The news reports that caught my eye this week:

ShoreTel acquires M5 Networks

ShoreTel’s 2Q2012 revenue came in at +22% year-over-year (quarterly net loss of $2.5 million) — not bad for a company that hasn’t dug deep into the cloud. But that’s all about to change as it scoops up cloud communications provider M5 Networks for $146.3 million in cash and stock.

No doubt that ShoreTel was able to nip at the traditional premise voice market by being aggressive and signing on major partners (Ingram Micro, Windstream, and HP). Really, being up 22% Y0Y is impressive especially in this economy where most money is being spent on cloud solutions. The M5 Networks pickup will definitely strengthen its offerings and expand the customer base.

West Interactive releases Holly 6.0 (?!)

The acquisition of Holly Connects was announced in May 2010. For an year and a half we don’t hear a blip about it…

Then this pops up in my news feed that got me all excited. But no corresponding link to an official press release or even a blog post.

Nothing on West Interactive’s website, either. In fact, the last news listed there was dated August 11, 2011.

Hmmm, anything from @WestInteractive? Plenty of tweets but nothing about the major release of Holly 6.

I can’t wait to hear more about the TuVox acquisition, if any news ever makes it out officially…

West is having a field day in this economy picking up sweet deals in the communications and contact center space. In May 2010 it was Holly Connects, soon followed by TuVox in July, and this month it’s Smoothstone.

West is big in the contact center outsourcing market, but it wants to expand by offering more products and services. Holly Connects gave it an IVR platform, and TuVox gave it on-demand IVR speech applications.

Now it sees the red hot unified communications market and wants a bigger piece of that action. Smoothstone fits right in, offering products and services in voice, contact center, UC, and collaboration — cloud-based at that. I’m sure West doesn’t mind seeing “cloud” mentioned in there somewhere. Based on its recent 1Q2011 earnings, UC is where the money is so it’s not surprising to see the company move in to fortify its UC portfolio.

To me West is starting to look like GE, turning into a conglomerate of sorts. West now has a long list of businesses and divisions from its many acquisitions, and with that quite a few product and service offerings. Does it face consolidation and branding challenges? Most likely, but it hasn’t slowed West down one bit.

The official press release:

OMAHA, NE and LOUISVILLE, KY, April 20, 2011 - West Corporation, a leading provider of technology-driven, voice and data solutions, and Smoothstone IP Communications, a leading provider of cloud-based communications solutions for the enterprise, today jointly announced that they have entered into an agreement whereby West will acquire Smoothstone. The acquisition adds to West’s expanding unified communications (UC) business, which includes InterCall.

Smoothstone develops and delivers highly flexible and scalable solutions for clients’ next-generation IP telephony needs. As enterprises upgrade their voice and data infrastructure, Smoothstone offers software-driven applications that exist in the cloud and are delivered through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. Smoothstone applications and services reduce the costs, risks and uncertainties of deploying new IP technology. Smoothstone’s solutions combine to bring the benefits of unified IP communications to enterprises quickly and reliably.

“Smoothstone’s expertise at delivering cloud-based unified communications solutions is unrivaled,” said Todd Strubbe, president of West’s Unified Communications operating segment. “By leveraging Smoothstone’s unique solution portfolio and the benefits of the cloud-based services delivery model, our clients will be able to focus on business initiatives that help drive their competitive advantage rather than on evolving IT infrastructure.”

“Smoothstone has developed cloud-based solutions that enable enterprises to migrate from legacy infrastructures to next generation applications and services, including application-aware MPLS networks, VoIP services, Unified Threat Management, Unified Messaging, mobile integration and advanced Contact Center solutions,” said Jeff Wellemeyer, co-founder and president of Smoothstone. “Our focus has always been on providing enterprise clients with a breadth of solutions and a level of service that they are simply not able to get from any other provider. We are pleased to be joining the West family of companies as we share a common passion for delivering exceptional service to clients. Our team and I look forward to continuing to serve clients and grow this business.”

Smoothstone was the recipient of Frost & Sullivan’s 2010 award for Competitive Strategy Innovation in Hosted IP Telephony and UC Services for North America. This prestigious award recognizes Smoothstone’s best-in-class strategy to manage growth, innovation and leadership in the dynamic IP communications market. Frost & Sullivan commented on the award by stating: “Smoothstone’s innovative competitive strategy has allowed it to service its customers in a very efficient and cost-effective manner. Through its unique technological platform and customized bundling solutions, as well as an extensive partner program, Smoothstone is poised to capture a growing share of this market.”

