CounterPath just announced a newly acquired U.S. Patent 8,165,576 for "Method and System for Extending Services to Cellular Devices." This enables enterprises to move services such as four-digit extension dialing, ad hoc conferencing, call transfers and other features to mobile smartphones and tablets.
I had the opportunity to speak with Todd Carothers, Senior VP of Marketing & Products at CounterPath.
Since last summer, the Bria iPad Edition Softphone targeted users of iPads, and CounterPath followed through with delivering SMS, IM and presence. This puts them in a unique position when it comes to providing software, and as Todd and I exchanged ideas, I chuckled at their position. I explained to Todd that as an Interconnect, we're used to being in the middle--and as a software company also in the middle, CounterPath is in is very profitable position—and indeed CounterPath has enjoyed a strong and profitable quarter.
But BYOD isn’t the only thing CounterPath is doing. Their Network Convergence Gateway (NCG) connects to the customer IP-PBX or service provider, and extends those services to the enterprise cell devices.
For the service providers, they retain their branding. For CounterPath, they reach numerous markets that can provide extension of services to the SMB and very-small companies that rely on hosted solutions. Presence doesn't have a dominant provider right now: Microsoft has its good fit but so do numerous other companies plus open source. Providers who offer SIP trunking stand to gain a stronger entrenchment of services that will help them with customer retention, and they will be able to keep their costs in check with open source components--unlike Microsoft that is just now beginning to embrace that "cancer."
But there's an ever more important dynamic going on within the industry that enterprise must focus on and be aware of, else they will risk the loss of business, customers and revenue. This is when I really like talking with Todd because he really puts a perspective on mobility and what's taking place within the industry. Todd said that, "Communications is now very spontaneous," and I agree: I know when a customer calls using voice, 3-rings may be now too long for them to wait. Our generation provided an always-on ready to use service we call dial tone. Today's generation uses an always-on ready to use service demanding services immediately. We've learned from recent past that after 3-rings, these customers calling in won't wait and will move on to the next company.
