April 2004

In the CEO Spotlight section in Internet Telephony� magazine, we recognize the outstanding work performed by exemplary companies. Each month we bring you the opinions of the heads of companies leading the Internet telephony industry now and helping to shape the future of the industry. This month, we spoke with Anil Reddy, Chief Executive Officer and President of Kancharla Corporation.

IT: What is your Company�s mission?

AR: Kancharla�s mission is to tear down the barriers of entry in terms of technology and capital expense. This allows service providers to take advantage of the demand for hosted VoIP solutions today and to create a more loyal customer base with increased revenues.

IT: What makes Kancharla�s services unique?

AR: Unlike other services, OmniVerse, Kancharla�s hosted platform for providing hosted PBX to SMEs, is an end-to-end solution. Not only does it include the necessary technology, but it is also a suite of services such as productization, sales and marketing training, provisioning templates, and back office. Our solution enables carriers to take the necessary steps to be a successful service provider that can supply SMEs what they really want: A great value proposition and customer service on demand.

IT: What are some of the key technology decisions that you have implemented?

AR: After having been through the difficult times of being one of the first companies to deploy a hosted PBX solution, we have learned a lot about what customers really want. The demand is really for features that allow for more efficient placement of the work force, interconnecting dispersed offices, and feature access for road warriors. To meet these demands Kancharla has implemented a nationwide network with complete QoS. To achieve the QoS we have pushed a lot of our technology to the POPs in the local markets. This not only diversifies our network but also allows for efficient paths to select for routing.

IT: How do your services and technology benefit carriers?

AR: The question facing service providers is �What is more valuable to my company: the technology or the customer base?� If a company values technology, then it must be able to withstand the tremendous hurdles of the time-to-market, resources, and the capital required to deploy. On the other hand if the company values the customer base, then how and where the technology comes from is irrelevant, as long as it is appropriate for the application.

It is on this customer value premise that Kancharla focuses on. OmniVerse is a rapid deployment platform that allows service providers to go to market in less than 30 days. While we place great value on time, it is also important to reduce the capital and human resources required for such an undertaking, therefore our model is success based. This allows the service providers to enter the market with very little capital, while only having to pay for services once the subscribers are online.

Kancharla recently released a bundled approach to the package that allows carriers to purchase our solution without having to go to a third party for DID origination, long distance, and local number portability, further shortening time-to-market and reducing expenditures.

IT: Describe your view on the future of hosted enterprise communications?

AR: SMEs have been the most neglected businesses ever since the inception of communications with regards to both technology and customer service. Hosted solutions are finally going to change that. Not only can they get the same technology and feature set as the �Fortunate 500,� but finally they will have access to the customer service levels that they have always wanted. This is due not only in part to the hosted platforms, but also the service providers deploying such solutions who have created new business models based on the past lessons of operational and capital inefficiencies.

What traditionally involved a truck roll now in the hosted model becomes a matter of a mouse click. What was traditionally an expensive off-premise extension is now a matter of simply reconnecting the phone. What was traditionally an unpredictable bill at the end of the month is now streamlined from one vendor at a fixed price.

It is these factors that drive the customers to hosted solutions, creating great opportunities for service providers.

Contact the editorial director, Greg Galitzine, with comments or questions about INTERNET TELEPHONY�. E-mail (addressed to [email protected]) is always welcome.

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