West will pay approximately $120 million to acquire Smoothstone. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2011 after satisfaction of certain closing conditions, including customary regulatory approvals. Upon completion of the acquisition, Smoothstone will become a part of West’s Unified Communications operating segment. The Smoothstone product portfolio will be available to West’s wide base of clients, adding cloud-based IP telephony to a growing list of West’s unified communications solutions. Smoothstone will continue to offer its full portfolio of applications and services and will continue in its mission to help leading enterprises transform the way they communicate.

Other benefits of the Smoothstone solution include:

• Faster deployment times compared to traditional, on-premises deployments
• Ongoing technology refresh that keeps up with a rapidly evolving UC market
• Ease of integration into business processes and enterprise applications
• Elimination of the burden of managing communications infrastructure and services, allowing resources to be focused on more strategic initiatives

“West’s commitment to the high-growth unified communications industry is clearly demonstrated with this and our other recent acquisitions in the space. West now claims a leadership position in unified communications with a broad, unique and reliable set of products. By leveraging the InterCall global distribution model with our long-term client relationships, West’s opportunity for growth is improved as a result of these acquisitions,” said Tom Barker, CEO, West Corporation.

About West Corporation
West Corporation is a leading provider of technology-driven, voice and data solutions. West offers its clients a broad range of communications and network infrastructure solutions that help them manage or support critical communications. West’s customer contact solutions and conferencing services are designed to improve its clients’ cost structure and provide reliable, high-quality services. West also provides mission-critical services, such as public safety and emergency communications.

Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, West serves Fortune 1000 companies and other clients in a variety of industries, including telecommunications, banking, retail, financial, technology and healthcare. West has sales and operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America. For more information on West Corporation, please call 1-800-841-9000 or visitwww.west.com.

About InterCall
InterCall, a subsidiary of West Corporation, is the largest conference and collaborations service provider in the world and a leading provider of global cloud-based unified communications services. Founded in 1991, InterCall offers telephony, messaging, conferencing and collaboration tools for businesses of all sizes, from large global enterprises to small or regional companies. With a global footprint and broad service capabilities, InterCall’s flexible models for hosted, managed and on-premises communications services help companies get the most out of their business processes.

InterCall’s strong U.S. presence, including four call centers and 26 sales offices, is bolstered by operations in Canada, Mexico, Latin America, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. For more information, please visit www.intercall.com.

About Smoothstone
Smoothstone IP Communications is the leading provider of cloud based communications for the enterprise – including MPLS-based application network management, enterprise voice, unified threat management, advanced contact center solutions, unified messaging and collaboration tools-all delivered as a unified suite of cloud-based applications. Smoothstone’s scalable, on-demand applications and services can be integrated with a customer’s existing network and telecommunications infrastructure, operational processes, and employee activities, enabling a customer to migrate to unified IP communications as their business requirements dictate. For more information, visit www.smoothstone.com or call 1-800-773-3037.

At West Corporation:
David Pleiss
(402) 963-1500
dmpleiss@west.com

At Smoothstone:
Luke Blackburn
(502) 272-2920
lblackburn@smoothstone.com

 

One day after its second quarter earnings report, West (the Interactive division) announces another major acquisition: San Jose, CA-based TuVox. Terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed, but something tells me that TuVox isn’t doing too well and its investors wanted an out. From its website, 2007 was the last time TuVox received any sort of industry recognition; its blog hasn’t been updated since June 2009. Digging through its website reveals no recent news…

It wasn’t too long ago that West scooped up Holly Connects, an IVR platform provider which I think wasn’t doing too well, either. While the Holly Connects acquisition was a platform play, today’s buyout of TuVox appears to complement it with a portfolio of on-demand IVR solutions and IVR applications.

I suppose West has done well in identifying buying opportunities, especially in this distressed economy, and using its cash wisely to expand its products and services. Could it be the Oracle of Omaha in the contact center industry?

Press release:

OMAHA, Neb., July 22, 2010 – West Interactive, a leading provider of hosted and managed automated customer contact solutions, today announced it has acquired TuVox, a premier provider of on-demand speech and IVR applications.

TuVox has pioneered a unique agile development methodology for speech applications that can yield a superior caller experience in less time and with less risk when detailed requirements are difficult to specify in advance. “TuVox collaborates closely with our clients throughout the development process,” said Mark Lazar, CEO of TuVox. “We find this allows us to better understand their fundamental business needs and respond with creative solutions that produce great results from the start.”

