TouchWave
Encyclopedia
TouchWave, Inc. was a privately-held Palo Alto, California
IP-telephony network switch provider founded in 1997. TouchWave developed a product line called WebSwitch that was designed to replace traditional private telephone exchange systems in small-to-medium-sized companies. WebSwitch was part of a phone system that incorporates communication features provided by the Internet. The rapid success of TouchWave was memorialized with awards and an acquisition by Ericsson
Communications for $46M two years after TouchWave was founded. Ericsson continued the TouchWave product line under the name WebCom, but its efforts have been viewed as less than successful.
-backed startup company
in Palo Alto, California
, with future entrepreneur Oliver Muoto
as its marketing director. Co-founded by CEO Bo Larsson, Jeff Snider, David F. Wittenkamp, and Jesper Stroe, TouchWave released its first product, WebSwitch, in 1997. WebSwitch, a Web-based phone switch, provided telephony over IP and targeted small to medium sized businesses and branch networks of larger organizations. The WebSwitch was designed to deliver significantly lower costs for communications, ease of management and administration and offered services on a single IP-based network platform. The timing of TouchWave's late 1997 release of its phone switch product matched Level 3
's development of its first softswitch
, a method to connect calls from one phone line to another without a need to use traditional hardware.
TouchWave made significant business and technology advances in 1998 and quickly became a recognized contributor to the VoIP industry. In March 1998, TouchWave received the Best of Show Award at both at the Microsoft Network Telephony Forum and the Computer Telephony Expo (Los Angeles) for its WebSwitch product. In April, Communications Convergence magazine identified TouchWave's WebSwitch as "[hinting] at the future, where voice and data will live together on a single network." In July, TouchWave entered into a partnership agreement with British Telecom, the dominant fixed line telecommunication
s and broadband
Internet
provider in the United Kingdom. The partnership brought TouchWave access to technical recommendations and product feedback from British Telecom to be used to develop WebSwitch. In August, Computer Telephony awarded TouchWave its Editor's Choice Award for the WebSwitch product. In September, TouchWave introduced a new version of WebSwitch. In October 1998, TouchWave entered into an agreement with Telogy Networks to include Telogy's embedded communications software in WebSwitch in order to improve the quality of its sound transmission. By the end of 1998, TouchWave had improved its product line to where it could replace traditional private telephone exchange systems in small-to-medium-sized companies throughout the world.
By early April 1999, TouchWave had upgraded their WebSwitch 1608 local area network distributed phone system to a product called WebSwitch 2000. On April 13, 1999, Swedish
telecommunication company Ericsson
announced that it had purchased TouchWave for $46 million. In exchange for the $46M, TouchWave provided Ericsson with Internet Protocol
centric network products such as business phone and private business exchanges. The acquisition of TouchWave came at a time when multi-billion dollar companies were acquiring other relatively small Internet-connected companies, such as WebLine, Selsius, GeoTel, NBX, Dialogic
, and Summa Four
. Some employees from TouchWave eventually followed serial entrepreneur and former TouchWave president and CEO Samir Lehaff to Adomo, Inc., a provider of voicemail
majordomo
services. TouchWave co-founder Jeff Snider would go on to be vice president of enterprise sales at Ericsson and then a CEO co-founder of Adomo in 1999.
, California, expanded TouchWave's WebSwitch product line with the WebSwitch 100 Phone Gateway and IP Extension Gateway. In January 2003, Business Communications Review magazine stated that Ericsson's acquisition of TouchWave "turned out to be of little consequence." A year later, that same magazine asserted that Ericsson's acquisition of TouchWave had not produced a desired result, writing that it had "borne little fruit."
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
IP-telephony network switch provider founded in 1997. TouchWave developed a product line called WebSwitch that was designed to replace traditional private telephone exchange systems in small-to-medium-sized companies. WebSwitch was part of a phone system that incorporates communication features provided by the Internet. The rapid success of TouchWave was memorialized with awards and an acquisition by Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
Communications for $46M two years after TouchWave was founded. Ericsson continued the TouchWave product line under the name WebCom, but its efforts have been viewed as less than successful.
History
In 1997, TouchWave was a privately-held, ventureVenture
Venture may refer to:* VENTURE NOTC, the Canadian Naval Officer Training Centre based in CFB Esquimalt, British ColumbiaIn automobiles:* Chevrolet Venture, a General Motors Corporation minivan.* VentureOne, a concept car by Venture Vehicles...
