31 July 2007

Another take on the WebTone "napkin pitch"

We're working on refining the "napkin pitch" for the WebTone, and here's what we've come up with so far:

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The day is coming when every phone and mobile device will be on an IP network. At the same time, every browser will receive and send IP-based phone calls. Phones, browsers, and converged "browser phones" will deliver voice, web, email, video, and related data to users. This new capability, which we call the WebTone, ushers in an era of dramatically increased personal and business productivity.

To capitalize on the promise of the WebTone, M1 Global has spent four years and $15M building StarPound. StarPound is a powerful, flexible, and open source platform for creating communication-enabled business process applications, the foundation of the WebTone. With StarPound, M1 delivers IP phone services and key business applications for collaborative customer service, contact centers, field service, logistics, supply chain management, and more.
M1 is actively seeking partners and entrepreneurs across key industries who recognize opportunities to bring to market converged voice and data services, and vertical-specific applications. These partnerships with M1 Global will deliver IP-based phone services to customers, in effect being their phone company. These vertical phone companies open up new possibilities and deliver much more value to the business than just dial tone. They deliver the WebTone.
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20 July 2007

The WebTone on a napkin

Someone challenged me to frame a "napkin pitch" for the WebTone. Sounds
like a good idea for a blog post, to me.

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Fact: Soon every phone in your customer's office and every mobile device they have in the field will be on an IP network.
Fact: Soon every computer your customer uses will be able to receive and send IP-based phone calls.

Question: When that day arrives, who will be the phone company that delivers these calls to your customer?
Answer: With the power of the WebTone, you could deliver your customer's phone services integrated with your business applications. Providing converged data and phone services together would open new avenues to expand your offering and to improve efficiency and customer service.

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Mobile phones are already doing much more than delivering calls; they deliver voice, web, email, and video. Millions of people are using their browser to talk on the phone. The WebTone goes one step further to deliver converged voice and data services with vertical-specific applications.

The phone companies are already delivering content, and they'll continue to get better at it. Smart money is on delivering converged applications that accomplish key business processes.

In the future, the "phone company" delivering the call will be the player that delivers the phone call with a customer screen pop showing a history of recent interactions. The phone company will integrate field service activities on hand-held browser devices with back-end systems and with automated follow up phone surveys.

With the WebTone, these new vertical phone companies will deliver much more value to the business than just a phone call.