ITEXPO East 2012 has launched and as a company dedicated to providing you with the latest in telecommunications and technology news, we wanted to gain even more insight from key industry players. To that end, TMC CEO Rich Tehrani (News - Alert) recently sat down with Alex Ferdman of Telinta Inc. to get his opinion on the most significant technological advancements in the past 12 months.

Ferdman pointed to the many important discoveries in mobile devices, especially the use of grapheme to improve lithium-ion battery capacity and recharge rates. Asked about the biggest trend in his market segment and Ferdman shared that the impact has been felt from the rapid spread of thin clients, netbooks, tablets and smartphones with touchscreens.

When asked to name the biggest challenge facing his customers today, Ferdman noted his customers often run into complex problems in relation to their infrastructure and setup, impacting their ability to properly use products. As for cloud computing, Ferdman shared that it is a fundamental idea on which Telinta built its business.

In answer to whether or not cloud-based communications will expedite the end of the premises-based PBX market, Ferdman highlighted that cloud-hosted PBX is quickly changing from a trend into a business requirement.

Telinta has made a move into social media, as LinkedIn (News - Alert) compliments its comprehensive company website and other marketing tools. Ferdman shared the company is also considering other social media programs. Whether or not every business needs a social media presence, Ferdman believes it is more essential for businesses with a wide consumer base.

As for Microsoft’s (News - Alert) opportunity in the enterprise mobile market, Ferdman believes its success will be determined by the level of commitment to transitioning to mobile-based devices. At ITEXPO (News - Alert), Telinta will be offering live presentations and demos of its feature-rich hosted PBX solution. As for his 2012 prediction, Ferdman suggested tablets will become commoditized and available to people at all income levels in developed countries.

Their entire conversation follows:

What was the most significant technological advancement in the past 12 months and why?

2011 saw many important discoveries related to the mobile devices and often involving graphene – an exciting new material composed of a single-layer lattice of carbon atoms.  Researchers in Northwestern University used graphene to improve lithium-ion battery capacity and recharge rate by 10x, an advancement that will play a large role in the miniaturization and accelerating popularity of mobile devices.

What has been the biggest trend in your market segment and how is it impacting your customers?

The rapid spread of thin clients, netbooks, tablets and smartphones with touch screens had a large impact on telecom business operation in the past year.  These ubiquitous devices, coupled with rapidly accelerating adoption of cloud computing, free businesses from large hardware and software investments while presenting them with more opportunities.

What is the biggest challenge facing your customers today and how is your company helping address that challenge?

We have customers across 6 continents, many of them based in emerging markets.  Our customers often run into complex problems with their infrastructure and setup, which impact their ability to properly use Telinta’s Hosted PortaSwitch and other products.  Our expert 24/7 support team is composed of highly skilled professionals who are diligent, fast, flexible, and experienced in troubleshooting complex problems.  Telinta delivers precision-engineered solutions that allow our customers to quickly adapt to new VoIP challenges.

How has Cloud impacted your business?  How has it impacted your customers?

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.   Our customers have benefited from a complete and proven out-of-the-box telecom cloud platform together with always-available expert 24/7 technical staff.

Will Cloud-based communications expedite the end of the premises-based PBX market?

Cloud-hosted PBX is quickly changing from a trend into a business requirement.  As more and more businesses embrace the economy, convenience, flexibility and rapid deployment provided by the Cloud-based communications, others must follow to stay competitive.

Telinta’s complete and feature-rich Hosted PBX Solution makes advanced business technology affordable and available even for Small Businesses. Highly customizable, Telinta’s Hosted PBX Solution offers a virtually unlimited number of extensions, individually pre-recorded greetings and message mailboxes, dial-by-name directories, voice mail to email, personalized music on hold, paging, audio conference bridge, easy to use web-based administration, and many other features. Telinta's Auto Attendant automatically receives incoming calls, plays a pre-determined greeting and transfers callers to proper queues or individual extensions.

What approach has your business taken to social media?  If you have implemented a social media program, have you been able to evaluate your program’s success?

Telinta’s LinkedIn presence compliments our comprehensive company website and other marketing tools.  We are also considering other social media programs. We measure the effectiveness of social media visibility by asking our new and potential clients how they found out about Telinta.

Does every business need a social media presence?  Why or why not?

I think that most businesses with a wide consumer base would benefit from a social media presence. As social media sites continue to grow in popularity, consumers spend more and more time interacting online.  Companies can market their products on the social media sites and develop applications that can be linked to the existing social media features.

With Microsoft touting tight integration between its mobile and desktop OS, can it become a major competitor in the enterprise mobile market?

Microsoft has not been successful in its earlier push to join the booming mobile market, partly due to maintaining focus on the desktop OS.  Because of Microsoft’s size and resources, it will certainly be a competitor in the enterprise mobile market, but its success will be determined by the degree of commitment to transitioning to mobile-based devices.

What can attendees expect from your company at ITEXPO?

On February 1-3, Telinta scheduled live presentations and demos that will focus on our complete and feature-rich Hosted PBX Solution. 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, IP Centrex, and SIP Trunking should visit Telinta’s booth.  We cater to Internet Telephony (News - Alert) Service Providers (ITSPs) ranging from start-ups and Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) to well established Enterprises and Telecom Carriers.

Make one technology prediction for 2012 and consider its impact.

The tablets will become commoditized and become available to people of all income levels in the developed countries, and will quickly spread through the emerging markets.  India is already producing a $35 Android tablet.  While the cheap tablets will not have all the bells and whistles, the new markets will embrace them, furthering the mobile revolution.

To find out more about Telinta, visit the company at ITEXPO East 2012. Happening now at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Fla., ITEXPO is the world’s premier IP communications event. Visit Telinta in booth #622. For more information on ITEXPO registration, click here.

Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO…Follow us on Twitter.

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell