By Rich Tehrani
President and Editor-in-Chief
Fonality (
News -
Alert), a provider of business phone systems and contact center solutions for growing businesses, is used by more than 5,000 companies and 125,000 end users in 100 countries. Fonality’s award-winning IP-PBX (
News -
Alert) VoIP phone systems have connected more than 350,000,000 mission critical phone calls. I recently had the chance to interview Fonality’s CEO, Chris Lyman, about next month’s ITEXPO, held Sept. 16-18 in Los Angeles, and other topics.
RT: What has been your company’s biggest achievement in 2008 so far?
CL: Getting chosen by Dell (
News -
Alert) as their go-to-market SMB telephony partner. This was a big win for a young company like ours. Dell is a $70 billion dollar company.
RT: What can we expect to see from your company for the next 12 months?
CL: Continued market share accretion in both the PBX and the call center spaces. Stay tuned for a big announcement around HUD – our award-winning unified communications product. You will also see continuing innovation from us in the open source arena with our trixbox project.
RT: How do you see the communications market evolving?
CL: People are getting tired of having too many devices and too many ways to be reached. The brass ring goes to those companies that can simplify the inundation.
RT: What company made the biggest contribution to communications this year?
CL: Obviously, Fonality.
RT: How has Google (News - Alert) changed our markets?
CL: Google has been the great equalizer, allowing innovative companies to find customers. They have been a rare riposte against the sweeping pares of big corporatism.
CL: Apple makes great music and web browsing devices. Let the flames begin!
RT: What mobile phone(s) do you use?
CL: Obviously, not Apple.
RT: Who will win in an Apple/RIM war?
CL: Apple will continue to win the consumers – people who want to listen to music and browse the Web. RIM will continue to win business customers – people who want to check email and REPLY to it with one hand while in a meeting.
RT: What do you think the communications market might look like in five years?
CL: More things that we pay for today will become free (minutes, cell phones, phone numbers) and more things we never thought of before will now be charged for (efficiencies gained by interconnection software and networks, such as Google and Salesforce).
RT: What will attendees see in your booth at ITEXPO this September?
CL: Really exciting products like PBXtra, trixbox Pro, and HUD3 with incredible margins for resellers.
RT: What sorts of companies should come to your exhibit?
CL: People looking for an amazing phone system, and people looking to resell an amazing phone system.
RT: Why should customers choose your company’s solutions?
CL: The three ‘itys:’ Affordability. Mobility. Flexibility.
RT: Please make one surprising prediction for 2009.
CL: The first hair-raising account of a VoIP security intrusion will make it to the big stage.
Rich Tehrani is President and Group Editor-in-Chief of TMC. In addition, he is the Chairman of the world�s best-attended communications conference, INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO (ITEXPO). He is also the author of his own communications and technology blog.Edited by
Eve Sullivan
INDUSTRIES
Activate Email 
