TMCnet Interview with Matt Bramson at ITExpo West 2011

eComm Conference 2011

Matt Bramson's Presentation at the 2011 eComm Conference:

Matt Bramson - Presentation at Emerging Communications Conference & Awards (eComm 2011)

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TMC interview with Matt Bramson, CMO

IT Expo 2011

I spent the day today at IT Expo at the Miami Beach (just across town from our headquarters) and here are some observations and thoughts.

Concern About the Channel

More than one person today has asked me my opinion on the future of the channel, meaning the telecom agent channel. The concern is that channel programs appear to (again) be threatened with major carriers, like – most recently – Verizon, dramatically shortening the list of products the channel can sell and others – like AT&T – insisting that agents bundle mobile phones and plans into sales to qualify for commissions, looking to push the channel in ways that may not be beneficial to its health. But the more profound threat – and to me the more interesting one – is whether the decided shift to complex, cloud-delivered solutions is one to which the channel will successfully adapt.

There is no question that the stereotypical telecom agent – who knocks on doors, learns what a company buys today, and returns tomorrow with several quotes for comparable service for less – faces a challenging transformation. Those that will thrive, in my view, are the agents and agencies that understand their customers – and perhaps are vertical or even niche-focused – and that view the glass as at least half full. Yes, it’s true that the old way of doing business is going away but the new way actually offers tremendous opportunity. Instead of selling Internet access for perhaps $20 per user per month you can sell hosted applications that could amount to $100 per user or more. Agents that spend the next year clinging to the old way will fail. Those that embrace the new opportunities can prosper.

Knowing your customers and having a narrow focus could be a real key. Here are a couple interesting examples. Did you know that in the US alone there are 350,000 dentist offices? Focusing on just dentists – by developing a suite of applications that meets their specific needs – could result in a huge business. If you assembled a bundle of hosted applications – PBX, CRM/Practice Management, HIPAA-compliant storage/backup, and a few other apps – you could offer dentists a differentiated choice to the generic offerings of the leading telco providers. And if 10% of all dentist offices became your customer for $500 each per month that would be a $200 million business. It’s just an example – but it does illustrate that there are types of opportunity available today that didn’t exist a few years ago.

Clouds, Clouds Everywhere

Walking the exhibit hall floor it is clear that “cloud” is a term that is nearly-universally embraced – in the industry. Most booths and collateral display the term prominently. The challenge with this – and any industry-darling buzzword – is to make it relevant to customers. “Cloud”, in my view, has a ways to go on that front. The real benefits of cloud-based application delivery depends on customers changing how they operate too. A business that still runs mostly conventional installed software and stores much of their data locally is not going to fully benefit from the potential of the cloud. How many businesses are really ready for a cloud-centric methodology? Who will educate them to the wisdom of this approach? The answer is likely circular: whoever does will be successful at selling them a bunch of cloud-based services.

Now I’m off to Startup Camp – one of my favorite features of IT Expo.

Thoughts from IT Expo West

Today was a busy one at IT EXPO. I had the opportunity to address a group of potential resellers and participated on two panels. In addition I was interviewed for a podcast (http://www.telecomreseller.com/category/podcasts/).

As I reflect on the day, three thoughts stand out:

1. I am excited about the relationship with Ringio we announced today (press release). We are calling the joint offering ROI: Ringio On InPhonex. The opportunity to offer a uniquely powerful hosted business application – one that combines a PBX, IVR, and CRM – to distributors as a white-label product is receiving an enthusiastic response.
2. There is tremendous energy in the next-generation telecom space right now. The IT EXPO show is well-attended; all the sessions I was in were full; and the exhibit floor was busy this evening.
3. Cloud-based telephony services represent an opportunity that is without precedent in the recent history of telecom: widespread profitability. Never before has it been possible to launch a telecommunications service offering and deploy it to tens of thousands of customers without spending millions of dollars on infrastructure. In the past the huge upfront debt crushed most start-up service providers. Many that survived had to go through bankruptcy restructuring in order to do so.

