Telinta will exhibit its full suite of switch partition and billing solutions at ITEXPO West 2011 in Austin, TX on September 13-15. Two hundred IP communications companies of all sizes and sectors are expected to exhibit at ITEXPO – the world’s premier IP communications event.
Alex Ferdman, CEO of Telinta, was interviewed by Rich Tehrani, CEO of TMC, on 2011 technology trends. Read the transcript of the entire interview below.
How has your market segment evolved over the past year and what trends have fueled those changes?
The telecommunications market continues to evolve away from the traditional phone systems and toward a more universal acceptance of VoIP. The continued growth of cloud computing and the advent of Mobile VoIP are fueling the evolution of the telecommunications industry.
What do you see as the next disruptive force in technology and how will it impact your market or business?
Thanks to the rapid development of the Internet and Internet technologies, the ways in which people and organizations communicate are constantly changing. Because Telinta provides communication services using the Internet and Internet applications, we expect that any new communications technology will contribute to our business. Instead of being a disruption, a new technology will naturally fuse to the suite of communication services Telinta provides.
How has the acceptance and adoption of the cloud model influenced your development cycle and process?
Telinta has been years ahead of the cloud-computing trend, and it is the fundamental idea on which we built our business. We now own and operate the largest hosted PortaSwitch installation in the world, providing a complete and proven out-of-the-box telecom cloud platform together with always-available expert 24/7 technical staff.
What is the most common request you are seeing from your customers? How is your company addressing these demands?
The most common request we are seeing is for Mobile VoIP. Telinta’s Mobile VoIP offering is TeliSIM – a convenient and easy solution that allows making cheap mobile phone calls via VoIP. TeliSIM is a thin programmable chip that adheres to a mobile phone’s SIM-card and enables GSM phones to use the service without the need to dial an access number like with traditional pinless services.
TeliSIM offers the convenience of direct dialing from mobile phones or from the mobile phone contact list. Due to the huge demand, we are currently developing TelSIM II, a new and even more convenient version.
How is the continued growth of social media changing service and product development strategies?
As social media sites continue to grow in popularity, consumers spend more and more time interacting online. Telecommunications companies are responding to this trend by marketing their products on the social media sites and developing applications that can be linked to the existing social media features.
Will Google+ become bigger than Facebook and Twitter? Why or why not?
At the moment, Facebook is at the forefront of social networking, with over 750 million active users, while Twitter has over 100 million active users. Meanwhile, Google+ gained over 20 million users in the course of a month, and is picking up momentum.
While user interface differences and improvements will play a role, the Google+ strength lies in the fact that it is part of Google, with its advertising expertise and an array of established products that can be integrated with the social networking features. Google+ has a good chance to become bigger than Facebook and Twitter, but it will take some time for it to happen.
As businesses continue their move toward virtual workforces, how are you meeting the need for increased mobility? What barriers are keeping others from adopting mobile strategies?
Telinta provides world-wide access to our hosted VoIP platform and always-available expert 24/7 technical support staff. Our comprehensive online web interface provides an ability to control all aspects of VoIP business remotely, while fine-grained access control allows business owners to easily delegate varying degrees of responsibility. Telinta’s support engineers can immediately respond to urgent issues which arise at any time of day or night, providing a piece of mind to business owners with globally distributed work force.
How do you see the mobile operating system war (iPhone (News – Alert) vs. Android vs. RIM vs. WM7) playing out?
iPhone and Android are the clear frontrunners. While iPhone sales are still greater, I believe that Google Android is set to overtake the lead. Android is based on the Linux kernel, and its open nature and the absence of restrictions on software publishing have contributed to its rapid spread. Another clear advantage of Android OS is that it can be installed on a variety of phones made by different manufacturers.
Is HTML5 the game changer many predict it will be?
HTML5 is generating too much hype. It is not a revolutionary new development, but a new revision of the core language that extends and improves the markup for documents and adds markup and APIs for complex web applications. That said, HTML5 adoption will cause greater browser standardization, allowing companies like Telinta to provide even more content-rich interfaces from the cloud.
What are you most looking forward to at ITEXPO West in Austin? What do you see as being the biggest trends at the show?
I am looking forward to showcasing Telinta products for new customers, to receiving feedback from our old customers, and to productive discussions with our technology partners. I see Mobile VoIP as one of the biggest trends at shows; TeliSIM continues to be one of our most sought-after solutions.
Who should visit your booth at ITEXPO and why?
ITEXPO attendees interested in providing modern telephony services such as Wholesale VoIP Traffic Exchange, VoIP Termination and Origination, Calling Cards, Pinless calling, Call Back solutions, Call Shops, Hosted IP PBX (News – Alert), IP Centrex, and SIP Trunking should visit Telinta’s booth. We cater to Internet Telephony Service Providers (ITSPs) ranging from start-ups and Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) to well established Enterprises and Telecom Carriers.
ITEXPO attendees should come to our booth because of our proven track record of helping clients achieve profit in real world business, regardless of the state of worldwide economy. At Telinta, we engineered our processes around our customer’s business needs, so we can provide a better overall interaction and experience than anyone else in the hosted VoIP industry.