June 2003

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 interviewed Dr. Donald Brown, founder, president, and CEO of Interactive Intelligence, Inc.

IT: What is your company�s mission?
DB: In 1994 I left a software company that was about to go public -- a company that I had started myself with my own money -- in order to found Interactive Intelligence. I did so because I truly believed there was a revolution coming in business communications and I wanted to be a part of it.

That revolution -- taking shape in the form of an open, software-based communications platform that has rendered the proprietary PBX dead -- is what this company is founded on and continues to be the driving force behind our growth.

IT: Please characterize your vision for Interactive Intelligence.
DB: My vision for Interactive Intelligence is to remain a leading global developer of software for IP telephony, contact center automation and unified communications.

IT: Describe some of the key decisions that you have made as CEO to navigate your company through the recent turbulence of the financial markets.
DB: Despite pressure over the last couple of years to cut costs in all areas of operations, Interactive Intelligence has remained committed to R&D. We spend, on average, nearly one-third of all revenue on R&D, and will continue to commit significant resources to the development of innovative software.

IT: What are some of the key technology decisions that you have implemented to make certain Interactive Intelligence maintains its position in the market?
DB: First, we chose to base our product on a totally revolutionary architecture. Unlike our competitors who�ve bolted on third-party applications from other vendors in order to provide a �complete� solution, we built our core applications as a single product. As a result, our customers enjoy reduced costs, simplified administration and increased ease-of-flexibility.

We are always looking ahead to find new ways of improving our software. Most recently, we released a first-of-its-kind product that incorporates SIP, while providing built-in media control. This software finally gives customers the option of migrating to VoIP without adding more hardware devices to the network and without investing in additional proprietary technology.

IT: What makes Interactive Intelligence�s services unique?
DB: Our people. Despite our growth, we remain accessible to customers and have developed a culture that further enhances that accessibility. This culture includes an emphasis on creativity, independence, quality, and trust.

We have been told many times by customers how important it was that they were able to call me directly with a problem or suggestion, and how satisfying the result when they actually saw their suggestion get incorporated into a new software version.

IT: What is the most pressing issue facing the IP telephony industry today, and what can be done to alleviate problems such as this?
DB: The biggest problem is eliminating the expense of gateway devices that are required to translate between IP and legacy TDM voice formats. Once voice traffic is natively IP-based with IP voice connections coming straight from the telco, IP telephony will truly take off.

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