The downside of lower barriers to entry is a crowded marketplace (hence a busy trade show). The key to success – as it nearly always is – remains execution. The companies that can market and sell their service and retain their customers will have the opportunity for rapid, profitable growth.

It seems to me that execution is about creativity and hard work (also known as “inspiration and perspiration”). The creativity I am focused on right now is thinking about the all the companies that have the right resources and relationships to sell ROI but aren’t currently selling telecom services at all. More to come on this thought . . .

INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO West 2010

I am looking forward to attending TMC’s IT EXPO next week in Los Angeles. I have attended the last several IT EXPOs and have found them well-run and well-attended. This time I am looking forward to being able to participate in a number of the sessions.

Tuesday, October 5th at 10am – Presenting at Reseller Day 2.0
This is an innovative session. Typically trade shows have lots of sessions about technology segments or other somewhat abstract topics and it falls on the attendees to figure out how the content can benefit them. The intent of this session is to allow attendees to hear a series of brief presentations about products and services that they can practically run right out and resell. Given that InPhonex pioneered private-label VoIP resale eight years ago and has more than 3,500 resellers today, I am especially excited about being able to speak directly to a room full of eager potential resellers.

Tuesday, October 5th at 10:30am – Moving from Concept to Cash Flow with SaaS-Based Switching & Network Management Services
For this session I will be on a panel with other executives discussing the evolving technical and business models in the cloud-based business environment. It’s tough to predict the actual direction that a panel will take (and that’s part of what makes them interesting) but I expect to offer input from the InPhonex perspective which is that we have entered “the era of applications” and the demands on telecom service providers have changed. The competitive battleground has shifted. For a generation customers’ telecom decisions have been based largely on the “price” leg of the three-legged product, price, support stool. Today the “product” or application leg is bearing a lot of weight: consumers and businesses are demanding advanced features, powerful integration, and ease-of-use. For a clear illustration of this shift look at the mobile service/device/application marketplace(s). Many Internet telephony service providers are so consumed with managing their telecom platform (which they perceive to be essential to maintaining control of their service and its cost) and maximizing their distribution that they haven’t prioritized creating competitive applications. InPhonex offers an alternative: outsource your telecom platform needs to InPhonex and focus your resources to succeed in “the era of applications”.

Tuesday, October 5th at 11:30am – Minutes Merchants: Peering from Arbitrage to Outsourcing
This panel will be hosted by Hugh Goldstein who is someone I always enjoy having a conversation with – especially about our industry – because he is so knowledgeable. Again, predicting the content of a panel is tough but this one should be interesting because it is focused on an interesting topic about which I expect there are passionate views. It seems to me that the central question at issue is whether the wholesale “minutes merchants” business is dead or dying. I have my opinion: which is that predictions of this sort are inherently risky. Sometimes a “dying” business or segment is just one innovation away from a new peak. What I do know is that InPhonex is not focused on being a wholesaler. We believe that while remaining aware of wholesale pricing levels – and their psychological impact on our customers – InPhonex needs to remain focused on the value-add that our platform delivers. A wholesale minute or DID is not a solution. It’s like a single piece of a puzzle that many current and aspiring service providers don’t fully appreciate. To continue the analogy, many tend to think they are building a 10-piece puzzle when the reality is closer to a 100-piece puzzle.

Wednesday, October 6th at 9:30am – The Business Case for VoIP – Going Beyond ROI and TCO
This should be a great panel. I will share the dais with executives from other Internet telephony service providers to discuss what could be the Big Question for all of us right now: what are benefits of VoIP services that don’t show up on a lower monthly bill and how will these benefits get communicated to the marketplace? We have or are soon to reach the end of the opportunity to “pick the low-hanging fruit” of businesses and consumers that can reap huge savings with a switch to VoIP. We need to get proficient having a persuasive conversation about increased productivity, improved reachability, lower administrative costs, and the like. The providers that succeed at this have an opportunity for tremendous growth. Those that fail will be left fighting tooth and nail over the price-focused buyers. InPhonex’ core offering is to liberate service providers to focus on product excellence and advancement – by allowing them to outsource their telephony platform. The service providers that focus on the power and innovation of their offerings will be in a better position to have a credible dialog beyond “here’s how much lower your monthly bill will be with us . . .”

