According to market research by analyst firm International Data Corp, there are currently some 32 million key system lines installed in the United States today, the majority of which are more than ten years old, and the majority of those are installed at companies with 5 to 50 users. Why is that important? If you ask David Cork, CEO at Natural Convergence (News - Alert), it is important because it clearly identifies a sizeable target market that is being underserved by telephony service providers.

Natural Convergence is a hosted VoIP solution provider to service providers, but where it says it differs from other hosted solutions vendors is in its belief that “the underlying platform should be the network,” not the application. In other words, Natural Convergence focuses on molding its software to address the needs of specific market segments. Cork’s philosophy is to “build something that is very similar to what people already have, that they are already familiar with, and you have an easier sale.”

He says that, when Natural Convergence was founded five years ago, he saw companies doing just that for the residential and large enterprise spaces, but not for small businesses. In his view, identifying best-of-breed applications for each market segment is a much more effective approach than the “one platform to service all markets approach.”

So, Cork chose the 5 to 50 user market not because of a technology limitation, but because he saw a market that was not only underserved, and also one that was in need of a key system-like hosted VoIP system.

“We set out to replace existing key systems; we built a hosted solution that has all of the core functionality of [existing installed key systems], so it was very familiar to the end users, Cork explained.

The company’s vision was to take a familiar system with its familiar features, add the advantages of VoIP, and focus the modernized solution on small businesses with aging solutions and no in-house IT team.  These, the company believed, were the companies most desperately in need of an easy to install, easy to use VoIP solution that required no in-house personnel.

Explained Cork: “If you go where there is low-hanging fruit, you will find success more quickly.”

To date, Natural Convergence has more than ten thousand customers in five countries using its silhouette platform.

Natural Convergence provides ample features in its platform, including three-way calling, voice mail, and others its customers are used to having. It has, however, not gone so far as to develop features like true unified communications and multi-party conferencing, as it feels those features are best handled through individual left to best-of-breed solutions, which service providers are free to adopt as they see fit.

But, among the features of release 3.0 of silhouette, the one that stands out is its Mobile Twinning capability. With the Natural Convergence solution, each user has a Web page that allows them to configure various options, including identifying a mobile number, to which an incoming call can be “twinned.” When a call comes in to the user’s office phone, the system simultaneously places an outgoing call to the predefined mobile device, creating an increased level of productivity.

In addition, the desktop phone will indicate the user is ‘busy,’ even if the call is answered on the mobile device, and when the user reaches his desk, he can press that line appearance key and automatically transfer the call to the desk phone without the other party realizing it (save for any call quality improvements).

Because the Natural Convergence software resides in the network itself, it is able to place the mobile call without tying up two lines, as a standard IP PBX would require, and it can tear down the call just as easily when transferring to the desk phone. What’s more, because the system actually places an outgoing call to the mobile device, the twinning feature is completely independent of individual mobile carriers.

An added benefit is that users will once again be able to separate their business lives from their personal lives, which, Cork believes is a significant advantage to small businesses. Not do they no longer need to give out mobile numbers, their voice mails will once again be separate — calls dialed to the business number are automatically directed to the business voice mail, even though they ring on both lines.

The twinning feature also accommodates calls being directed to remote offices simply by logging into the system there and enabling the user’s main office extension at the remote location.

As for dual mode phones and true FMC, Cork says that, “Twinning is a simple first step to what will eventually be the dominant way a small business operates.” He adds that, while the single number, single device theory will find its place, he agrees that the small business owner is, at present, trying to avoid the confluence of business and personal communications. He believes it will most certainly work on the consumer level, but on the business side, there is still some rationalization to be done.

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Erik Linask is Associate Editor of INTERNET TELEPHONY. Most recently, he was Managing Editor at Global Custodian, an international securities services publication. To see more of his articles, please visit Erik Linask’s columnist page.