Since 1984, tens of thousands of telecom and wireless industry professionals have been gathering at the CTIA™ conference and expo to showcase innovative ideas and products, as well as discuss emerging industry trends. This year, our fearless leader Bryan Hertz, CEO of Telcentris, creators of VoxOx, will be presenting a keynote at CTIA partner event, RCS Summit – Enabling OTT-like Services While Preparing for HTML5 and WebRTC.

The summit, which is organized by Informa Telecoms & Media, is a one-day event hosted on May 22, 2013 in conjunction with the CTIA 2013 conference and expo, held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is designed to cover key advancements in the Rich Communication Services (RCS) market as well as offer global operators a sneak preview of cutting-edge RCS products and services that are slated for imminent deployment. VoxOx by Telcentris is a Gold Sponsor of the event.

In his keynote presentation, Hertz will provide an assessment of the RCS and cloud communication markets, highlighting key factors operators must consider to compete with Over-The-Top (OTT) services. He will address the RCS value proposition as it relates to IMS investments, monetization and time-to-market challenges. He will also present the benefits of partnering with OTT communication service developers; specifically, how operators can expedite time-to-market, reduce capital investment, and enhance their subscribers’ user experience. Furthermore, he will cover the merits of cloud communication solutions and the merits of delivering RCS 5.1 and monetizable services that Go Beyond RCS™.

What: RCS Summit – Enabling OTT-like Services While Preparing for HTML5 and WebRTC

Who: Bryan Hertz, CEO of Telcentris, creator of VoxOx

When: 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. on May 22, 2013 (Bryan is speaking at 12:00 p.m.)

Where: Sands Expo & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada — Titian 2306

If you’re going to be at CTIA, this is a must-see!  For more information on how to register to attend, please visit http://www.ctia2013.com/events/eventdetails.cfm/1845.

Natasha Grach is a PR pro by day and singer by night -- when not telling the world about VoxOx, she can be found on stage at some of San Diego’s favorite musical theater venues. She is also a travel junkie. Her favorite countries include Turkey, Israel, Spain, UK, Italy and more! She’ll be using VoxOx Call Connect for SMS on her next trip around the globe.

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Image licensed under creative commons, by flikr user Howdy, I’m H. Michael Karshis

Even though every mom is different, there’s a good bet that your mom really loves to hear from you- probably even more than she loves getting that same old tired #1 Mom bouquet of flowers.

If you’ve ever been on the other end of the question, “So, my child, what’s new?” and felt compelled to answer with “Um, nothing?…same old, same old, I guess,” use this handy list to loosen your tongue this Mother’s Day and give her what she really wants- to talk with her wonderful kiddo. (Yeah, you’ll pretty much always be her “kiddo.”)

1. Your successes

Whether you’re in school, or working hard at a career, or both, nothing gives moms more joy than hearing that her offspring are kicking butt out there in the world. Others might see this as bragging, but mom never would! Sharing your successes with her, and better yet, telling her how she might have contributed in some way, is an awesome gift for Mother’s Day.

2. What you’re struggling with

Just as helpful during times of triumph, moms are there for us when we just need to talk about our toughest conundrums over a mug of soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. Shame there’s no commuications protocol for sending those to a mobile device yet, but mom still wants to hear what’s giving you grief. Moms like to feel helpful, and here’s her time to shine, even when she’s just listening to you vent.

3. How her favorite childhood friend of yours is doing

Even if you’ve mostly lost touch, a quick Facebook stalk of that nice neighbor kid you used to know can provide you with plenty of good fodder for your call with Mom. (Woah! He has 6 kids now and moved to Greenland? Impressive.) Share with mom, she needs gossip for the neighbors.

4. How much you appreciate something she did that shaped your life

Dig deep for this one, as it can be very personal. For me, my mom never tires of hearing how much I love the name she gave me.

See, I’m a woman with a man’s name. And in the technology industry, where international business communication mostly happens through email instead of voice calls due to time zone issues, I’ve been able to keep a pretty low profile about being a female. It’s led to some pretty funny misunderstandings and stories over the years, so I’m sure to keep her up to date with any new ones, with an emphasis on the gift she gave me when she named me.

