Top Ten : Most underrated VoIP Contributors

I have come up with a list of who/what I think are the most under-rated contributors/commentators in the VoIP domain (or related telecom domains). This list consists of individuals/companies/technologies who have done quite a bit yet are not given their due. This list is to herald these people.

10) Thomas F.Angelero: One of my favourite bloggers whose perspective on things never ceases to amaze me. Has been blogging for four years now and has pretty much possibly seen everything that VoIP can throw at a person.

9) Mitel : An active member of the VoIP Security Alliance (VOIPSA), Mitel has never been given the recognition to its immense contribution in the field of VoIP be its phones or other solutions.

8 ) John Roese: You would think that a CTO of Nortel would be more revered. In-spite of his unique observations be it on hyper-connectivity or Communications Enabled Applications, he still does not get the same attention as other lesser individuals (atleast in the blogosphere)

7) BEA : Come on, having the best SIP based application server in the world needs to count for something,doesn’t it?

6) Gartner Communication Blog : I am not talking about the traditional ever pervasive Gartner reports, but their Communications Innovations blog which probably is the only blog that gives a balanced view on happenings in both Europe and North America.

5) Huawei : Granted, they are not the most ethical company ( but then who is these days?), but that should not be held against them. Their thousands of installations across the globe (Traditional as well as Next Gen networks) needs to be seen in an entirely different light.

4) Mercator Capital Newsletter: Definitely a one stop place to get news on all the mergers and acquisitions happening around the globe. Has published some very intuitive articles, yet not quoted as extensively as it should.

3) Sonus: If not for Sonus and its passion for VoIP products/solutions, VoIP would have never been carrier-grade. This giant is seldom talked about and I had even posted about the exclusion of its name in VoIP News top 50 list. Give more credit to this Gorilla.

2) CTI : VoIP as we know today is alive and kicking only because of CTI ( Computer Telephony Integration). What was essentially thought of as providing screen pops to agents in call centers drove the concept of Voice over the data network which transformed into VoIP as we know it. CTI and Call Centers are never credited with this.

and finally the No.1 most under-rated contributor is

1) British Telecom : This would not be a surprise to regular readers of this blog. I have posted enough about BT’s contribution and the lack of recognition. BT remains the most under-rated contributor in my opinion.

Just like any other compiled top ten list, I can foresee disagreements on my above list as well. Who do you think should have been included/excluded? Let me know.