Nichole Berg, director of Marketing Communications at Empirix (News - Alert), recently took the time to speak with me about voice application testing, monitoring solutions, the year that was, and the year that will be.

 

The Bedford, Massachusetts-based Empirix specializes in helping organizations adopt complex communications solutions. Since 1992, Empirix’s Hammer testing and monitoring solutions have helped Network Equipment Manufacturers (NEMs), Service Providers and Enterprise Contact Centers successfully transition to new technologies including Unified Communications (News - Alert) IP Contact Centers, VoIP, NGN, and IMS-based networks.

 

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

2008 was a year of refocus for Empirix   We divested our web testing and monitoring business and refocused our company's resources on our strengths in voice VoIP testing and monitoring for service providers, network equipment manufacturers and contact centers.  And despite these difficult economic times, we have continued to have a strong year in the last 3 - 6 months due to our consistent focus on customer value.

 

What were the key trends that impacted your business?  

Like many in our industry, challenging economic conditions forced us to refine our solutions and value propositions to better meet our customer needs and requirements.  In the Service Provider market, our continued deployment of VoIP and multi-service applications has created new test and monitoring challenges and opportunities for Empirix. In the Enterprise market, the adoption of IP contact center technology has increased our engagements for very complex testing and monitoring, as well as presenting new business opportunities for managed service offerings.

 

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

Our biggest achievement was maintaining and growing our customer base during these challenging economic times.  We continue to lead the market and establish industry standards for both testing and monitoring.  Our renewed focus on our strengths will increasingly pay off for our customers as we continue to provide innovative solutions that meet their business requirements and revenue objectives.

 

What are your customers looking for in the coming year?

Our customers are seeking flexibility and innovative solutions.  It is imperative that our customers continue to provide what their end-users require but at a reduce cost.  Our customers look to Empirix to help ensure the reliability of their telecommunications systems pre and post production because this ultimately reduces repair and service costs.  For example, in our contact center business, we see more customers looking for hosted testing because it helps them reduce capital expenditures which affect the bottom line.

 

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

We have new initiatives in all three business units.  Our voice monitoring business will be rolling out new products and features to address the requirements of some of the largest service providers in the world.  We are enhancing our contact center managed services business to support very complex contact center engagements.  And in our lab test business we will be launching new solutions that go beyond our traditional voice domain. 

 

Do you think a new administration in Washington, D.C. will be good for the communications industry? If so, how? If not, why not?

The Obama administration is very communications savvy which is good for the industry.  I believe the new administration will make equal access to phone and internet service part of their communications plan and will be a catalyst for broader multi-service applications.

 

In your view, please describe the future of your market.

The communications market is very exciting and constantly evolving.  End users have a deep and rich requirement for all types of communications – voice, text, e-mail, video – and more so now with the booming social media communications.  And moreover, they need these communications more than ever over a dynamic, mobile network. Yet, regardless of the communications preference and the access technologies being used, services providers, network equipment manufactures and enterprise contact centers will still require pre deployment testing and post production monitoring to ensure the quality and reliability of those communications.

 

If you had to make one bold prediction for 2009, what would it be?

Red Sox win the World Series