TalkSwitch

Infobox Company | company_name = TalkSwitch, Inc.
company_
company_type = Private
company_slogan = Answers With Intelligence
foundation = 1990
location_city = Ottawa, Ontario
location_country = Canada
key_people = President and CEO: Jan Scheeren
industry = Telecommunications
products = Telephone systems for small businesses, analog and IP telephones, productivity applications| revenue = profit Private
num_employees = 65 (2007)
homepage = [http://www.talkswitch.com/ www.talkswitch.com] TalkSwitch designs and builds telephone systems for small and multi-location businesses. The company's Private branch exchange (PBX) and hybrid IP-PBX products enable communication over telephone and Voice over IP (VoIP) networks.

Corporate history

TalkSwitch was founded (as Centrepoint Technologies) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 1990 by entrepreneurs Jan Scheeren and Glen Collie. The men recognized that traditional telephone system manufacturers had been largely ignoring the small business market, forcing those companies to settle for scaled down versions of their big business systems, and set out to see if they could do better.

They realized that to adequately meet the needs of the small business a new approach was necessary. Scaling down a phone system intended for a large business wasn’t enough. Small businesses have unique needs requiring a unique solution, so they set out to build a new kind of phone system, from the ground up, specifically to meet those needs.

The company launched the Concero Switchboard in 1997. The Concero was a small PBX with capacity for 2 incoming phone lines and 4 local extensions. It provided automatic fax detection, automated attendants, built-in voicemail and a host of other features that were beneficial to small businesses.

The company built on the success of the Concero Switchboard, and launched the TalkSwitch line in 2000. TalkSwitch systems offered an expanded feature set over what Concero had, and were designed to grow with a user’s business. They were also built on a new software platform that allowed the company to launch its first Voice over IP products in March 2004.

In November 2006, the company introduced its TalkSwitch VS line, which added new expansion and configuration options. For the first time, customers could set local extensions as either analog or IP, establishing TalkSwitch as one of the first truly hybrid systems on the market.

TalkSwitch systems are designed to be easy to use. They are meant to be installed, configured and maintained by the end-user, and they are priced to fit small business budgets. They can be used as standalone devices, or in a network and can combine both traditional telephone lines and VoIP services, using analog and/or IP phones. The company has interoperability partnerships with a number of leading VoIP service providers including [http://www.primus.com Primus] , [http://www.cbeyond.com CBeyond] , [http://www.covad.com Covad] , [http://www.babytel.ca BabyTel] , [http://www.bandtel.com BandTel] , [http://www.bandwidth.com bandwidth.com] , [http://www.proximiti.com Proximiti] , [http://www.broadvoice.com Broadvoice] , [http://www.callserve.com Callserve] , and [http://www.surewest.com SureWest] .

Corporate affairs

The company has its corporate headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario.

Executives

Jan Scheeren is currently the president, and CEO.

Other senior executives include:
*Glen Collie - Vice President, Engineering
* Kim Dixon - Vice President, Marketing

Products and services

TalkSwitch PBX systems are designed for businesses with between 2 and 64 telephone users per office location. Systems are available with a wide range of capacity and configuration options starting as small as 2 lines and 4 extensions. TalkSwitch systems are designed to be networked together, and all come with the ability to set local extensions as either analog or IP, allowing users to customize the systems to fit their specific business needs.

TalkSwitch systems are different from other phone systems. They are designed to be owner-friendly, meaning even a small business person with no technical training can install a system; and vendor-friendly, meaning TalkSwitch resellers can easily bundle TalkSwitch systems with other equipment, and that they don’t need to do expensive truck rolls to support systems they’ve deployed.

TalkSwitch also offers its own line of telephone sets that are designed for easy integration with its phone systems.

TalkSwitch products are distributed through a network of value-added resellers or directly via the company website at [http://www.talkswitch.com www.talkswitch.com] .

Partial list of software products

In April 2007, TalkSwitch introduced its [http://www.talkswitch.com/news/press/talkswitch_ac.aspx Attendant Console] application, the first software application built to augment its line of phone systems. The Attendant Console allows users to monitor and manage calls directly from their PCs, without requiring any additional hardware.

In August 2007 the company then launched its [http://www.talkswitch.com/news/press/call_reporting.aspx Call Reporting Software] , which is used to generate detailed reports on all telephone system activity. Every activity on a TalkSwitch system can be tracked and reported on. Users are able to assign built-in account codes so they can accurately bill clients for telephone charges, and management can monitor the real-time call activity of particular departments.