I’d actually love to hear what you’re thankful for that your mom has done for you in the comments below. Be sure to send a link to mom for extra bonus points!

5. About any recent or upcoming travel

Have you explored somewhere new recently? Or maybe you visited somewhere that has special significance to your mom or your family heritage. Tell her about what you liked best, what she would have liked best, and that you missed her while you were there!

6. Hello, grandkids?!

Let’s face it, if she has grandkids, your mom probably just wants you to get out of her way so she can talk to them! You’re not quite chopped liver, but you’re not exactly the star of the show anymore when you call home. She loves hearing about their escapades and their successes and struggles, possibly even more than your own at this point. Hearing about their lives from them, with their often amazing points of view, is really going to make her day.

7. Most importantly of all, she wants to hear when you’ll call her again!

Sure you felt obligated to call on Mother’s Day, but why not let her know when she can expect to hear from you again? Hot tip: Set a reminder in your phone as soon as you’re done talking, so you don’t forget.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there.

VP of Marketing, Tristan’s specialty is digital and inbound marketing. She’s especially well versed in the VoIP and Unified Communications space, as she was a co-founder of Switchvox, who was ultimately acquired by Digium. Tristan enjoys homebrewing, geeking out about fitness and nutrition, and tends a mean vegetable garden. She brought her expertise to Telcentris in March of 2013.

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image source: Flickr user: liewcf

Remember how revolutionary texting was when it first arrived 20 years ago? Well, with technology, nothing is revolutionary for long.

For many, texting has become the easiest, fastest way to talk to friends and family. But now, OTT (“over-the-top”) messaging apps are gaining momentum like never before.

For the first time ever, chat apps have proven more popular than traditional SMS text messaging. This week, research firm Informa reported that in 2012 nearly 19 billion messages were sent per day on chat apps, while only 17.6 billion messages were sent via traditional SMS texts.

Hard to believe?

Consider this: the proliferation of smart phones in the cellular marketplace has allowed OTT messaging apps (including VoxOx Call), and manufacturer-driven solutions like iMessage to reach scores of new users each month, giving carriers’ old text messaging plans a literal run for their money.

And this is only the beginning.

Informa predicts that by 2014 nearly 50 billion messages will be sent per day using chat apps, compared with 21 billion traditional SMS texts.  The mobile messaging game is changing and carriers must find ways to get ahead or at least keep up. That’s life in the technology fast lane!

For now, SMS is still far ahead in overall user count. Informa expects providers to rake in $120 billion from texting alone this year. But not for long – momentum clearly favors the newcomers, with chat app message output expected to reach nearly 41 billion per day in 2013, which would be double the number of forecasted texts.

The challenge facing carriers now is to create a reliable, attractive user experience that will give subscribers little motivation to take their messaging elsewhere.

So, what camp are you with: Team SMS or Team OTT?  Post your thoughts in the comments below or connect with us on Twitter and Facebook. Oh, and grab VoxOx Call for iPhone while you’re at it and explore for yourself.

Natasha Grach is a PR pro by day and singer by night -- when not telling the world about VoxOx, she can be found on stage at some of San Diego’s favorite musical theater venues. She is also a travel junkie. Her favorite countries include Turkey, Israel, Spain, UK, Italy and more! She’ll be using VoxOx Call Connect for SMS on her next trip around the globe.

follow natasha.grach twitter.com/natashagrach

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Barret Brown Working in the Technical Assistance Center

I’m Tim Schuh, the new Director of Service at VoxOx In Business. I was happy to be given the opportunity to post to tell you about some exciting changes coming to Customer Service, or should I say the Technical Assistance Center.

But first, some quick history. When I came to VoxOx In Business the first thing I noticed was the passion and commitment of the people; from the CEO down through the entire organization. I was impressed and excited to see so many people wanting to give our customers better service and solutions; many working nights and weekends to make it a reality. I also found that entrepreneurial spirit where people wear many hats and get pulled in many directions.

While this works in the start-up phase, we needed to change to meet the demands of our customers, not just for VoxOx In Business, but for the entire organization. It was time to take that passion and commitment and apply best practices and implement a technical assistance delivery solution that will meet or exceed our customer expectations for great technical assistance.

So what’s the plan?

