Everyone was super busy this week trying to shore up business activities before the long July fourth weekend hits – and the communications as a service (CAAS) market was no exception. There was a flurry of news activity reported on TMCnet this week, so we have weeded through the announcements and recapped some of the most noteworthy

There were a couple of noteworthy product announcements this week. Among those, TMCnet Contributor Rajani Baburajan reported NEC (News - Alert) Corporation, a provider of information technology (IT) and network solutions,  announced the immediate availability of its communications as a service, UNIVERGE Sphericall, as a VMware software-based virtual appliance. She wrote that with the VMware status, the UNIVERGE Sphericall communications as a service makes it an ideal choice for a wide range of communication services. The service, she explained, allows cloud service providers to deliver high-availability, scalable communications-as-a-service solutions as part of their private or hybrid clouds.

Also introducing a new product this week was Saba (News - Alert), provider of People Cloud, which announced the general availability of Saba Social Learning. It said Saba Social Learning helps employees, partners and customers better connect, collaborate and learn in a versatile and social environment, often referred to as 'informal learning.' In addition to the general availability of Saba Social Learning, the company reported that it is also providing a free 30-day trial that began June 27th, to enable organizations to transform knowledge sharing in the workplace.

A product launch strategy was revealed by Quadrant 4 Systems Corporation, an IT consulting company. Its announcement provided details regarding its Cloud Computing Offerings and go-to-market strategy to launch Software as a Service, Platform as a Service and Infrastructure as a Service. The company said Quadrant's business strategy capitalizes on the demand for power and data capacity due to the growth in data and processing requirements of most businesses. CEO of Quadrant, Nandu Thondavadi, said, “Quadrant's near-term strategy is to begin offering SaaS (News - Alert) followed by PaaS. Over the mid- to long-term range, Quadrant will further expand its offerings by including IaaS.”

While those companies were busy making product announcements, a couple of companies were happily receiving accolades for their work. BroadSoft (News - Alert), Inc., a leading global provider of software that enables mobile, fixed-line and cable service providers to deliver real-time communications over their IP networks, was awarded the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) Hot Ticket Award this week.  The NVTC Hot Ticket Award s celebrate the efforts of entrepreneurial companies in the Greater Washington technology community that have exhibited outstanding vision, the ability to implement and deliver, an innovative management approach or star-quality charisma

Also making a celebratory announcement was JAMIS Software Corporation, a leading provider of accounting software for the government contracting industry. It is celebrating 10 years of success in providing cloud computing services for its customers. In 2001, before most other software providers in the market, JAMIS reported it saw that the industry was heading in a new direction based on software as a service (SaaS) and cloud-based computing. It said it recognized cloud computing as a means to allow its customers to focus on business results while reducing their overall cost of software and limiting the time-consuming aspects of a traditional implementation.

Another company that endeavors to introduce the cloud to more users is Box, which provides a secure, scalable content sharing platform. It said this week that it is providing programs for Certified Reseller and Solution Providers designed to accelerate and optimize the adoption of Box's cloud content management solution within businesses of all sizes. These new programs, it says, will define the changing role of service providers and resellers as their customers transition to cloud services.

Among the corporate marriages that occurred this week, SuccessFactors, Inc., a provider of on-demand performance and talent management software solutions, has acquired Plateau Systems, Ltd., a provider of enterprise-class SaaS talent management suites. And CA (News - Alert) Technologies announced a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Interactive TKO, Inc., a leading provider of service simulation solutions for developing applications in composite and cloud environments, for $330 million in an all-cash transaction.