Blast from the past? Comcast 2011 agreement with Verizon lives on, in one real sense
Tom Paine
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Subscribe in a readerI think an old Google Alert brought this to my attention (See actual webpage) .
My first though was to wonder if this was something new, or left over from the old JMA (Joint Marketing Agreement) that came with Comcast and other cable partners' $3.6 billion spectrum sale to Verizon in 2011. It was the latter, Comcast confirmed.
Under the JMA, the plan was that Verizon would resell Comcast cable services (which in some areas competed directly with Verizon's FiOS), and Comcast would resell Verizon's wireless services. Its unlikely much was sold in either direction; Comcast says it has never released any numbers. And a related joint product development effort also fizzled out.
The webpage is certainly functioning, though I haven't determined yet whether it could actually lead to a transaction.
Of course, Comcast has more recently activated its MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) rights with Verizon per the 2011 agreement and created a new wireless business unit, for whatever it may be planning in that sphere. Comments made this week by a Comcast executive suggest the company is still evaluating its options.
Many analysts have expected it to try some combination utilizing MVNO (it can also use Sprint) and its own enormous WiFi network, though my understanding is getting these to work in synch with each other is still difficult technologically.
Also, separately, Comcast indicated that its not prepared to comment yet on progress to date on its arrangement with Amazon allowing it (Amazon) to resell Comcast cable services directly to consumers, announced in March. The Amazon/Comcast is seen as an effort to try a different customer service model (Amazon's).
Does the town next door have faster internet? This map will tell you
In the race for Internet speed, Gloucester and Cumberland are lagging behind. Data from the Federal Communications Commission highlights the disparities across New Jersey when it comes to broadband technology. The two counties lag on maximum advertised download speed, which 32 out of 39 New Jersey Internet Service Providers reported to the FCC. The median download…
Roundup: NJ’s Privately-Held Tech Companies Talk About Their Results: SHI and iCIMS
Esther Surden
Publisher & Editor, NJTechWeekly.com
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| Thai Lee of SHI International | SHI website |
SHI International: SHI International Corp. (Somerset), which calls itself one of North America’s 15 largest IT solution providers, reported a record $3.3 billion in revenue for the first half of 2016 — a 12 percent increase year over year. The company said that its close partnerships with legacy providers and emerging partners contributed to the growth, despite new challenges faced by the IT channel.
Addressing those hurdles, SHI President and CEO Thai Lee noted that large mergers, acquisitions and disruptive technologies continue to change the IT landscape, and that cloud, data-center and hybrid solutions have shifted how organizations support their IT environments.
“Born-in-the-cloud technologies and advanced data-center solutions from dozens of SHI’s emerging partners have driven new growth and replaced traditional business in the IT marketplace,” said Lee in a press release.
“In the past 12 months, SHI recognized over $400 million in revenue from emerging partners, the vast majority of which are cloud-based. Our relationships with those providers and our ability to help customers understand, evaluate, and deploy a growing number of advanced solutions have been key to our continued growth,” she said.
“SHI is a #1 partner for 10 of the industry’s largest IT providers, more than double the number in 2009, and we’ve become a strong #2 partner to dozens of other major industry leaders,” she added.
Microsoft’s legacy and cloud-based technologies drove considerable growth in the first half of 2016, the company statement said, as did a broad portfolio of security solutions and data-center software and storage components.
To support its partners and clients alike, SHI continued adding to its sales and support teams, hiring 1,000 employees in the last 12 months. Over the same time frame, SHI has also doubled the size of its advanced-solutions teams to deliver additional support to customers’ data-center transformation initiatives.
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| Colin Day at Bell Works | Esther Surden |
iCIMS: Matawan-based iCIMS Inc. announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016, saying that its revenue increased 45 percent compared with the same period in 2015. This marked the 11th straight quarter of revenue growth greater than 30 percent.
“Our results have exceeded our expectations and underscore two key trends: companies continue to recognize the importance of recruiting great people, and they are increasingly choosing best-to-market software to help them hire top talent,” stated Colin Day, chairman and CEO of iCIMS, Inc., in a release.
According to the release, some key highlights for the first half of 2016 are as follows:
- iCIMS continued to expand its market share by winning customers of every size and in every industry. Some of the new customers added during the second quarter include Massage Envy, ExpressJet Airlines, City Gear, Group 1 Automotive, and Southeastern Freight Lines, among many others.
- iCIMS’ Hiring Trends Report has become a leading source of insight into the U.S. economy, providing hiring companies and labor economists with useful information about labor trends in the United States.
- There was the launch of the first phase of UNIFi, the iCIMS developer platform that enables other developers to build and integrate applications that work seamlessly with the iCIMS Talent Acquisition Suite of software. UNIFi immediately became the largest ecosystem of third party products in talent acquisition, with more than 100 add-on products available to iCIMS customers on the first day of availability.
Esther Surden is Publisher and Editor of NJTechWeekly, and a contributor to Philly Tech News. This article originally appeared in NJTechWeekly, and is republished here with her permission.
Malvern-based Scala, pioneer in digital signage, sold to Ohio competitor
Tom Paine
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Scala, Inc., the Malvern-based company that's been a global leader in the digital signage industry, has agreed to sell a controlling majority interest in itself to Dayton, Ohio-based Stratacache, it was announced Monday. Terms were not disclosed.
The website Sixteen-Nine.com, which covers the digital signage industry, noted that "the deal is not all that big a surprise, as Scala has been known to be on the market, for the right price, for the last few years. The executive house-cleaning that saw CEO Tom Nix and several other execs leave in June was a bit of a signal that things weren’t going all that swimmingly for the company."