TuVox constructs applications using proprietary development tools that address all aspects of the application lifecycle, from initial design through ongoing operations and tuning. The tool set includes features often sought by clients, including support for the leading VoiceXML platforms, a replaceable runtime component, and a multi-tenanted administration console for configuration and reporting. The addition of TuVox to the West Interactive Hosted IVR platform enhances the current best-in-class applications that optimize the results of our clients businesses.

“We are extremely impressed with the TuVox staff and their ability to rapidly deploy a high-quality application even when clients had difficulty articulating their precise requirements,” said Pam Mortenson, President of West Interactive. “We believe this capability combined with our best-in-class platform and scale will create a truly unique solution that will be particularly beneficial when working with clients on cutting-edge applications.”

West does not expect results from TuVox to have a material impact to its 2010 financial results.

About West Interactive:
West Interactive is a leading provider of hosted and managed automated customer contact solutions. We help our clients connect with their customers more effectively, deliver superior service and maximize the value of every customer interaction. We provide advanced technologies and a highly scalable standards-based infrastructure to help businesses more efficiently conduct multi-media transactions. We have the people, technology and experience to handle the simplest or most complex solutions. Services include custom speech applications, customer surveys, network based call routing and analytic services.

West Interactive, a subsidiary of West Corporation, is located in Omaha, Nebraska, and serves Fortune 1000 clients in nearly every vertical market. For more information, please call 1-800-841-9000 or visit www.westinteractive.com.

About West Corporation
West Corporation is a leading provider of technology-driven, voice-oriented solutions. West offers its clients a broad range of communications and infrastructure management solutions that help them manage or support critical communications. West’s customer contact solutions and conferencing services are designed to improve its clients’ cost structure and provide reliable, high-quality services. West also provides mission-critical services, such as public safety and emergency communications.

Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, West serves Fortune 1000 companies and other clients in a variety of industries, including telecommunications, banking, retail, financial, technology and healthcare. West has sales and operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America. For more information on West Corporation, please call 1-800-841-9000 or visit www.west.com.

About TuVox
TuVox provides mission critical IVR hosting and managed services to companies who envision voice automation as a strategic part of their customer experience. Since 2000, TuVox has become synonymous with superior caller experience. Throughout its history, TuVox has delivered IVR solutions that have both revolutionized how people use the phone and mobile devices to access information, solve problems and transact business and have achieved the expected business outcome for its clients. TuVox On Demand applications are available as configurable solutions for industries such as banking, financial services, insurance, communications, consumer electronics, technology, utilities, entertainment, healthcare, publishing, retail and travel.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “intends,” “continue” or similar terminology. These statements reflect only West’s current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance or results. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the effects of global economic trends on the businesses of West’s clients; competition in West’s highly competitive industries; West’s ability to keep pace with its clients’ needs for rapid technological change and systems availability; the loss, financial difficulties or bankruptcy of any key clients; the non-exclusive nature of West’s client contracts and the absence of revenue commitments; increases in the cost of voice and data services or significant interruptions in these services; the cost of pending and future litigation; extensive regulation affecting many of West’s businesses; security and privacy breaches of the systems West uses to protect personal data; West’s ability to protect its proprietary information or technology; the cost of defending West against intellectual property infringement claims; service interruptions to West’s data and operation centers; West’s ability to retain key personnel and attract a sufficient number of qualified employees; increases in labor costs and turnover rates; the political, economic and other conditions in the countries where West operates; and West’s ability to complete future acquisitions and integrate or achieve the objectives of its recent and future acquisitions. West is also subject to other risk factors described in documents filed by the company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which the statements were made. West undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.

Media Contact:
Mack McKenzie
402-963-1324

CenturyTel and Qwest, Dialogic and Veraz Networks, and now West and Holly Connects. Is there love in the air when it comes to contact center telecom? Or just something in the water?

Not many people in the U.S. have heard of Boston-based Holly, but the company does enjoy more recognition in the APAC region as an open, standards-based voice platform provider. It tried and struggled to make inroads in the U.S. market but I don’t think it fared well — after all, it’s not easy going up against Avaya/Nortel, Cisco, Genesys, and Microsoft. I have heard previously that the company was looking for buyers, but never thought it would be sold to a company like West, mainly known as a service provider. Looks like West will be able to use its own voice platform for its customers soon instead of partnering with others.

