Why did you start Cistera?

Cistera origins are from XBridge Software in 1999, a small independent developer of Network Solutions based around Extensive Markup Language (XML). What we saw back then was that as XML evolved as a glue for client to server and server to server communications there was going to be a growing need to figure out how to manage that environment. If we were to get to truely converged applications, then there was going to be a need for not only tools to implement and manage those environment, but also platforms were components can live in the network. The first product we had was an early model of what we know today as the Cistera Convergence Server.

What were the early days like?

Like all small companies wanting to grow we faced many challenges. This was made doubly difficult with the difficult 2001 to 2004 recession after the Dot Com Boom. We were early in the market to introduce what we now take for granted, the need for a platform to deliver Telephony Applications based on evolving technologies like XML and SIP. Although many companies liked the idea of a single platform for the management of application services for IP Telephony, it took a long time for people to take a chance on a company like Cistera.

What was your Insight?

Our insight as far back as 1999/2000 was that the network was only going to grow in importance for the delivery of core application services to the presentation layer. We saw that innovation had stalled on the desktop and there was growing pushback on the concept of fat client desktops and that people were looking for more flexible and manageable components in the network.

An example if you may is the evolution of the IP PBX. It responsibility is to live in the network and provide dial plan and RTP termination services based around lightweight and flexible protocols called IP and RTP. Today's IP PBX do an excellent job of providing these services as well as arbitrating between gateways and IP devices.

Our insight was that there was going to be a growing opportunity to support application services that work with and complement IP Telephony. We felt strongly that the current approach to CTI based applications, the large emphasis on customer CTI work, the expensive recording and voicemail solutions that we had become used to were not going to make the transition to IP Telephony without a much higher degree of integration with other application services.

Was there one or two things that really stood out?

Yes, there was two things that struck us as fundamental to understand this. One was that there was a feature function gap to fill between traditional TDM and IPT as we move forward. What we did predicate is that that feature-gap was going to spring opportunity to deliver more that what the customer thinks they need. Great examples of this are our presence engines, which are the old Time-of-Day and Do-not-Disturb features, the Event Alerting and Notification solutions, broadcast, land mobile radio, zone controllers. All of these we took the basic feature and turned it on it's head.

The second was what we call the where to from here argument. We felt strongly that in order for IP Telephony to be ultimately successful, we needed a compelling vision for the future. Where communications tools like the phone go through a complete revolution of capability and functionality. Otherwise if all we did was move dial tone from copper wires to packet voice and nothing else, what is the point?

What is next for Cistera?

We have come a long way from customer number one, and have learnt a lot of lessons. Our products are used all over the world, from San Paulo Brazil to Squamish British Columbia. I am proud to say that we have made a unique contribution to moving converged application environments for IPT forward and have solved real world problems in a meaningful way.

Our focus is always looking forward at were the market is going. Our overriding ethos is to continually look for ways to improve people's communication experience, and IP Telephony is just the first step. We have introduced integration solutions to tie Zone Paging systems into the IP Telephony environment, we followed that with Two Way Radio systems for Homeland Security and Public safety. We continue to push the limits on compliance and customer relations management systems. We have only just begun to deliver on converged application solutions and application driven telephony.