Welcome to PR Vibes™, created by Calysto Communications to provide you with key insights into the publications and events in the telecommunications industry. Last year, we spoke with Richard Martin, editor-in-chief, VON, about the rebirth of the VON tradeshow under Virgo Publishing. Today, we’re featuring a short follow-up interview with Richard to talk about the merging of the VON and xchange brands. Enjoy!
What was the impetus for merging the VON and xchange brands?
VON and xchange have until now covered telecommunications from two different perspectives. xchange has historically been the leading publication for today’s telecom operators and the business and technological challenges and opportunities they’re currently facing. VON, since it was created to cover the emerging world of VoIP, has expanded to cover all forms of advanced IP communications. The distinctions between those two worlds are rapidly vanishing – major established carriers now have VoIP divisions, and startup VoIP providers are serving business customers with comprehensive unified communications suites. So the time seemed right to bring these two respected and authoritative brands together.
The new brand is VON/xchange, combining the best of both titles. VON/xchange is now one site, one brand, and one audience – the most influential community of service provider executives in the telecom industry. (The URL is www.von.com, but www.xchange.com will take you to the homepage as well.)
What is the editorial mission of the publication? How has it changed?
VON/xchange is the authoritative voice on the upheavals transforming the $2 trillion telecommunications industry. We provide hard analysis and business intelligence for the innovative service providers and vendors who are leading these changes, and who will profit from them in the coming years. In looking at the market and our editorial strategy, it became clear that no one is really focused relentlessly on the most innovative companies and technologies in telecom – the fastest-growing companies and technologies over the next decade. That is where VON/xchange provides value.
We cover IP telephony and video, unified communications, IPTV and streaming video, mobile and wireless, cloud-based communications, wholesale transport, software and applications, optical networking, Ethernet and cable systems – all from the operator’s point of view.
VON/xchange is the only resource that speaks directly to executives at next-generation competitive service providers (CSPs). We help them better understand the global communications revolution through VON/xchange’s news, analysis, blogs and industry profiles.
What are some of the key topics you plan to cover in the next year?
The obvious ones: cloud computing & communications, carrier Ethernet, mobile devices and operating systems, 4G wireless broadband build-outs, the debate over net neutrality, the growth of IPTV and streaming video, and so on. One area that’s a personal interest of mine is IP peering & interconnection, which I see as a crucial next step to unifying islands of VoIP connectivity and providing end-to-end systems that enable next-generation features like HD voice.
How does this change affect your events and other products?
That is TBD. Given the upheavals not only in our sector but in the economy and the events business, we decided to step back in 2010 and review our event strategy going forward. I personally believe that the tradeshow business is in the midst of a major shift, and that there may be ways to deliver value to our audience, our partners and our sponsors that are more creative and less costly for exhibitors.
Of course, our other telecom events – Channel Partners and Billing & OSS World – continue to thrive and to serve their sectors more powerfully than any other tradeshows in the space.
What are the main features of the redesigned website?
I think readers will immediately notice that the site is designed for them. It makes it easier for our readers to get the content they want, when and where they want it.
There is one single content feed with all articles, news, blogs, announcements, eBooks, Webinars, etc. We have softened the distinctions between news, blogs and feature articles in a way that gives our terrific editorial staff more flexibility to write about the events of the day, or the week, in the form that most suits them and the developments themselves.
Readers can view the content wherever they wish — on their iGoogle page (via RSS), Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or e-mail. Or they can simply visit our home page. If they want to search, they can do that as usual. Or — and this is one of the most useful features, in my opinion – they can click on our list of topics and find everything we’ve written about SIP trunking, or Carrier Ethernet, or Hosted/Cloud Communications, to cite three examples among dozens. If they want this topical information to come to them, they can now subscribe to as many as a dozen newsletters on the most popular topics: VoIP, Business & Finance, geographical regions, and so on.
How does this change benefit Virgo Publishing?
Well, first of all it’s simply more fun and challenging to report and write under the new format. Also, it gives us an array of new marketing and advertising opportunities to provide our sponsors and partners. We’ve been presenting the new format, and those opportunities, to the core companies in our sector, and the response has been very exciting.
One thing I should add is that, as you know, Mike Saxby, a key figure in our telecom group for many years, has left Virgo to pursue other opportunities (for one thing, he’s taking some time off to get married!). Mike of course has been a friend and mentor to many of us here, as well as an influential figure in the industry, and I am happy to report that he will continue to work with Virgo in a consulting role going forward.
At the same time, Larry Lannon has taken over as group publisher for the Telecom Group. Larry will be overseeing the strategy for our print, digital and event products, which include the PHONE , VON/xchange and Billing & OSS World (B/OSS) brands and the Channel Partners Conference & Expo and Billing & OSS World Conference & Expo. A sharp, seasoned publishing leader, Larry was formerly the group vice president and publisher for Telephony (now Connected Planet). Most recently, he was the president of Ascend Media’s Allied Division.
Have there been changes to the editorial staff based on this merging of the two brands?
Only some reshuffling. The core editorial staff remains myself, executive editor Tara Seals and business & regulatory editor Kelly Teal. One additional benefit of the new structure, and the new Web site, is that it gives us an even more powerful platform for our distinctive voices, opinions, and insights to shine through.
What was the latest book you read?
House of War, by James Carroll, a powerful and damning history of the Pentagon and its crushing effects on American politics, economics & society. It’s a critical book for understanding our role in the world at a time when the U.S. is fighting two warsin the Middle East.