The strongest segment in communications is the IP-PBX (
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Alert) market for small- to medium-sized business, the head of one Montreal-based company that provides next-generation communications software and services told TMCnet in an interview.
Ahmed Aina, CEO of
Dialexia Communications Inc., also told TMC (
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Alert) CEO Rich Tehrani in an interview – printed in full below – that he expects FMC technology to “truly allow people to use only one phone number and be reached everywhere.”
“WiFi (
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Aina, whose company is exhibiting at ITEXPO West 2009, to be held Sept. 1 to 3 in Los Angeles, also talked a little about how this down economy is affecting business.
Dialexia itself is planning to showcase products – such as its enterprise IP-PBX, which can scale from 16 to over 600 stations – during the show.
“Enterprises looking to migrate their traditional phone systems to leading technology and interested in a very rapid ROI should definitely look at our very competitive solution,” Aina said.
Their full exchange follows.
Rich Tehrani: What has the economic crisis taught you, and how has it changed your customers?
Ahmed Aina: The economic crisis has slowed down dramatically the decision process of many companies. All clients are very careful about new investments, even knowing that our solutions would help them save money. Most of the clients have adopted a ‘wait and see’ attitude. On the positive side, the crisis has forced us to re-think our positioning, re-evaluate our strategies and marketing expenses; helping us to rebuild in a more effective way our professional network and business development activities.
RT: How is this down economy affecting your decisions to reinvest in your company or market, if at all? Where will you invest?
AA: Most of our investments are done in the R&D as part of our continuous improvement philosophy. Our plans to expand our investments on the marketing side have been re-adjusted since some of the markets we pursue are not yet responding as we had anticipated.
RT: What’s the strongest segment in the communications industry?
AA: The strongest segment is the IP-PBX for the SME and especially with the FMC (Fixed Mobile Convergence (
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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?
AA: FMC technology will truly allow people to use only one phone number and be reached everywhere. WiFi and other wireless technologies certainly play a large role in this evolution towards a true convergence of fixed and mobile applications.
RT: Which nation or region of the world will present the largest opportunity for your company in 2009/10?
AA: The U.S. market.
AA: The President can help by promoting new technologies to US enterprises markets, encouraging them to accelerate the move towards IP.
RT: What device or devices do you use, and what do you wish you used?
AA: BlackBerry or iPhone.
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?
AA: I believe in all the professional technology.
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.
AA: Dialexia Communications (
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- The enterprise IP-PBX, a very integrated and complete solution that can scale from 16 to over 600 stations. Enterprises looking to migrate their traditional phone systems to leading technology and interested in a very rapid ROI should definitely look at our very competitive solution
- The Award Winning Soft switch that provides true carrier grade quality, that is extremely scalable and that event includes the billing system as part of the base configuration. This solution, thanks to its scalability is ideally suited for ISPs and Tier 2 or Tier 3 service providers. The extremely rapid ROI allows providers to generate additional revenues and high profits in very short time.
- Our latest addition to the portfolio, our Hosted Enterprise Remote Office (Hosted PBX) has been proposed for the Best of Show award. In its base offering, it is one of the most feature reach IP-PBX solutions, allowing service providers to propose very attractive Centrex solutions to enterprises at a very competitive pricing. Like all Dialexia products, it can scale very easily from few users to large installations. It is based on a ‘Pay as you grow’ philosophy that is getting real attention from the market, especially in difficult economic times.
RT: Why should customers choose your company’s solutions? How do they justify the expense to management?
AA: Dialexia’s philosophy is to have a true partnership with its customers. We listen to their needs and keep growing the solutions and customize them as per their requests. Dialexia’s outstanding customer service is also one of the reasons for having very loyal and long standing customers.
Learn more about Dialexia at ITEXPO West — the biggest and most comprehensive IP communications event of the year. ITEXPO West will take place in Los Angeles, Sept. 1 to 3, 2009, featuring three valuable days of exhibits, conferences, and networking opportunities you can’t afford to miss. Visit Dialexia at booth #124 in the exhibit hall. Don’t wait. Register now!
Follow ITEXPO on Twitter: twitter.com/itexpo
Michael Dinan is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering news in the IP communications, call center and customer relationship management industries. To read more of Michael's articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by
Michael Dinan
