Viewpoint
Testing on the way
Nearly every day, we are
asked if Communications News conducts
product testing or writes product reviews.
Our standard response has been that only
Consumer Reports can be trusted to
conduct unbiased testing and reviews, since
it does not accept advertising.
For years, however, we
have been looking for a truly independent
product-testing source that would provide
our readers with useful insight into
products in related technologies. We wanted
a source that did its own selection of
products and subsequent testing without our
input-other than to decide which month to
publish the results.
Finally, fate stepped in
when Robert Smithers and I met up at this
year's VoiceCon in Orlando. Rob is the CEO
of Miercom, a privately held network
consultancy based in East Windsor, N.J.,
specializing in networking and
communications-related product testing and
analysis.
Miercom has published its
test results in some other prominent tech
magazines, but those opportunities dried up
as the magazines retrenched (editorially
speaking). At Communications News,
we're not retrenching. In fact, we're adding
new content, including six new columns
started this year on business continuity, IP
convergence, network security, network
performance, power management and green
technology.
Beginning later this
year, Miercom's comparative product testing
results and analysis will be added to this
list, with three testing reports planned
through December. Interestingly, Miercom
sought out Communications News not
only because of our reputation in the tech
community, but, as importantly, also because
Rob and his team wanted to publish their
test results in print, not just online.
The three testing reports
we plan to print this year will cover
unified communications, unified threat
management for small to midsize enterprises
and Web conferencing.
In addition, we will soon
be posting a Miercom report online, related
to its "Certified Green" evaluation program.
In this report, Miercom engineers provide
detailed measurement criteria and evaluation
of the tested products' green IT value.
Products were evaluated based on power
efficiency, heat dissipation, cooling
requirements and other factors.
Those are the kinds of
details that readers will find in the
Miercom test reports in Communications
News-and the kind of independent product
testing reviews we have been seeking for our
readers.
kanderberg@comnews.com