Vocalocity

Vocalocity
Business VoIP Provider
Headquarters Atlanta, US
Key people
 Marc P. Lefar; CEO
David T. Pearson; CFO
Louis Mamakos; CTO
Services Hosted PBX
Number of employees
 250
Parent Vonage (acquired in 2013)
Website http://www.vonagebusiness.com/

Vocalocity was a business Voice Over IP company, providing hosted PBX. The company specialized in micro enterprise companies of fewer than 20 employees. The company was acquired in 2013 by Vonage and is now called Vonage Business Solutions.

Company Overview

Vocalocity was a provider of small business Voice over IP (or VoIP) phone services, primarily targeted to hosted PBX for small businesses. Vocalocity specifically serves the small and medium-sized business market.

In 2009, Vocalocity announced that it had raised $4.1 million in Series B financing. TechOperators, an Atlanta-based venture capital firm, was the lead investor in this second round of funding, with participation from existing investors Noro-Moseley Partners, Pittco Capital Partners, Imlay Partners and members of the Vocalocity management team. With the new funding, the company announced that new features would be added, the apps platform would be extended, and that the new funding would help accelerate the growth of the company, according to the company press release. In 2009 it was also announced that the company planned to roll out a complementary suite of apps over the following months to provide "extended hosted IT infrastructure capabilities."[1]

Product Releases

In 2010, the company released Company Call Recording, a feature that enables companies to set rules to record all incoming calls for training and compliance purposes.[2] It also rolled out its Virtual Receptionist, Click to Dial and Mask Caller ID features and deployed a series of new Quick Start Guides for end-users.

In 2011, Vocalocity released Paging Groups which give businesses the ability to make network-wide or group-specific announcement as well as Vocalocity Desktop, an application designed to power free plug-ins including LinkedIn, Google and caller locator as well as subscription-based plug-ins including Microsoft Dynamics [3] and Microsoft Outlook. The following month, the company deployed its smartphone applications for iPhone and Android devices. The free mobile apps allow Vocalocity customers to access voicemail, change settings, and make calls to appear as though they are calling from their office number.[4]

To accompany its new line of products, Vocalocity repacked and redesigned its Customer Support Portal in late 2011. This online support resource enabled customers to access help documentation, open support tickets, and check on the status of existing tickets.

Awards and Recognition

In March 2008, Vocalocity was named as one of the top five virtual PBX providers in the market.[5] In 2011 and 2012, Vocalocity was recognized on Deloitte's Tech Fast 500[6] and was recognized on the Inc. 5000,[7] an annual ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America in both 2011 and 2012. In 2010, Vocalocity was also recognized on the Inc. 500 for its position as the 254th fastest-growing company in America. The VoIP provider has also earned three consecutive TMC Product of the Year awards, is a WhichVoIP Preferred Provider,[8] and holds an “A” rating with the Better Business Bureau.

History

In 2003, The Voice Portal in Siemens' OpenScape was powered by Vocalocity’s VoiceXML Browser, enabling telephone access to e-mail, voice mail, contact lists, calendars, workgroups, documents and more.[9]

In 2006, ZivVa Holdings LLC, a company providing hosted telecom services for small businesses, purchased Vocalocity in a reverse merger, renaming itself as Vocalocity, Inc.[10] ZivVa was founded by Boris Jerkunica and Phil Hill, who previously were the co-founders of NetZIP, a download technology.[11]

In 2011, Vocalocity merged with fellow hosted VoIP provider Aptela to create a combined company with over 100,000 network endpoints and over 15,000 accounts.

As of 2012 Vocalocity's CEO, Wain Kellum, stated the company currently had close to 225 employees and is growing rapidly.[12]

Vonage acquired Vocalocity on November 18, 2013, and renamed the company Vonage Business Solutions.[13]

Technology

Vocalocity is a hosted virtual PBX. Vocalocity’s technology attempts to optimize the relocation to open telephony platforms by minimizing the development and integration of VoiceXML, CCXML, SIP and other evolving standards.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Vocalocity Secures $4.1 Million in New Funding" (Press release). Marketwire. January 28, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
  2. ↑ Mala, Deepika. "Vocalocity Introduces Company Call Recording Service". TMC Net. TMC Net. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  3. ↑ "Vocalocity Announces Desktop Integration with Microsoft Dynamics". IP Telephony. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  4. ↑ "Vocalocity Customers Can Now Manage Their Business Communications System From iPhone and Android Devices". 10 November 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  5. ↑ Vercillo, Kathryn (March 16, 2008). "Virtual PBX Puts a Professional Spin on VoIP". PC World. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
  6. ↑ Armstrong, Julie. "Led by Vocalocity, 8 Georgia Companies Make Deloitte’s 2011 Technology Fast 500". City Biz List Atlanta. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  7. ↑ "Vocalocity - Atlanta, GA - The Inc.5000". Inc. Magazine Online. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  8. ↑ "Vocalocity - WhichvoIP preferred provider award". WhichVoIP.com. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  9. ↑ "Siemens HiPath OpenScape Voice Portal" (Press release).
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "ZivVa Announces Agreement to Acquire Vocalocity" (Press release). VoIP News. June 26, 2006. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
  11. ↑ http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/netzip
  12. ↑ Exclusive Interview with Wain Kellum, CEO of Vocalocity. (Interview). GetVoip. February 18, 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  13. ↑ "Vonage Holdings Corp. Completes Acquisition of Vocalocity, Inc." (Press release). Vocalocity. November 18, 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-21.

External links