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September 05, 2008
IP Telephony Veteran Brian Ross to Bring Acredo's Hosted VoIP to SMBs
By Michael Dinan, TMCnet Editor
A Panama City, Florida-based hosted VoIP provider is taking on a seasoned industry veteran to help develop channels in the public and private sectors for its new flagship software platform.
Officials at Acredo Technologies, Inc. say that Brian Ross will bolster the company’s expansion into Orlando, bringing 18 years of market experience to the new role of business development manager, including a recent stint in VoIP product sales for Avaya (News - Alert) and Cisco affiliates.
In an interview with TMCnet today, Ross said that his experience in selling the Avaya product line and Cisco (News - Alert) UC500 series door-to-door to small businesses, going to door-to-door to small businesses, learning about their needs and bringing a cost-effective, solid product will serve him well in the new post.
“Hosted solutions are really where a lot of this is going to in the future,” Ross told TMCnet. “I can take that experience and move on. Part of that product line involved using a lot of Avaya handsets, which is what we use with our VoIP Service, so we’ll go and utilize some of the channel partners that are already out there that are already. My job is really to go out and do exactly what the title is: business development. Build channel partner relationships and help direct some of the resources internally, guide them into the right direction for the SMB.”
He’ll do all that under the watchful eye of a familiar boss – his father, Mike Ross, is president and chief executive officer of Acredo. Mike Ross, once designated by TMC (News - Alert) as one of the “Top 100 Voices in IP Communications,” is scheduled to speak about fixed-mobile convergence at 11 a.m. on Sept. 16 during “Messaging and Mobile UC,” one of dozens of presentations offered at the Internet Telephony Conference & Expo in Los Angeles, which runs from Sept. 16 to 18.
Brian – who worked for nine years under his father at Aculab (“Where I basically grew up in the organization as the first sales person hired in the United States,” he says) – enjoys working for his dad.
“A lot of people don’t understand it, but if you have a good working relationship with your family then it works out,” Brian said.
The feeling is mutual, it seems. Here’s what Mike Ross said about Brian: “This announcement brings a very necessary business component to Acredo, as we accelerate the tempo of our roll-out strategy.”
The roll-out of Acredo’s so-called “BASIX” product is already underway. According to Brian, one publicly supported charter school in Florida began using BASIX when its doors opened two weeks ago, and the facility’s IT director is “thrilled.”
“He (the director) is basically specking these into other schools we can do the same,” Ross said. “We’re looking forward to kicking it off. I’m excited about it. The rest of our team is excited about it.”
BASIX offers customers a pay-as-you-go option, as well as what company officials call “simple installation of telephones, immediate remote support, and minimal capital investment.” Acredo’s BASIX Office edition uses VoIP, combined with a high-speed Internet network and fault-tolerant Linux-based application servers, according to the company, while BASIX Mobile, a hosted Internet solution for business professionals, is built around WiFi (News - Alert) capability.
Following his time at Aculab, Brian Ross – who shares a birthday with TMC’s own Michael Genaro – went to PIKA Technologies, where he worked in business development for the Latin America region, having already built and tested boards for Dialogic, also with his father, in the 1980's.
“So I’ve been in the board business, that’s how I really got the infrastructure knowledge over the years,” he said.
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. Today’s featured white paper is The Compelling ROI Benefits of Contact Center Quality and Performance Management Technologies, brought to you by Voice Print International (News - Alert).
Michael Dinan is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering news in the IP communications, call center and customer relationship management industries. To read more of Michael’s articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Michael Dinan
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