OpenCloud, which supplies open standards-based application servers for the deployment of next-generation convergent telecoms services, has announced two senior appointments to its management team. Jonathan Bell joins as VP of Product Marketing, and Bob Drummond as VP of Professional Services and Marketing Communications. OpenCloud says the appointments follow increased uptake of its Rhino platform, and the companys commitment to world-class service delivery.
As VP of Product Marketing, Bell will leverage his extensive experience in product conception for early- and growth-stage software product companies. Prior to OpenCloud, Bell worked as an independent consultant, advising telecoms product companies on product strategy and proposition. As one of the founding management team at telecoms billing start-up Geneva Technology, Bell was responsible for the original conception and design of Geneva, a convergent real-time billing system, and remained as VP of Product Strategy when Geneva was acquired by Convergys.
Drummond joins OpenCloud as VP of Professional Services, and will have overall responsibility for the companys professional services business worldwide, including its growth targets and for all market-facing marketing activities. Prior to joining OpenCloud in 2006, Drummond was Regional Director at a global telecoms supplier, responsible for a solutions and professional services business within EMEA. He has over 20 years management experience in the telecoms industry in New Zealand, Germany, UK, Asia and the US.
Both Jonathan and Bob have a long history of successfully delivering complex IT solutions and robust products into the telecommunications industry, and achieving measurable business results for clients says OpenCloud CEO Stephen Newton. The appointments of these industry experts fit into OpenClouds business strategy of continually enhancing our product strategy and global product delivery capabilities. With a strengthened management team, we have the infrastructure in place to meet the accelerating adoption of our Rhino open platform and ensure our customers receive the optimum service to meet their needs.
In January 2007, OpenCloud received $10million from Advent Venture Partners, Motorola and No 8 Ventures. The funding supports OpenClouds sales, marketing, delivery and product development in Europe, the US and Asia Pacific to help bring the open standard JAIN SLEE (Java application programming interfaces (APIs) for Integrated Networks, Service Logic Execution Environment) to a global market. 
OpenCloud recently announced that Tango Networks had received first round funding for its Abrazo solution, built on OpenClouds Rhino platform. Tango Abrazo enables any mobile phone to become a true PBX extension on the network for both out- and in-bound calling, and is, says OpenCloud, just one example of the hundreds of innovative new services being developed by its partners using Rhino.