Technology Reseller - v12 2018

01732 759725 60 Seconds... 42 60 seconds... with Paul Taylor, Sales and Marketing Director, Voiceflex What’s currently having the greatest impact on your business? The biggest impact is change. Voiceflex has been a cloud company since our inception in 2005, and over the years we have seen major changes especially in relation to connectivity, without which you can’t have SIP or hosted. With advances in data connectivity over the last 15 years, voice has become just another application on the network. Voiceflex has always been an innovator and where we lead others follow. Many of our applications and services started as bleeding edge, became leading edge and are now mainstream. It’s our ethos to provide application-based services to enhance our channel partners’ offering and enable them to win more business. Where do you see the next big opportunity? We have a very diverse customer base, so there’s not one single opportunity equally applicable to everyone. However, there are a couple of things we’re really excited about. One is the migration from ISDN to SIP or hosted applications – when BT stops selling new lines in 2020, customers will have no option but to go SIP or hosted. The other is WebRTC. We have already developed a number of simple, easy to use, business-centric applications around WebRTC, which are opening doors and helping us close deals. WebRTC is leading- edge now, but it will be mainstream in a couple of years. What would make your day job easier? I love getting up in the morning and starting work, and never know what will happen during the day or what opportunities and challenges will come my way. The one thing I do know is that technology lets me cope with any eventuality. Online calls, training and collaboration are now fundamental to how we do business and have helped me no end in becoming more productive and, more importantly, spreading ‘the gospel according to SIP’. If you had had a crystal ball, would you have done anything differently? When mobile phones first came on the market in 1987, my Auntie was typing quotes and doing the accounts for a mobile phone company. She told me they were looking for sales guys with a potential equity share. I replied: “No wonder they need to give equity, selling a brick for £1,500 and calls at £1.00 a min. It will never catch on!” My mate, who took the job, sold his shares 10 years later for £1.2 million! Describe your most embarrassing moment. Over a beer, maybe. In print, never. What was your first job? I worked in a commercial laundry as a management trainee, from 16 to 19. It was an experience that taught me skills I will never forget. I then took a job selling internal telephone systems, when combined internal and external systems were only just coming onto the market. What would be your dream job? A ski instructor/guide in the winter. Test driver for Aston Martin in the summer. Money’s not an issue, what’s your perfect car and where would you drive it? Aston Martin. Along the Stelvio Pass, Furka Pass or the Col De La Bonette in France. Fine dining and good wine, or curry and a pint? I like both, depending on how I’m feeling and who I’m with. How do you like to spend your spare time? Playing golf and socialising. Favourite holiday destination? Maldives in the summer. Anywhere in the mountains, skiing, in the winter. Photo by Mohamed Thasneem on Unsplash