The start of the 2009 VON Conference & Expo is, incredibly, just three days away, and I have to say, after almost a year of preparation and planning, I am feeling as confident as one can before going into such an adventure. Here are five reasons why I think VON is going to be successful.

As we prepare to descend upon the steamy carnival of end-of-summer Miami Beach, a pre-show glance at what to look for at the VON Expo reveals a few noteworthy hot topics that are sure to spark some thought – including the relevancy of the term “VoIP” itself.

Do you want to know what the future of business communications is? Try Web 2.0 and social networking. Businesses are using social networking to interact with customers, develop product, go to market and in general, conduct themselves in new and completely revolutionary ways.

The first in-depth analysis of the game-changing shift of telcos, ISPs, cable operators and others to all-IP environments, a new NPRG report is provided exclusively to full-conference attendees at VON. And, in many ways, the topic of the report – the Big Shift, as it’s sometimes called, is at the centerpiece of the 2009 VON Conference & Expo.

VON exhibitor IPcelerate is perhaps one of the few companies that can boast about making it through the recession relatively unscathed. Business & Regulatory Editor Kelly Teal spoke with IPcelerate President and CEO Kevin Brown about the company’s evolution over the past few years, the impact of the economic downturn, and what’s next for the IP field.

MERA Systems will present MERA RTU (MERA Retail and Transit Unit), a brand new softswitch designed to meet the needs of both wholesale and retail operators. Being a bundled product that comprises features of class 4 and class 5 VoIP products, MERA RTU delivers a set of unique benefits for wholesale and retail businesses.