The list of changes below will establish a support structure that is aligned with our business goals. Consistent technical assistance is about finding the right people, developing easy to understand processes and policy, and getting the tools to increase operational efficiency. I believe the changes in structure and approach will help us reach our goals.

We will provide our customers with a technical assistance experience that has a positive impact on their day – we will not just meet their expectations, we will exceed their expectations and “delight” them!  In order to reach this objective, we need to take better advantage of existing skills and technical knowledge, identify areas where new skills and experiences will increase our value, and refine policies and procedures.

Talk is cheap – action is what we need!

• Create a tiered technical assistance structure based on best practices (Tier 1 & 2).  We will improve first contact resolution, reduce customer downtime, and reduce average handle times
• Separate provisioning tasks into non-technical and technical functions.  We will improve customer communications, align with Sales and Sales Support, integrate the LNP process into provisioning, and increase the technical requirements for provisioning.
• Establish a Sales Engineering position reporting to Sales.  We will improve  the “pre-sale technical evaluation” process to establish  customer expectations and base-knowledge, as well as clearly establishing the capabilities of the product suite.
• Develop new data capture and reporting.  We will improve our understanding of our product issues, required enhancements, and demonstrate data-driven needs.
• Improve alignment between LNP functions and provisioning.  We will establish clear criteria to integrate the porting process into the Project Coordinator role.

Change is in the air, and we love it

The service team is excited about the changes and we are looking forward to having a positive impact on your day. For us this is just the beginning. We are committed to constantly searching for ways to improve technical assistance for our customers. The changes above will take some time to complete; we are estimating about 60 days get everything/everybody in place.

The key ingredient is you

We hope you are as excited as we are about the changes. To help guide us along in the process we will be implementing a survey to collect feedback from our channel partners and our customers. We are looking forward to hearing from you and working together to make this a success, and please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any feedback as we implement our new plan- we want the good and the bad.

My entire working life has been about providing customer service. This included multiple industries and many forms of service delivery methods. I bring a balance of industry standards and creativity to find cost saving solutions and service performance improvements.

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Remember how in December of last year, we wrote about growing the team?  Well, we’ve kept our word! Today we announced that our company has nearly doubled its workforce in the first quarter of 2013, expanding operations in San Diego, as well as internationally. We also announced that we’ve added Joe Lawrence of Qualcomm fame as our Chief Marketing Officer, and entrepreneur, Tristan Barnum, as VP of Marketing. Why all the hubbub? Because we’ve recently experienced dramatic growth, generating two and a half times our revenues in 2012 as compared to 2011 in addition to having received $5.3 million in institutional funding.

At the end of last year, we had just over 40 employees. Since then, the company has grown to 70+ employees – a 75 percent increase in a matter of months! Additions were made to the technical staff, sales force and executive team, as well as customer care, marketing, and accounting departments. Twenty-two of these positions were filled in San Diego, one nationally, and five worldwide in Africa, India, Latin America, South Asia and the Middle East. And the good news is that there’s still time to get in on the action because we’re recruiting to fill even more positions in the near-term and planning for a larger expansion by the end of the year.

New CMO Joe Lawrence and VP of Marketing Tristan Barnum are examples of the excellent talent we’ve acquired of late.

Prior to Telcentris, Joe led the marketing and public relations for the CDG, a global industry trade association of 150 companies that led the evolution and growth of CDMA2000^® and LTE. Prior to the CDG, he spent 10 years working at Qualcomm as part of its business development and corporate management team, and was involved in nearly all aspects of the company and helped build its semiconductor and ancillary businesses across the globe. Lawrence was instrumental in expanding the company’s client base from 20 operators in five countries to 240 operators in more than 100 countries. He also spearheaded the launch of DIRECTV in Brazil and 12 Latin American countries.

Tristan, who will be focusing on our digital marketing initiatives, has an impressive resume too! An avid entrepreneur, she co-founded Switchvox, previously known as Four Loop Technologies, in 2003. When Switchvox was acquired by Digium in the fall of 2007 she served as its Director of Product Marketing. Prior to Switchvox, Barnum pioneered the development and delivery of media into emerging markets at MP3.com, which was later purchased by Vivendi Universal Net USA. Her work included the design of new web services, handheld mp3 players, webpads and interactive television. While at Vivendi, she was awarded a patent for designing a system of enabling access to electronic works over a network.