So next week is shaping up to be an active and exciting one for InPhonex and me. I hope to see many of our current customers at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Please attend one or all of the sessions above and, if you do, come up and introduce yourself – I am always eager to speak with a current or prospective customer.

'Us, or A Whole Group' for Voice Services: InPhonex CSO

Recently TMC's CEO Rich Tehrani had a chance to sit down and interview the Chief Sales Officer of InPhonex, Matt Bramson.


The company's seven years old, and according to Bramson, the vision was to create a platform that could be used to create and resell Web services. READ FULL ARTICLE >

'Us, or A Whole Group' for Voice Services: InPhonex CSO

Recently TMC's CEO Rich Tehrani had a chance to sit down and interview the Chief Sales Officer of InPhonex (News - Alert), Matt Bramson.

The company's seven years old, and according to Bramson, the vision was to create a platform that could be used to create and resell Web services. READ MORE >

InPhonex: 'We Are Entering a New Era'

For today’s service providers, there’s no time like the present to invest in lucrative next-generation communications, from video to HD voice.

In turn, there’s no better time to be a company like InPhonex, which is focused on helping service providers create telephony products without having to dig their heels too deeply into telephony. READ FULL ARTICLE >

InPhonex Offers the Total Solution for VoIP Services

Miami, Fla.-based InPhonex (News - Alert) is a global carrier providing comprehensive telephony solutions since 2003. The company first made its mark as a creator and reseller of VoIP services. Today, they offer a “total solution” for what Matt Bramson, chief sales officer at InPhonex described as, “a whole new species,” looking to add telephony services but without the burden of hosting and maintaining the services on their own. READ FULL ARTICLE >

Inside the Studio with Matt Bramson, CSO InPhonex

Interview with Matt Bramson, CSO

Erin Harrison of TMC interviews our CSO, Matt Bramson at ITExpo East 2010. Bramson speaks about VarPhonex Partner Solutions, the successes of 2009 and outlook for 2010. See full interview here.

TMC Interview with Matt Bramson

Susan Campbell, TMC Editor interviews Matt Bramson, CSO of VarPhonex. Read the full article here.

CSO Matt Bramson speaks at VON Conference

InPhonex CSO, Matt Bramson is a guest speaker at the 2009 VON Latin America Summit. Bramson and several other key speakers talk about doing business in Latin America. Read the full story here.

Quick Links
VON Latin America Summit

VarPhonex CSO Matt Bramson to Speak at the Von Conference

The VON Conference & Expo showcases the best of the global IP communications world for service providers and large enterprises. Roundtables, keynotes, panels and Q&A sessions go beyond the pitch to examine the financial, operational, marketing and technological strategies, best practices and solutions for introducing innovative applications and products that resonate with users. With its unique community, and its focus on service providers, VON is the single most trusted source of knowledge and business connections for the advanced IP communications and network convergence industries. VON is a can't-miss, and the only IP-focused event of its kind. VON Conference & Expo attendees will include service providers and enterprises worldwide.

Come hear VarPhonex Chief of Sales present on "Doing Business in the CALA Region" on Tuesday September 22, from 5:15 - 6 p.m.

If you would like to arrange a press interview with Matt during the VON Conference and Expo, please contact jcollado@varphonex.com.

Miami TV Interview with Matt Bramson, CSO InPhonex

Jennifer Scordamaglia from Miami TV interviews Matt Bramson, CSO InPhonex at the 2009 IT Expo in Miami Beach, Florida.

ITExpo Service Provider Panel Discussion

InPhonex CSO Matt Bramson is among six executives who participated in a panel discussion at this year's Internet Telephony Conference and Expo held in Miami Beach, Florida.
http://www.von.com/news/service-providers-craft-survival-strategies.html

Interview with Matt Bramson, CSO InPhonex

Feature interview with InPhonex Chief Sales Officer, Matt Bramson at the 2009 TMC East Internet Telephony Conference and Expo in Miami Beach, Florida.
http://www.tmcnet.com/tmc/videos/default.aspx?vid=813