Major Partners and Resellers

TalkSwitch systems are available directly from TalkSwitch’s e-commerce site, or through a network of resellers and distributors around the globe. Major North American reseller partners include:

*Amazon.com
* [http://www.BestDealTalk.com Best Deal - Talkswitch] - Talkswitch Platinum Partner
*CDW
* [http://www.concertonetworks.com Concerto Networks] - International Authorized Partner, Sales and Custom Installations
* [http://www.crossoverdistribution.com Crossover Distribution]
* [http://www.dandh.com D&H Distributors]
* [http://www.dataphone.com.mx/ Dataphone] - Mexican Distributor
* [http://www.fandis.com.mx/ Fandis S.A. de C.V.] - Mexican Distributor
* [http://www.hellodirect.com Hello Direct / Jabra]
* [http://www.imecotelecom.com Groupe Imeco] - Canadian Distributor
* [http://www.intramation.co.uk Intramation] - United Kingdom Distributor
* [http://www.lan1.com.au/ Lan 1] - Australian Distributor
* [http://www.neobits.com Neobits] - Talkswitch Platinum Partner
*Newegg
* [http://www.powersystemsdirect.com -Power Systems] Talkswitch Platinum Partner
* [http://www.sohobusinessphone.com SOHO Business Phone] Talkswitch Platinum Partner
* [http://www.selkowitz.com Selkowitz Technology] Seattle/Metro Talkswitch Authorized Partner
* [http://www.telsanet.com/ TELSA] - Mexican Distributor
* [http://www.whiteradio.com White Radio] - Canadian Distributor

ee also

[http://support.neobits.com Talkswitch support, forums] - Neobits support site
[http://var.neobits.com Talkswitch reseller site] - Neobits reseller site
[http://www.smbtalk.com SMBTalk reseller site] - SMBTalk reseller site
[http://www.scribd.com/doc/4363067/Talkswitch-Case-Study Talkswitch case study] - Talkswitch case study

References

[http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=f8a22e43-20d4-4688-b3fa-f0c959a1c4ff Reinventing the Telephone to Stay Ahead] - Ottawa Citizen, March 27, 2008

[http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v5/content/subscribe?user_URL=http://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2Fstory%2FLAC.20080402.CACENSOR02%2FTPStory%2F%3Fquery%3DTalkSwitch&ord=104451538&brand=theglobeandmail&force_login=true Web strategies] - Globe and Mail, April 4, 2008

[http://vonmag.com/innovators/innovators-award/the-2008-von-magazine-innovator-awards VON Announces VON Innovator Award winners] - VON Magazine, March 18, 2008

[http://www.azcentral.com/abgnews/articles/0131abg-kehrer0131.html Small Businesses Choose Top Tech Faves] - Arizona Business Gazette, February 1, 2008

[http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/news/news/article.php/3723026 The Absolute Best in Small Business] - Small Business Computing, January 22, 2008

[http://www.podsqod.com/2007/12/05/podsqod-holiday-product-roundup-part-iii/ PodSquad reviews TalkSwitch Telephone Systems] - PodSquad, December 5th, 2007

[http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/290147941888332.php TalkSwitch launches new hardware and software lines] - Ottawa Business Journal, October 26, 2007

[http://internetcommunications.tmcnet.com/topics/broadband-mobile/articles/13034-talkswitch-unveils-new-ip-telephone-handsets-new-hybrid.htm TalkSwitch unveils new IP handsets, systems] - Internet Telephony, October 24, 2007

[http://www.phoneplusmag.com/hotnews/7ah23132014.html TalkSwitch expands hybrid IP PBX offerings] - Phone+ Magazine, October 24, 2007

[http://www.phoneplusmag.com/hotnews/79h7144353.html TalkSwitch, the right move for MaidPro ] - Phone+ Magazine, September 7, 2007

[http://www.voipplanet.com/solutions/article.php/3681046 New hybrid systems for very small businesses] - VoIP Planet, June 1, 2007 [http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2007/041707gearhead.html Hybrid VoIP telephony product review] - Network World, April 17, 2007

[http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Infrastructure/POTS-Reaches-Out-and-Touches-VOIP/ POTS reaches out and touches VoIP - TalkSwitch product review] - eWEEK, February 16, 2007

[http://www.vonmag-digital.com/vonmag/200701/?pg=13 TalkSwitch: VoIP at the Edge of the World] - VON Magazine, January 1, 2007

[http://www.voip-magazine.com/content/view/3058/ Evaluating VoIP Systems, Small Business Edition] - VoIP Magazine, May 26, 2006 [http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/Comm_Network/News.asp?id=39017 Mining Exploration with TalkSwitch] - Communications and Networking, April 11, 2006 [http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/testdrive/article.php/3506276 A Big-Biz phone system for SMBs] - Small Business Computing, May 19, 2005

[http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/22/business/businessspecial/22taub.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1109085581-osxt4TFyppM78hHz4d6v/A&oref=slogin It's like Oz, with you behind the curtain] - New York Times, February 22, 2005

External links

* [http://www.talkswitch.com TalkSwitch website]
* [http://www.talkswitch.com/blog BlogSwitch] - the TalkSwitch's blog page