Connecting with appropriate customers in a meaningful way is a challenge for many companies. In the communications technology space, a combination of marketing and networking techniques typically are needed to achieve success. Trade shows are part of this portfolio.

 

TMCnet caught up with Warren Sonnen, director of product management at Epygi, to get his perspective on the value of attending an event like the recent INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXO in L.A. Sonnen said the show was a big success for Epygi (News - Alert), giving it visibility in the VoIP solutions market.

 

Epygi’s line of VoIP gateways and IP PBXs are designed specifically with the small to mid-sized business (SMB) in mind: companies with 200 or fewer employees. Recently Epygi has branched out a bit on the upper end of the SMB market, with its QuadroM32x IP PBX (News - Alert) that can support up to 192 extensions.

 

Read on for more details on the new IP PBX, and perspective from Sonnen on the VoIP solutions market generally.

 

WS: Due to the ITEXPO's well-respected reputation between enterprises, government agencies, small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs), resellers, buyers and distributors, the conference was invaluable to Epygi Technologies. Not only were we able to showcase our new products, the Quadro6L and the QuadroM32x, but Epygi was able to connect face-to-face with our reseller, distributor and customer base. In large, the show provided Epygi with visibility in the VoIP market.

 

WS: Epygi wanted to convey that our IP PBXs, gateways and conference servers offer SMBs and enterprises affordable and feature-rich solutions to their telephony needs. The conference allowed us to show resellers how our products can make their businesses more profitable but also still gives them a true IP solution to offer to their customers.

 

WS: We were very excited to spend time with representatives from Polycom (News - Alert), our newest partner. On Monday, September 15, 2008, Epygi received Polycom VIP Program certification for interoperability with Polycom VoIP phones. Epygi also had the opportunity to rekindle some past relationships. Our partners are vital to Epygi's overall success, and we continue to invest a large amount of time with our strategic partners.

 

WS: Although not a surprise, there was a huge demand for VoIP telephone systems for customers with 200 or fewer employees. With the introduction of the QuadroM32x, resellers and customers alike have begun positioning Epygi into many small Enterprise customers, which has proven to be a truly reliable and cost effective alternative to open source.

 

WS: As discussed in the above answer, the VoIP solution is becoming more mainstream, thus the demand from smaller businesses is increasing. They are looking for feature-rich products that fit into their budget. No longer are VoIP solutions affordable only for the large enterprise companies. Smaller customers are starting to better understand the feature benefits the large companies have had for years and are now demanding the same features. This is one of Epygi’s primary focuses and is able to quickly provide all those features.

WS: Our products are built with our own programming, which differentiates us from our competitors who use open source programming. Additionally, our products are competitively priced against our competitors, while still containing all of the features that are included in the larger companies' products.

 

WS: We were honored to be awarded the Best SMB Solution. By having our own booth, it really brought a lot of credibility to our product and gave us a great opportunity to network with customers, resellers and distributors.