Here’s what our CEO Bryan Hertz has to say about all this:

“As the demand for our cutting-edge cloud telephony and rich communication solutions for consumers, businesses and wholesale customers rises, our need to grow a world-class team intensifies. The team we have assembled so far possesses passion, talent and drive, and we are looking to add more exceptional talent to our group, which will contribute to the growth of the local San Diego economy.”

More details are available in today’s press releases. And if you’re technologically-inclined, check out our careers page and give us a shout if your skills match our current openings.

Natasha Grach is a PR pro by day and singer by night -- when not telling the world about VoxOx, she can be found on stage at some of San Diego’s favorite musical theater venues. She is also a travel junkie. Her favorite countries include Turkey, Israel, Spain, UK, Italy and more! She’ll be using VoxOx Call Connect for SMS on her next trip around the globe.

follow natasha.grach twitter.com/natashagrach

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Remember how recently at Mobile World Congress we launched VoxOx For Operators, a program that empowers operators and other service providers to economically deliver the industry’s most comprehensive suite of Rich Communication Services (RCS) and Over-The-Top (OTT) cloud applications and features to their customers? Well, we thought we’d get a bit more into this topic by talking about what OTT is and why it’s important.

OTT refers to “over-the-top” apps and services, such as VoxOx Call, that you can use over the network of your cellular service provider to make cheaper and free voice calls, send and receive text messages, and other features. Sounds like a good deal, right? Well it is… for consumers!

Image Source: Flickr user Ed Yourdon

When consumers use OTT services over their carrier’s network, the carrier is left out of the equation and not collecting revenue for those calls and texts. Our new VoxOx For Operators Program lets operators get back in the game by enabling them to also deliver the features users love about OTT services, such as free and cheap calling, texting, voicemail transcription, etc. under their own brand. It’s a win-win!

To give you a little more insight into just how big the OTT market is, we put together these stats from across the web…

Now, go share your new-found geek knowledge with your friends… you just might impress them with these stats! Want to download VoxOx or still have questions about OTT? Post your questions and comments in the comments below or connect with us on our social media sites — Twitter and Facebook.

Erica is a VoxOx Blog contributor and social media guru. When she’s not tweeting and chatting with fans on Facebook, you can find her at the beach, reading mystery novels, and BBQing on a sunny afternoon.

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Vacation days are hard to come by, so why waste them on a trip you’re not geeked-out on? While others are racing off to beaches, bungalows and concerts this summer, take a break from the ordinary and go somewhere a little unexpected — a place designed just for geeks!

To help you plan your geek-cation, we’ve rounded up a few of our favorite super geeky vacation ideas. These destinations may not be loaded with beach babes or coconut-flavored adult beverages, but there are a few perks to going out on the geek side —  you’ll always be connected and there will be tons of other gadget junkies just like you! From theme parks, to museums, to techy conventions and annual events, there’s something here for every type of geek.

Here’s a list of our favorite super geeky vacation ideas:

1. Computer History Museum - Mountain View, CA

Dig deep into computer history at the Computer History Museum. With exhibits ranging from “Revolution – The Story of How Computers Came to Be” to “Internet History – Major Milestones”, the geek in you will be in super geeky vacation heaven. While you’re there you might even learn a thing or two about VoIP, the secret sauce behind VoxOx!

Source: Inhabitat.com

2. Usenix Security Symposium – Washington, DC

Are you a techy interested in the latest advancements in computer system and network security? Then you’re in luck because this year’s Usenix Security Symposium is being held August 14–16 in Washington, DC — just in time for summer break! Join the experts and get the lowdown on online security and how to keep your personal information safe!

Source: telegraph.co.uk

3. Mobile Asia Expo - Shanghai

Love your iPhone and your apps? What about mobile VoIP? If you said yes, then your inner geek will love Mobile Asia Expo. Head to the far East this June 26-28 to learn about the latest mobile trends and solutions that will transform our lives today and tomorrow —  it’s where technology and innovation meet!