-backed startup company
Startup company
A startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
in Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
, with future entrepreneur Oliver Muoto
Oliver Muoto
Oliver Muoto is a Polish-born serial entrepreneur responsible for co-founding several early stage companies including vFlyer , Epicentric and RandomNoise...
as its marketing director. Co-founded by CEO Bo Larsson, Jeff Snider, David F. Wittenkamp, and Jesper Stroe, TouchWave released its first product, WebSwitch, in 1997. WebSwitch, a Web-based phone switch, provided telephony over IP and targeted small to medium sized businesses and branch networks of larger organizations. The WebSwitch was designed to deliver significantly lower costs for communications, ease of management and administration and offered services on a single IP-based network platform. The timing of TouchWave's late 1997 release of its phone switch product matched Level 3
Level 3
Level 3 can refer to:* Level 3 Communications, Internet service provider.* L-3 Communications, communications system company.* Biosafety level, level 3.* Level 3 , Australian television show....
's development of its first softswitch
Softswitch
A softswitch is a central device in a telecommunications network which connects telephone calls from one phone line to another, typically via the internet, entirely by means of software running on a general-purpose computer system...
, a method to connect calls from one phone line to another without a need to use traditional hardware.
TouchWave made significant business and technology advances in 1998 and quickly became a recognized contributor to the VoIP industry. In March 1998, TouchWave received the Best of Show Award at both at the Microsoft Network Telephony Forum and the Computer Telephony Expo (Los Angeles) for its WebSwitch product. In April, Communications Convergence magazine identified TouchWave's WebSwitch as "[hinting] at the future, where voice and data will live together on a single network." In July, TouchWave entered into a partnership agreement with British Telecom, the dominant fixed line telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
s and broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
provider in the United Kingdom. The partnership brought TouchWave access to technical recommendations and product feedback from British Telecom to be used to develop WebSwitch. In August, Computer Telephony awarded TouchWave its Editor's Choice Award for the WebSwitch product. In September, TouchWave introduced a new version of WebSwitch. In October 1998, TouchWave entered into an agreement with Telogy Networks to include Telogy's embedded communications software in WebSwitch in order to improve the quality of its sound transmission. By the end of 1998, TouchWave had improved its product line to where it could replace traditional private telephone exchange systems in small-to-medium-sized companies throughout the world.
By early April 1999, TouchWave had upgraded their WebSwitch 1608 local area network distributed phone system to a product called WebSwitch 2000. On April 13, 1999, Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
telecommunication company Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
announced that it had purchased TouchWave for $46 million. In exchange for the $46M, TouchWave provided Ericsson with Internet Protocol
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
centric network products such as business phone and private business exchanges. The acquisition of TouchWave came at a time when multi-billion dollar companies were acquiring other relatively small Internet-connected companies, such as WebLine, Selsius, GeoTel, NBX, Dialogic
Dialogic
The English terms dialogic and dialogism often refer to the concept used by the Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin in his work of literary theory, The Dialogic Imagination. Bakhtin contrasts the dialogic and the "monologic" work of literature. The dialogic work carries on a continual dialogue...
, and Summa Four
Summa Four
Summa Four was a "dumb switch" telecommunications company based in Manchester, New Hampshire. It was acquired by Cisco Systems on July 28, 1998....
. Some employees from TouchWave eventually followed serial entrepreneur and former TouchWave president and CEO Samir Lehaff to Adomo, Inc., a provider of voicemail
Voicemail
Voicemail is a computer based system that allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice information; and to process transactions relating to individuals, organizations, products and services, using an ordinary telephone...
majordomo
Majordomo (software)
Majordomo is a mailing list manager developed by Brent Chapman of Great Circle Associates. It is written in Perl and works in conjunction with sendmail on UNIX and related operating systems...
services. TouchWave co-founder Jeff Snider would go on to be vice president of enterprise sales at Ericsson and then a CEO co-founder of Adomo in 1999.
WebCom
With Ericsson's 1999 purchase, TouchWave became a subsidiary of Ericsson and was renamed WebCom. In April 2000, Ericsson WebCom, now based in Menlo ParkMenlo Park, California
Menlo Park, California is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; Atherton, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City...
, California, expanded TouchWave's WebSwitch product line with the WebSwitch 100 Phone Gateway and IP Extension Gateway. In January 2003, Business Communications Review magazine stated that Ericsson's acquisition of TouchWave "turned out to be of little consequence." A year later, that same magazine asserted that Ericsson's acquisition of TouchWave had not produced a desired result, writing that it had "borne little fruit."