Dark Fiber

Cloud computing, mobile video and dark fiber took center stage as hot topics on Thursday afternoon at Telecom One-on-One, a 'power networking' event in New York, hosted by Jaymie Scotto & Associates.

For dozens of attendees, it was a day of listening and learning. TMCnet spoke with a number of movers and shakers -- from dark fiber pioneers to cloud-infrastructure startups and optical networking stalwarts -- during 20-minute meetings punctuated by a dinging bell. All while basking in the gorgeously sunlit upstairs meeting room at Battery Gardens restaurant in Manhattan's Financial District.

The 'Power Networking' event -- JS&A's first of its kind, is similar to 'speed dating' but for industry professionals.

Several walked away with more than they expected.

Managed service provider company Atlantic Metro (News - Alert)saw the event as an opportunity to meet with clients in a 'structured, but relaxed environment.' Atlantic Metro, which provides private cloud computing services to enterprises, used the event as an opportunity tell potential parnters about some of its case studies and success stories -- while seeking out new partnerships, said Stephen Klenert (News - Alert), CEO of the seven-year-old company.

'People that we always wanted to meet at another event we actually got to meet with, instead of actually having to track them down,' Klenert said, adding that cloud computing's becoming more mainstream has helped its business. 'We've had to tailor our services to meet the needs of enterprise clients looking to save money utilizing the cloud.'

Atlantic Metro virtualizes office servers and provides ethernet to the office to guarantee quality of service.

Allied Fiber (News - Alert) (News - Alert)CEO Hunter Newby (News - Alert) spent the duration of the event meeting with customers, media and partners.

'The event itself really helps make efficient use of time, because it brings the right mix of existing contacts with new ones,' Newby told TMCnet. 'By having an event such as this on a regular basis, it gives people the opportunity to schedule that face time.'

Marisa Torrieri is a TMCnet Web editor, covering IP hardware and mobility, including IP phones, smartphones, fixed-mobile convergence and satellite technology. She also compiles and regularly contributes to TMCnet's gadgets and satellite e-Newsletters. To read more of Marisa's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Marisa Torrieri