Source: Chinadaily.com

4. itExpo – Las Vegas, NV

Get a sneak peek at the latest and greatest in communication technology at the itExpo in Las Vegas, August 27-29, 2013. Pack the car and round up your geekiest bunch of friends, because this is a must-see for tech nerds around the world. An awesome perk — Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is keynote speaker!

Source: itexpo.tmcnet.com

5. Angry Birds Land – Finland

Source: thefabweb.com

6. Comic Con International – San Diego, CA

Source: scottsebring.com

Will you be taking one of these super geeky vacations this summer or do you have another nerd-fest already on the calendar? Share your geeky vacation ideas with us and let us know if you think these destinations are techy or just plain tacky by posting in the comments below or on our Facebook page. Happy geek-cation planning!

Erica is a VoxOx Blog contributor and social media guru. When she’s not tweeting and chatting with fans on Facebook, you can find her at the beach, reading mystery novels, and BBQing on a sunny afternoon.

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Think today is going to be just another Monday at the office? Think again! It’s April Fools’ Day, meaning it’s the one day of the year it’s acceptable to prey on the gullible and intentionally set your co-workers up for some unsuspected fun.

VoxOx not only unifies your communications, it can also help you play fun pranks! Give one of your cubicle mates a light-hearted scare by changing your VoxOx outbound caller ID to your boss’ number. Call their cell and leave a silly message or if they pick up, just start singing… but don’t tell them we told you to!

Want some more April Fools’ Day office fun? Here are some of our favorite office pranks:

Sticky note your co-worker’s desk! Source: lolpranks.com

Put your colleague’s stapler, mouse or favorite pen in Jello! Source: businesschalleneges.com

Flip your co-worker’s computer screen for a morning surprise! Source: geekadelphia.com

Make the office coffee pot into a fish bowl! Source: thechive.com

Fill a cubicle with balloons! Source: lolpranks.com

So what type of office prank are you cooking up? Be sure to share your prankster plot with us in the comments below and share your pics with us on Facebook. We hope you have a fun-filled April Fool’s Day!

Erica is a VoxOx Blog contributor and social media guru. When she’s not tweeting and chatting with fans on Facebook, you can find her at the beach, reading mystery novels, and BBQing on a sunny afternoon.

follow ericafayeberry twitter.com/theoriginaleb

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Can you imagine life without instant communications or the ability to call your friends and family whenever you want? As a VoIP provider (VoIP being the secret sauce behind VoxOx), neither can we… but those days once existed — along with carrier pigeons and curly-corded landline phones! Lucky for us, technology and communications services are developing faster than ever, allowing people all around the world to stay connected in ways never before possible.

Source: cell-phones.tradetang.com

Take a look at the stats below to learn just how big of an industry VoIP communications has become and how innovation has made cheaper, faster and more-reliable VoIP service available to people all around the world. You’ll be left wondering how you managed your communications before VoxOx!

• A recent report from market research firm In-Stat estimates the total number of mobile VoIP users will reach 288 million by the end of 2013.  Juniper Research has gone further, suggesting that Mobile VoIP users will reach 1 billion by 2017.
• The United States, Japan, France, South Korea, Germany and China have nearly 80% of the reported global VoIP market share. (Source: Point Topic)
• The number of seats for hosted business VoIP and unified communications services is on track to more than double between 2012 and 2016. (Source: infonetics.com)
• As of June 2012, there were 143.2 million VoIP subscribers globally. (Source: Point Topic)
• VoIP industry value added (the industry’s contribution to the economy) is expected to increase at an annualized rate of 15.3% until 2017. (Source: IBISWorld)
• Infonetics forecasts the combined business and residential and SOHO (small office/home office) VoIP services market to grow to $74.5 billion in 2015.
• As more households opt for no fixed-line voice connection, the number of residential and SOHO VoIP subscribers grew 14% in 2011, to over 178 million worldwide. (Source: infonetics.com)

Are you surprised by any of these numbers or do you have your own predictions for the future of VoIP?  Share your thoughts with us on the VoxOx Facebook page or get in touch Twitter!

Erica is a VoxOx Blog contributor and social media guru. When she’s not tweeting and chatting with fans on Facebook, you can find her at the beach, reading mystery novels, and BBQing on a sunny afternoon.

follow ericafayeberry twitter.com/theoriginaleb

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