InPhonex + Jazinga = A Perfect Combination for Small Businesses

Today Jazinga, the manufacturer of the innovative and easy to use Unity 2000 small business phone system, announced that InPhonex has been named a Service Partner. Businesses with a Jazinga phone system can feel confident using InPhonex as the service provider to deliver a complete solution. InPhonex’s Teletrunk product has been tested with the Jazinga Unity 2000 and the two work together perfectly.

Teletrunk is a SIP-compliant service can provide a Jazinga phone system, or any phone system, with local and toll-free numbers in 75 countries and offers flexible usage options including unlimited calling. If you currently own a Jazinga phone system or are considering getting one, contact InPhonex for a quote for service.

Is "No Impact" Telecom No More?

During a discussion today about the amazing capabilities of our new Televate product, I reflected back on my career in telecom sales. One of the main things we used to tout when talking to a prospective customer is that when the switch from his current provider was completed there would be “no impact”:

• Your phone number won’t change – no impact.
• The way your employees use the new service won’t change – no impact.
• The experience your customers have when they call your business won’t change – no impact.
• The new service won’t provide any new tools or information for your business – no impact.

The only real impact from switching providers was to be a lower monthly bill. And we treated “no impact” as a major selling point!

Believe it or not, most telecom companies and their salespeople still tout the “benefit” of no impact when switching service providers.

Well, Televate is much different. Your phone number won’t change and your bill will likely go down but aside from that the impact is considerable:

• The way your employees communicate and collaborate will change radically and immediately – huge impact.
• Your employees’ ability to be reachable and productive outside the office will change drastically – huge impact.
• The experience your customers will have when they call your business will be transformed – huge impact.
• The tools and information your business will have to manage customers and maximize business performance will be elevated – huge impact.

At InPhonex we see a fast-approaching end to “no impact telecom”. Businesses large and small are demanding more. Televate makes it easy to bring major impact to your business – and isn’t that the point of changing providers?

VoIP Users Conference

VUC Interview with Matt Bramson: http://www.voipusersconference.org/2011/televate-inphonex/

What Does Continued Mobile Consolidation Mean For The Channel?

The big talk at CTIA is the pending acquisition of T-Mobile by AT&T. Most of the discussion is about the impact on consumer choice, hardware suppliers, and wireless technologies. But there’s another dimension. T-Mobile has a robust set of programs for channel partners, resellers, affiliates, and retailers. What will happen to those programs and the participants? If AT&T’s past approach is any indication then it is likely that many will be consolidated into AT&T programs, some will be discontinued, and many participants will be groomed out. “Groomed out” is a euphemism for “left out”. It should be clear that if your business currently generates significant revenue from selling telecommunications services that industry consolidation is probably not a good thing. You’ll have fewer options of services to sell; customers will have fewer choices to navigate; carriers will have fewer competitors so commissions are likely to decline; and product and service innovation is likely to slow. So what should you do? Wake up and smell the coffee!

Continue to sell telecom service if you must but see it for what it is – a means to an end. That end is the applications that users run over those telecom services. Leading consumer applications are largely free and advertising-supported and the ones that cost money are sold directly through app stores (if I can use that term generically and not get sued [http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-apple-amazon-20110323,0,5609580.story]) controlled by the dominant players. But business applications – particularly applications for small and medium-sized businesses – represent a massive and available opportunity. If you currently sell T-Mobile devices and services to businesspeople and businesses then you should immediately begin investigating applications, like InPhonex’s Televate, that you could start offering to your customers. That way if in a few months you get a “Dear John” letter from AT&T it won’t be such a blow.

Businesses Are Just Groups Of Consumers: Observations CTIA 2011 in Orlando

I spent this afternoon walking around CTIA. It’s a big show – hundreds of booths ranging from a half-acre dedicated to Samsung’s Galaxy Tab to small booths offering rhinestone-studded phone covers. But what struck me was how few exhibitors were focused on businesses – businesses that don’t sell mobile phones or services that is. It seems that Apple’s “enterprise strategy” of viewing businesses as just groups of consumers has become the conventional wisdom. I couldn’t find any exhibitors touting devices and applications that help businesses outside of telecom solve problems, improve employee productivity, or satisfy customers.

My initial response when I realized this was discouragement. I had hoped to see the latest and greatest innovative mobile business tools. But then I realized what an opportunity this is. The mobile industry is focused on creating amazing devices, faster networks, and easier-to-use operating systems, browsers, and media players. But they’re leaving it to companies like InPhonex to offer the mobile business applications desired by accountants, contractors, dentists, lawyers, retailers, and other businesses large and small. They’re willing to lay the foundation upon which we can deliver high-margin mobile business applications. I can hardly wait to see how great Televate will look on a Galaxy Tab.