Advisors and consultants have an important role to play, by helping organizations evolve the way they communicate in the 21st century. Phound’s Approach At the center of this transformation is Phound, a permission-based carrier that’s redefining communication with a privacy-first platform that grants unprecedented control over digital interactions. At first glance, Phound offers many of the same features that are available in other platforms, such as free video meetings, voice calling and secure messaging. However, Phound is fundamentally different from anything the industry has seen to date. The platform is advancing the concept of a phone number, and equipping it with capabilities that were previously unattainable with the PSTN. “This isn’t just an app or service,” Abramson explained. “It’s a complete transformation of how people interact with their telephone, text messaging, voice calls, conferencing and contact directories – as well as who reaches them and in what way.” In fact, Phound is currently the only communication platform that verifies all incoming connections to ensure they are legitimate. The service authenticates identities by checking for government IDs – a feature Abramson likens to “having a bouncer at your digital door who actually knows who’s who.” In addition, Phound uses AI-powered filters to eliminate phishing, spam and scam calls before they are able to reach the end-user. What’s more, Phound makes it possible to create and manage multiple identities for work, personal and public life. Users have the option to create different versions of themselves, and make interactions more personal. All of this was made possible by teleconferencing pioneers and co-founders Dave Erickson and Eugene Tcipnjatov, who have spent the better part of the last two decades building a global network to support the next era of digital communication. Erickson and his team now have their own infrastructure through CarrierX, interconnection agreements through HDTandem, and HD Voice from HD Carrier. Phound runs on the CarrierX stack, and leverages these additional services to achieve greater speed, quality and flexibility. “What we are seeing is that trust in the PSTN has eroded,” Erickson said. “People don’t trust their caller ID anymore, and they receive a great deal of spam. We are taking a different approach to connectivity and opening new doors for partners and customers. For the first time, we feel that personalizing a telephone number is truly possible.” Channel Opportunities Phound’s channel program, meanwhile, allows partners to not only compete with traditional carriers and white label providers but also sell to them. On the one hand, Phound offers a traditional channel program, which agents can use to elevate their service offerings and help enterprises and SMBs modernize their communications. The program offers flexible engagement opportunities and revenue structures, as well as training and educational resources through Phound Academy. Phound now competes directly with platforms such as Vonage, Zoom and WhatsApp. In March, the company also is launching a new channel offering that will make Phound available as a co-branded solution to mobile virtual network operators, aggregators and enables, (MVNOs, MVNAs and MVNEs); wireless service providers; and international voice providers – providing a new way to take ownership of their application-based users and recapture revenue they are losing from messaging and collaboration tools. “Many traditional providers don’t have a full grip on what’s happening on the application side,” said Phound vice president of sales Brandon Klein, who also serves as vice president of global sales for CarrierX. “Our new partner program makes it possible for carriers to connect their voice networks with the Phound application and offer a product with greater privacy, control and audio quality.” CarrierX also recently launched a new channel program for agents and consultants, offering aggressive commissions and end-to-end support throughout the sales cycle. Partners can leverage CarrierX to offer HD Voice and help businesses reduce costs and improve voice quality. Klein emphasized that both companies are actively seeking new agents, as they look to expand their channel programs. “I’ve been with Dave for 10 years, and one thing that makes his organizations unique and how he does business is that he’s flexible, and he has the ability to bend for customers,” said Klein. “Unlike larger, more structured organizations, every case with us is different. We have the ability to bend for all types of customers, including our partners.” o US Monthly Robocall Volume Source: YouMail Robocall Index Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree Source: Darktrace 6,000,000,000 5,000,000,000 4,000,000,000 3,000,000,000 2,000,000,000 1,000,000,000 Feb-17 Aug-17 Aug-18 Feb-18 Feb-19 Aug-19 Aug-20 Aug-21 Aug-22 Aug-23 Aug-24 Feb-20 Feb-21 Feb-22 Feb-23 Feb-24 AI-powered cyber-threats 26.8% 46.8% 20.7% 10.5% 30.0% 24.8% 34.7% 49.8% 39.9% 54.2% 34.1% ...are already having a significant impact on my organization ...will likely have a significant impact on my organization 1-2 years from now ...will continue to have a significant impact on my organization well into the future ...are not considered by my organization to be a separate issue or risk from non-AI-powered cyber threats 0 20 40 60 80 49 MARCH - APRIL 2025 | CHANNELVISION
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