20 July 2009

Officials with a Pensacola, Fla.-based company that generates revenue for CLECs, ILECs and local regional telcos by leveraging their allocated DID numbers told TMCnet in an interview that it’s eyeing growth in the Middle East, Africa, Indo-Pakistan region and a large swath of Asia this year and next.

According to DIDXchange, a registered and patented service of Super Technologies, Inc., the introduction of new clients, suppliers and business partners in those regions – relationships forged in part through a pair of international conferences – has yielded revenue growth about of 30 percent in the past 12 months.

Suzanne Bowen and Dee Meyers, the vice president of DIDXchange and the company’s newest intern, respectively, told TMC President Rich Tehrani in an interview, printed in full below, that collaboration between businesses in the Eastern and Western hemispheres is critical.

“We are easily able to do this because of our DIDX membership from 170 nations,” Bowen and Meyers told Tehrani. “Facebook is one of the most effective tools to make this possible.”

The DIDXchange officials, who will be exhibiting at ITEXPO West in September, also had some interesting – and refreshingly optimistic – thoughts on the economy and the way media feeds are affecting business decisions.

Their full exchange follows.

Rich Tehrani: What has the economic crisis taught you, and how has it changed your customers?

Dee Meyers (L) and Suzanne Bowen (R): The economic crisis has taught us to think outside the box and to be more creative in marketing our products and services. We attend worldwide conferences in the attempt to learn face to face what our target market needs and how we can best be prepared to offer that to them. We and our customers are using more and more social business networking online tools to save time, save money and stay in the center of our clients, suppliers, team members and partners.

RT: How is this down economy affecting your decisions to reinvest in your company or market, if at all? Where will you invest?

DM and SB: What we see is businesses paying attention to the media’s daily barrage of news on the “down economy.” Many businesses are reacting in one or two ways.

One, becoming more conservative than ever with their resources.

Two, freezing in a state of depression.

We have a different outlook, and we do our best via our media partner tools such as podcasts, video channels and our TMCnet DID/DDI channel to showcase our clients, suppliers and partners’ successes and to influence others to be more positive. We invest in travel and conferences to meet with current and potential clients, in human resources to improve the quantity and quality of our team and the support we as a team provide, and in the level of bandwidth and storage capacity to stay ahead of our wholesale clients’ needs. We do not wear rainbow-colored glasses, but we do believe in the power of collaboration, even among competitors.

RT: What’s the strongest segment in the communications industry?

DM and SB: With Dee’s background in medical informatics, she believes very much that software-driven unified communications, especially with wireless applications, are the communications industry winners. This is as opposed to traditional hardware-centric products. Why are smartphones from Nokia and the iPhone so popular? Suzanne believes that people, in general, need to save time and money in as mobile and flexible a manner as possible. Any service or software or research that contributes to making communications simpler, more practical, flexible, mobile, more easily accessible by anyone, anywhere, anytime is assured of a strong position in the industry today.

RT: With the rise of smartphones and netbooks, many wireless technologies, such as WiFi, appear to be poised for rapid growth. For example, we’re seeing more and more airlines add in-flight WiFi. In general, how widespread should WiFi be, in your view?

DM and SB: We think WiFi should be and quite often seems to be everywhere. It should be affordable for anyone with a paycheck that ranges from minimum wage to CXO wage. It should be available throughout every school, library, museum, zoo, and park. We don’t like to hear all the fuss from naysayers about how some will use the free or low-cost WiFi Internet for bad purposes. This is a cop out because in everything in life, we take a chance on someone using for harmful or illegal purposes.

RT: Which nation or region of the world will present the largest opportunity for your company in 2009/10?

DM and SB: Our company has experienced a new wealth of qualified clientele, not available before to us, because of ITCN Asia and CommunicAsia conferences. We believe that the Middle East, Africa, Indo-Pakistan area, and much of Asia are our largest opportunity this year and next. We have gained new quality suppliers, clients, and business partners that have enabled our combined revenue and markets to grow with an approximate 30 percent increase from August 2008 through today in July 2009.

Everyone needs to encourage more collaboration among the East and the West. Our company works really hard at this by introducing very successful businesses, entrepreneurs and organizations in different parts of the world to each other. We are easily able to do this because of our DIDX membership from 170 nations. Facebook is one of the most effective tools to make this possible.

RT: In what ways is President Barack Obama helping or hindering the technology markets? What more can he do?

DM and SB: President Barack Obama’s careful selection of the new FCC chairman is a positive reflection. He is not only an early adopter of technology himself, but he also is a good example of using it effectively and insisting on the same in the government processes of the USA. We are very excited about the stimulus money he has earmarked for information technology in ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009). We wish that he would find a way to get a buy-in from all government agencies to make intelligent choices in granting government contracts for technology purchases. We wish also that he would encourage those in governmental departments, for example the military, immigration, and education to have employees who use technologies effectively … teach those who do not.

RT: What device or devices do you use, and what do you wish you used?

DM and SB: Depends on what you mean by devices, but … I Suzanne use an Linux Ubuntu Asus netbook and Nokia e61i in any situation where I have to be extremely mobile. I use my Nokia and my Toshiba Portege R600-S4202 laptop otherwise. I’m also spoiled by my classic iPod for listening to music and Geekspeak.org, Voip Users Conference, and FreshAir podcasts. I have many other gadgets that I use occasionally and am open to trying as I have time.

RT: What has the iPhone 3G taught us? I know it’s very new, but what about the Palm Pre? What are we learning from the smartphones based on the open source Google Android platform?

DM and SB: Dee and I are thinking that Apple in general has taught us two things. One, listen to your customers. Two, don’t make replacement batteries that cost same price as the item you put them in. Whether they are consumers, businesses, organizations or entrepreneurs, they know they have power to drive technology and services in the direction they need. Tools such as Twitter, Facebook, QIK, and blogging make this easy to do. I am a bit ashamed to admit I don’t have much experience with the Palm Pre nor the Google Android platform. I have played with a Google Android phone belonging to our friend Doug Kimani.

RT: I understand you are exhibiting Sept. 1 to 3 at ITEXPO West in Los Angeles. What will you show there? Describe the companies or people who should come to your exhibit.

DM and SB: The DIDXchange booth will include suppliers and clients of DIDX who will share with booth visitors in English Russian, and Spanish how consumers, SMBs, government agencies, wholesale carriers, mobile operators and more can leverage direct inward dialing for increase revenue, market, mash-up businesses as well as decrease of customer churn. We will be ready to help entrepreneurs rebrand a local presence virtual phone number business that we host. Our DIDX members will be at the booth to give live testimonials (praise) and case studies (the good, the bad, and the ugly). Booth visitors will be to start selling DID (phone numbers), buying DID phone numbers from 60 countries, sign up for services or to start a business immediately and even get a free Ohio, USA phone number to start using right away.

RT: Why should customers choose your company’s solutions? How do they justify the expense to management?

DM and SB: Every solution we offer involves cloud computing. Everything is hosted. Rebranding is available. DIDX is the one stop location for Phone Number Sellers to sell to 12,500 wholesale members. It is the one stop location for Phone Number Buyers (who resell to their end-users that includes interconnect to DID/DDI from 60 countries. We are also an expert in showcasing the best global conferences and trade shows and workshops to attend for the IP communications industry.

(Interview questions were answered by Dee Meyers DIDX Intern and Suzanne Bowen co-founder and Vice President of Super Technologies, Inc.)

Press release edited by
Michael Dinan is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering news in the IP communications, call center and customer relationship management industries.

Super Technologies Inc.

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