Of course the world is waiting with bated breath to see what stunning technological trends will develop in 2011, but 2010 offered up a host of them as well.

Alex Ferdman, CEO of Telinta, noted that the move towards cloud computing was the most poignant shift in the technological world in an interview with Rich Tehrani, CEO of TMC (News - Alert). As an exhibitor in the upcoming ITEXPO East 2011 show in Miami, Telinta is a provider of complete turnkey VoIP switch partition and hosted billing solutions for start-up telecoms.

Ferdman mentioned that Telinta made strides in the social networking arena including launching the VoIP Reseller channel on TMCnet. Check out more of what Ferdman had to say concerning what 2010’s trends mean for 2011 below.

RT: What was the most significant technology trend in 2010 and what impact will it have in 2011?

AF: The paradigm shift away from using the local resources toward cloud computing was the most important technology trend in 2010, and will continue into 2011 and beyond. The ease of access to remote computing sites provided by the Internet allows small companies to forego buying expensive equipment and software.

This is fundamental idea on which we built our business. Telinta is years ahead of this trend, while other companies are just beginning to catch on. We now own and operate the largest hosted PortaSwitch installation in the world, providing a complete and proven out-of-the-box telecom cloud platform together with always-available expert 24/7 technical staff.

RT: What impact will the continued growth of cloud computing have on the communications industry in 2011?

AF: The continued growth of cloud computing will contribute to the expansion of the communications industry, as the increased demand in the developing countries will be met with lower infrastructure startup costs.

RT: Who will be the mobile winners in 2011 out of Google Android (News - Alert), Apple, Microsoft, Nokia and RIM?

AF: Google Android will see the greatest success in 2011. Android is based on the Linux kernel, and its open nature and the absence of restrictions on software publishing have contributed to its rapid spread. 

RT: In what format do you read your news and magazines (i.e., hard copy or digital)?  Why?

AF: I read the news and magazines online. As I spend most of the day in front of the computer, it makes sense to take advantage of easily available quality information.

RT: Are tablets really the future?

AF: I think that while tablets are very popular right now, and will remain popular in the next several years, they are not the devices of the future. As all computation and personal information will be stored in the cloud, and as smart interfaces such as Microsoft (News - Alert) Surface become ubiquitous, people will be able to access all their information and resources from any public location.

RT: How will app stores change the future of computing?

AF: I do not think the app stores will change the nature of computing but will, at best, provide convenient centralized repositories. The restrictive Apple app store, for example, represents a step toward limiting consumer choice and threatening innovation. Applications such as SIP Phone are not available for IPhones. An Android app store, on the other hand, has no such restrictions, and provides a number of SIP Phone applications.

RT: What impact has social media had on how you interact with your customers?  How do you measure its effectiveness?

AF: This year, Telinta launched a VoIP Reseller channel on TMCnet. TMCnet is the leader in the communications and technology media space, boasting more than 10 million unique visitors and 300 million annual page views. The channel is used to disseminate the state of the art in hosted solutions to the telecommunications community.

Taking advantage of TMCnet's industry-specific credibility and expertise in driving customer traffic will distinguish Telinta as the leader with the most reliable, economical, flexible, and secure hosted telecom solutions. We measure the effectiveness of social media visibility by asking our new and potential clients how they found out about Telinta.

RT: How have you leveraged social networking as an internal collaboration tool?

AF: Telinta uses different social networking internal collaboration tools to foster communication among its internationally distributed offices.   All support personnel and management are logged into a common chat channel, used both from work and from home to keep up to date with important developments and brainstorm on quick responses to urgent issues. A company-wide project collaboration tool and wiki allow team members to quickly and easily share ideas and documents.

RT: The FCC (News - Alert) has recently voted to support net neutrality.  Is net neutrality necessary, or will it present more challenges than it will solve?

AF: From both private and business perspective, I am fully in favor of net neutrality as it promotes privacy and encourages innovation and competition.

RT: What will be the greatest technological development in 2011?  Why?

AF: The continuing spread of thin clients, netbooks, and smart phones will have a large impact on business operation. These ubiquitous devices, coupled with advances in cloud computing, will free businesses from large hardware and software investments while presenting them with more opportunities.

RT: Why have you chosen to exhibit at ITEXPO East in Miami? 

AF: ITEXPO is a premier international communications conference, drawing thousands of attendees. Telinta exhibits at both ITEXPO East and West, and we have had great success in attracting new clients, networking, and generating interest in our products.

RT: What is the most important reason attendees should visit your booth at ITEXPO?

AF: ITEXPO attendees should come to our booth because of our proven track record of helping clients achieve profit in real world business, regardless of the state of worldwide economy.  At Telinta, we engineered our processes around our customer’s business needs, so we can provide a better overall interaction and experience than anyone else in the hosted VoIP industry.

We provide a complete and proven out-of-the-box VoIP platform together with always-available expert 24/7 technical staff.   Working with Telinta enables our customers to avoid capital investments while achieving rapid growth and development.

RT: What new and exciting products/solutions can we expect to see from your company in 2011?

AF: In 2011 we are very excited to premier TeliClick, created by Telinta to satisfy customer demands for an advanced, easily configurable, and embeddable Click to Call solution with full PortaBilling integration.

TeliClick eases communication with web site visitors. Visitors with questions will no longer need to search the website for the phone number or a form to fill out and wait. A visitor can simply click the TeliClick button, enter a phone number where they can receive a call and press the ‘Call’ button. TeliClick will immediately call the website visitor back and connect them to a representative.

We have many other projects planned in 2011, including offering customized websites for our clients with online sign-up and web-portal for end users.

To find out more about Telinta, visit the company at ITEXPO East 2011. To be held Feb. 2-4 in Miami, ITEXPO is the world’s premier IP communications event. Visit Smart Network Solutions (News - Alert) in booth #623. Don’t wait. Register now.

Juliana Kenny graduated from the University of Connecticut with a double degree in English and French. After managing a small company for two years, she joined TMC as a Web Editor for TMCnet. Juliana currently focuses on the call center and CRM industries, but she also writes about cloud telephony and network gear including softswitches.

Edited by Juliana Kenny