of PBX systems - including many of the leading SIP based PBX's such as those produced by Denphone or Cisco. The ability of SIP based phone systems to mix and match phones and back-end systems is one of the leading advantages of IP based phone systems and the i turret is a great example of this - the i turret can be leveraged on the trading floor, while middle and back office staff use Polycom or Cisco handsets. This means that the footprint of telephone equipment in your server room can be significantly reduced.

The i turret is fully configurable from both the handset and an easy to use web interface which radically simplifies MAC changes. Features such as integrated directories, voice mail, conferencing, and flexible call alerting features are easy to use and administer, making life easy for traders and IT staff alike.

Features of the i turret include:

• SIP-based architecture integrating Industry Standard SIP-enabled PBX's
• Reduced back room equipment footprint
• Multi-party line sharing
• Full-duplex conferencing
• Up to 8 speaker channels per module
• Support for private / direct lines (MRD/ARD)
• Support for hoot'n'holler circuits
• Line monitor and talkback
• Intelligent Pagination
• Optional voice recording support
• Comprehensive embedded security features
• Browser-based centralized management system

Around the Internet

Run IT as a business -- why that's a train wreck waiting to happen

Sometimes it is the simplest of things that are the most difficult to recognize. If you drop a pen it falls down; and we all know why that happens - gravity. Obvious. And yet if you travelled back to say the 15th century you would be hard pressed to find someone to whom it was obvious and who could explain the reason behind it. Bob Lewis' "Run IT as a business -- why that's a train wreck waiting to happen" article that was posted on the infoworld.com site is just like the apple that inspired Newton - blazingly obvious when you think about it:

Run IT as a business -- why that's a train wreck waiting to happen

18 Jan 2010 | by Bob Lewis

"If you board the wrong train, it's no use running along the corridor in the other direction," said famed World War II German resistance fighter Dietrich Bonhoeffer. We in IT boarded the wrong train a long time ago. It's the "standard model" of information technology organizations -- the familiar litany that says CIOs should run IT as a business, meeting the requirements of its internal customers. This refrain has been endorsed by our holy trinity, too: analyst firms, most consultancies, and ITIL.

They call the standard model "best practice." When they're in a different mood, they also call desktop lockdown a best practice, leaving you to figure out how it is that you tell your customers what they can and can't do.

...{snip}...

When IT runs as a business, it "sells" software that "meets requirements" to its "internal customers." Because its product is software, it has no choice -- it has to ask the wrong question: "What do you need the software to do?"

Asking business managers to describe what software is supposed to do is the unavoidable consequence of a relationship in which IT's job ends with delivering software to its internal customers -- in which projects are considered successful when software is installed, users are trained in its operation, and using it to improve the business is someone else's problem.

Companies that have integrated IT and no internal customers define success differently.

Instead of asking what the software should do, they start by asking how their business counterparts run their operations now, what are their biggest problems, and how they want to run things differently and better in the future.

Using IT to grow the business and allowing the IT team to lead with their knowledge of IT to grow the business is a solid and convincing argument.

Click on the following link to read the rest of the article: Run IT as a business -- why that's a train wreck waiting to happen.

Polycom and Juniper Team Up Against Cisco

Having worked very closely with Polycom equipment, especially Polycom SoundPoint IP and SoundStation IP phones, but also Polycom video conferencing equipment, we were interested to see the following article talking about Polycom and Juniper Networks teaming up:

Polycom and Juniper Team Up Against Cisco

22 Jan 2010 | by Ben Worthen

As a small handful of giants consolidate the tech industry, midsize companies are increasingly looking for partners in order to strengthen their positions relative to their larger rivals.

The latest companies to do so are Polycom, which makes video-conferencing systems, and Juniper Networks, which makes networking gear. The two companies have a common enemy: Cisco Systems, which has long been the market leader in telecommunications gear, and which recently expanded its budding video-conferencing business by buying Polycom’s arch rival, Tandberg.

In a partnership that both companies plan to announce Monday, Polycom and Juniper will make their technologies work together and jointly sell their products. That way, telecommunications providers that normally manage video-conferencing systems for companies will be more likely to buy Juniper gear and recommend Polycom systems, says Bob Hagerty, Polycom’s CEO.

On a technical level, the companies have figured out how to make Polycom’s systems talk with Juniper’s. This allows a network built with Juniper gear to know moments before a video conference using Polycom’s system begins and to allocate the appropriate amount of network space for the session. Today many companies have separate networks for video conferencing and other Internet traffic, says Mr. Hagerty. That can be expensive.

We wish both Polycom and Juniper the best for this partnership - not because we are anti-Cisco in anyway, but because we want to see the best range of alternatives out there in the marketplace to give our customers the best range of solutions.

Click on the following link to read the rest of the article: Polycom and Juniper Team Up Against Cisco.

Acknowledgments

Just in case you are curious as to where our snowman in the phone box came from you can find him here.

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About Denphone

Denphone K.K. is Japan's leading provider of open PC based VOIP Telephone PBX systems. Denphone supplies Digium / Asterisk solutions, Cisco, Polycom, Nortel, snom and Grandstream phone and video systems as well as our own bespoke solutions.

Contact Denphone

Denphone is centrally located in Tokyo's Minato Ward in Azabujuban. We can be contacted by telephone on 03-4550-1405, via this contact page or by reply to the address this magazine was sent from.

Our postal address is: #402 Azabu Nagasaka Bd, 1-4-8 Azabujuban, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0045 Japan.