While Scala had long been the gold standard in the industry, it had suffered in recent years from its attachment to a proprietary architecture in a market that was increasingly moving to open source, among other factors. But Scala's value to Stratacache is in its unmatched global partner network.
"Combining the largest U.S. digital signage company with the largest international digital signage company will provide significant operational synergies and allow both firms to deliver enhanced solutions and services to customers across the globe. Stratacache’s strong balance sheet and large-scale operations will enhance Scala’s competitive edge – and Scala’s global channels and significant reseller and partner network will fuel Stratacache’s growing business outside of the United States," Stratacache’s release announcing the deal stated.
Scala was founded in 1987 by a Norwegian entrepreneur, and as I understand it landed in West Chester to be close to Commodore International, as its initial platform was based on the Amiga. However, Commodore soon thereafter folded and Scala eventually switched to Windows, but remained in West Chester until moving to Malvern in recent years.
But Scala continued under largely European ownership and board oversight.
While Scala was never a huge local employer (59 according to the latest count on LinkedIn), its force multiplier was its large international partner network. And I'm sure that if that network wasn't getting the product or support it needed, those issues found their way back to the board.
Stratacache has 270 employees, presumably not including those joining from Scala, according to the Dayton Business Journal.
LiquidHub to Enhance Design-Thinking Capabilities with Electronic Ink Acquisition to Strengthen Human-Centered Research Expertise
LiquidHub to Enhance Design-Thinking Capabilities with Electronic Ink
Acquisition to Strengthen Human-Centered Research Expertise
PHILADELPHIA – August 12, 2016 – LiquidHub, a customer engagement company, today announced the acquisition of Electronic Ink, a human-centered design consultancy, with a client roster that includes such brand names as Penske, Morgan Stanley, Johnson & Johnson, and Ford Motor Company. With the addition of Electronic Ink, LiquidHub brings expanded design-thinking resources under one roof to deliver compelling customer experiences faster and at greater scale.
“Companies who enjoy the most successful business transformation solutions are those who go beyond examining customer preferences or patterns of behavior; they dig deeper to understand customers as people and study how they interact with technology,” said Jonathan Brassington, CEO of LiquidHub. “The addition of Electronic Ink’s research expertise will bring insights of human context to all aspects of our clients’ businesses. Having worked on assignments over the years with their talented team, I am thrilled to welcome them to our organization.”
Electronic Ink will strengthen LiquidHub’s digital marketing and creative capabilities, adding focused research on the human effect of technology on people. Their design skills allow them to create impactful visualizations that enable clients to easily understand the output of that research for greater ideation and solution development. Electronic Ink’s core competencies complement and integrate nicely with LiquidHub’s structured innovation solutions and customer engagement capabilities, providing even deeper insight into the human experience.
“Design that is rooted in human insight is foundational for success in today’s digitally-driven economy,” said Harold Hambrose, founder and CEO of Electronic Ink. “That foundation must be grounded in understanding the human effect on technology across the consumer ecosystem, including operations. That’s what we uniquely bring to LiquidHub and that’s what is so exciting – our ability to build on the already outstanding talents of a leader in the customer engagement space. The opportunities for our employees and clients on both sides are tremendous. I am thrilled to be joining the team.”
“I am proud of the groundbreaking work Electronic Ink has created and the reputation we have established over the course of our more than 25 years in the design industry,” said Joe Weiss, chairman of Electronic Ink. “I know this next chapter will be equally successful as we join forces with another industry leader dedicated to raising the bar on innovation and delivering human-centered solutions that help businesses become brand leaders.”
About Electronic Ink
Electronic Ink is a research and design consultancy dedicated to improving the effectiveness of human capital and bringing insight to the way people interact with technology, environments and one another. We improve the design and usability of business processes, the software that supports these processes, and customer and employee experiences for Fortune 500 clients around the world. Connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About LiquidHub
LiquidHub is a customer engagement company that partners with businesses to improve customer experience and drive growth. Headquartered in Philadelphia, with operations in North America, Asia, and Europe, we serve companies globally, helping them solve their most complex challenges through design expertise and technology innovation. Our customer successes are the result of a culture rooted in thought leadership and delivery excellence. For more information about LiquidHub, please visit www.liquidhub.com or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.
TPG has agreed to buy cable television providers RCN and Grande Communications for about $2.25 billion
Tom Paine
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Private-equity firm TPG has agreed to buy cable television providers RCN and Grande Communications for about $2.25 billion including debt, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday night. The seller is Abry Partners.
RCN, a so-called 'overbuilder' that provides competitive cable services in some areas, serves parts of Delaware County and the Lehigh Valley. It began existence by acquiring a controlling interest in C-TEC of Wilkes-Barre, and Twin County Cable in Lehigh Valley in the 1990s.
An interesting aspect of the deal, which may be announced on Monday, is that Google Capital, Alphabet Inc.’s growth-equity investment fund, is taking a minority stake in the companies. Perhaps its trying to learn more about the cable business, as reports have indicated that Alphabet is reassessing expansion plans for Google Fiber.
The two separate deals were announced Monday.
RCN, based in Princeton, had more ambitious plans prior to the 2000-era tech bust, which resulted in a period of bankruptcy.
Grande Communications provides similar services in portions of Texas. RCN and Grande will be integrated after their acquisitions, though its unclear what that means.
According to SNL Kagan data, RCN has about 289,000 video subs, and Grande 88,000. The combined companies say they service over 640,000 residential and business customers. RCN would not provide subscription numbers for its Pennsylvania locations.
Princeton-based Patriot Media Consulting, which has managed the two companies for Abry, is part of the new ownership group and will continue in its management role.
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