The New Year is right around the corner and it is time for businesses to reflect on their successes of the past year, as well as look forward to 2009.

I recently had the opportunity to ask Suzanne Bowen, CEO of DIDX, about the Direct Inward Dialing (DID) and DDI numbers space, how the company fared in 2008 and what she expects for 2009.

 

DIDX, a registered and patented service of Super Technologies, Inc, provides an exchange of Direct Inward Dialing (DID) and DDI numbers. The company has created a huge and new vertical market for CLEC, ILEC and local regional telecoms to make revenue from their pool of allocated DDI numbers. DIDX’s new DID/DDI channel on TMCnet has been designed so business looking to leverage DID/DDI numbers can get all the latest trends and industry news.

 

Looking back at 2008, how would you characterize the year for your company?

I asked several industry friends, partners, and clients for their opinions of us this past year. Answers: Straightforward, unpretentious, dedicated, customer and team-centered, mad busy, successful, inspiring, exciting, every second looking for ways to serve better, and lucky!

 

What were the key trends that impacted your business?

Increase in international and wireless markets and more participation by our clients in marketing DIDX. Our clientele whether supplier partner or buyer partner are increasingly from outside of the USA. In 2007, 62 percent were from the North America and 48 percent in 2008. More wireless operators are partnering with us to more easily roll-out their innovative VoIP applications.

 

What was your company's biggest achievement in the past year?

Several hundred of our customers and suppliers joined us at global conferences in Dubai, Hannover, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Nairobi, Paris, and Singapore to help educate and recruit new wholesale telcos and IP communications companies to take part in DIDX. They also blog, write press releases, case studies, add to our knowledge base WIKI, and even volunteer as integrators for new DIDX members. You'll find DIDX videos on Youtube, Viddler, and Qik in Arabic, English, German, Hebrew, Spanish, Swahili, and Urdu, thanks to those wholesale entities that use DIDX. We hope to continue this international trend at ITEXPO, Gitex, Astricon, CommunicAsia, CTIA (News - Alert) Wireless, SUPERCOMM, Mobile Internet World, ISPCON, AsterConference, Cebit, and Capacity Media events.

 

What are your customers looking for in the coming year?

Our customers expect to be educated, engaged, inspired, and collaborated with! Education takes place in face to face media (tradeshows) which continue to grow as much as 11 percent in the USA alone in 2007 despite the "looming global economic crisis." Engagement is via social-oriented business via networking services such as Facebook (News - Alert), Twitter, and Linkedin; and our Make a Wish tool inside every DIDX portal. Inspiration is shared with weekly blogs, case studies and other writing that showcase DIDX members' innovative services and processes. Collaboration is evident in every aspect of DIDXchange (News - Alert) (alias of DIDX).

 

What can we expect to see from your company in the next 12 months?

I can't help but quote Barack Obama, "What we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow." So, what is that? We strive to be empower our clients with more automated tools so that they can use more of their time rolling out their groundbreaking and often very practical converged services rather than in technical support. Time is money.

 

Do you think a new administration in Washington, D.C. will be good for the communications industry? If so, how? If not, why not?
Of course. We need a positive administration that builds on strengths instead of points out weaknesses, that instills responsibility not fear, and that speaks and acts in a way that gains respect globally and domestically. That's a philosophy that we need influencing every industry. Telecommunications in particular… Obama embraces and harnesses effective technologies. The proof is in a simple study of his campaign. Having a USA CTO might be a good idea especially if this person works to upgrade to a consistent level across government agencies the best choice and use of technologies. This person needs to encourage investment in qualified and effective innovations and should not suffocate technology, in our case… telecommunications entrepreneurs with over-government regulation and taxes.

 

In your view, please describe the future of the IP Communications industry and DID?

Very few, whether wholesale, resale, SMB, SME, or consumer, are "wowed" anymore by tastefully placed acronyms and boasts of expensive data facilities and equipment. The future of IP Communications industry is in the hands of converged services such as those from Jaxtr (News - Alert), Sipphone, Nimbuzz, Global Roaming, Tringme, Skype, and the 1000s of new ones you and I have not heard about but will in 2009. The rest of will provide the tools that assist these innovators to slam dunk! We fit that category with DIDX and our hosted and white label VoIP and call forward management tools, empowering 12,XXX now and growing daily. DID is an integral part of reaching all users with one of the most piece of their identity, their phone number. DID, a.ka. DDI, is an inexpensive tool for growing one's market, income and ROI manifold and worldwide. No longer is your backyard your only market.

Consumer and SMB spending will increase in the area of telecommunications services and tools because these are less expensive than physical infrastructure and travel for meeting one's professional, personal and financial goals. For some, "appearance" is what will matter more than ever during the "recession," and that is what will motivate their spending. Anything that is perceived as a status symbol to show one's geekiness, fashion style, intelligence, power, financial status… so if your idea can help make that happen for a business or consumer and you market it well… cha ching. On the other hand, I think we'll see more support for non-profit efforts. Several dozen new DIDX members in the past few months all lead or enable charitable organizations. Very interesting!