The financial terms were not disclosed in the press release, but I’d venture a guess that West scooped up Holly at a decent price, considering it’s not considered a top-tier voice platform vendor and that the global economy is still stagnant. The good thing is that both companies have an international reach, so the acquisition bodes well for the combined customer base. To me the interesting aspect of this acquisition would be cultural: a Midwestern corporation gobbling up a New Englander. How well will the corporate cultures integrate? The press release also did not mention the roles of the existing Holly executive team when absorbed as part of West Communications Services. Will they remain at the helm or be replaced?

Official press release:

OMAHA, Neb., May 13, 2010 – West Corporation, a leading provider of technology-driven, voice-oriented solutions, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Holly Connects, a premier provider of carrier-grade voice platforms.

Holly Connects is headquartered in Boston with offices in London and Sydney, where the company was founded in 2000. Growing and profitable, the company pioneered the use of SIP signaling, VoIP telephony, speech recognition technology and the VoiceXML standard in platform infrastructure for caller self-service. Today’s Holly Voice Platform uniquely provides the high capacity, solid reliability and extensive multitenancy required by the most complex installations. Holly products are deployed by hosting providers, telecommunications carriers and large enterprises worldwide, including West Interactive.

“Working with Holly Connects for several years, we have been extremely impressed by the performance of their products and dedication of their staff,” said Pam Mortenson, President of West Interactive. “We view this acquisition as a superb opportunity to complement our current product and services portfolio, allowing West to address a broader market.”

Holly will become part of West’s Communications Services segment and will continue to sell its products and services to hosting providers, telecommunications and enterprise clients. West expects closing to occur in the second quarter of 2010 and does not expect results from Holly to have a material impact to its 2010 financial results.

“Many of our hosting clients and prospects have expressed an interest in having West Interactive manage additional, on-premise call traffic and applications to complement our hosting offering,” said Steve Stangl, President of West’s Communications Services operating segment. “Offering them the same Holly Voice Platform software used in our hosted services permits a seamless blending of operations and a natural extension of our professional services.”

“Holly Connects values customer service as the essential element in our corporate culture,” said Lance Berks, CEO of Holly Connects. “We are pleased to be joining an organization that shares our commitment to client and staff satisfaction, and that can provide the resources needed to accelerate our strategy for growth in North America.”

About West Corporation
West Corporation is a leading provider of technology-driven, voice-oriented solutions. West offers its clients a broad range of communications and infrastructure management solutions that help them manage or support critical communications. West’s customer contact solutions and conferencing services are designed to improve its clients’ cost structure and provide reliable, high-quality services. West also provides mission-critical services, such as public safety and emergency communications. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, West serves Fortune 1000 companies and other clients in a variety of industries, including telecommunications, banking, retail, financial, technology and healthcare. West has sales and operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America. For more information on West Corporation, please call 1-800-841-9000 or visit www.west.com.

About Holly Connects
Holly Connects is the fresh voice in voice platforms, delivering software for powerful yet cost-effective call handling to telecommunications carriers, hosted service providers, and large enterprises worldwide. Holly’s award-winning products provide a reliable foundation for delivering exceptional customer service by telephone. For more information please visit www.holly-connects.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “intends,” “continue” or similar terminology. These statements reflect only West’s current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance or results. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the effects of global economic trends on the businesses of West’s clients; competition in West’s highly competitive industries; West’s ability to keep pace with its clients’ needs for rapid technological change and systems availability; the loss, financial difficulties or bankruptcy of any key clients; the non-exclusive nature of West’s client contracts and the absence of revenue commitments; increases in the cost of voice and data services or significant interruptions in these services; the cost of pending and future litigation; extensive regulation affecting many of West’s businesses; security and privacy breaches of the systems West uses to protect personal data; West’s ability to protect its proprietary information or technology; the cost of defending West against intellectual property infringement claims; service interruptions to West’s data and operation centers; West’s ability to retain key personnel and attract a sufficient number of qualified employees; increases in labor costs and turnover rates; the political, economic and other conditions in the countries where West operates; and West’s ability to complete future acquisitions and integrate or achieve the objectives of its recent and future acquisitions. West is also subject to other risk factors described in documents filed by the company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which the statements were made. West undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.

West Corporation
11808 Miracle Hills Drive
Omaha, NE 68154

Media Contact:
Mack McKenzie
402-963-1324