How to Survive a Recession: Stick to Your Core Strengths

By Mae Kowalke, TMCnet Contributor

What does it take for a business to weather a recession? According to Ernie Wallerstein (News - Alert), president of Zeacom, there is no magic formula, but if there is one, it’s so basic many might overlook it. It’s therefore best to stick to what you’re good at, and focus on being strong, rather than big.

“Before the economic storm, there were a whole bunch of houses on the side of a beach,” said Wallerstein in a recent TMCnet video interview, using his favorite metaphor for surviving in a tough economic climate. “We weren’t the biggest house. During the storm, a bunch of houses were washed away. Our house is looking really great right now.”

Zeacom (News - Alert) is still around because it was firmly planted in a core foundation: unified communications and contact center solutions for small to mid-sized companies. Thanks to doing well what it knows how to do, the company not only survived but also grew its U.S. sales staff.

Looking to the future, Wallerstein predicts more of the same: sticking to its core while, of course, adapting to changes in the market. He sees lots of opportunity in things the company is already doing and has been for a while, such as helping customers in the SMB market overcome the challenges inherent in adopting IP telephony.

“IP telephony is absolutely the future,” Wallerstein said in the video. “It’s a great idea. Most companies are buying IP telephony over traditional voice. But it still takes some work to do.”

A key reason why IP telephony is a challenging investment for SMBs is that, while voice has to work all the time without fail, IP telephony often falls into the purview of the IT department, which is accustomed to working with applications rather than services.

“It is a challenge to handle IP voice in an IT setting,” Wallerstein noted.

This is one area where Zeacom really shines: bridging the gap between applications and voice services. Technology to make that bridge a strong one has really matured in the past 10 years, which definitely helps.

And, while some players in the telephony space (such as traditional PBX providers) are intimidated by Microsoft’s (News - Alert) entry into the market, Wallerstein is optimistic and enthusiastic about new opportunities this development brings.

“This is a great thing for us,” he said. “Microsoft is going to bring even more attention to some of the things we do, like unified communications and contact center.”

Wallerstein predicts that, over time, Microsoft’s impact likely will commoditize some types of UC solutions. That’s why Zeacom is focusing much of its resources on contact center solutions, which are poised for growth as interest in application-driven communications increases.

For more of Wallerstein’s insights about the UC and contact center solutions market, Microsoft’s impact on IP telephony, and what it takes to survive a recession, watch the full video.

(source: http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/call-center-software/articles/131401-how-survive-recession-stick-your-core-strengths.htm)