What motivated you to start XCastLabs? Can you tell us about the journey?
After the mid-1980s Bell break-up, I created a Washington-based consulting group focused on telecommunications. This experience provided an early insight into the trajectory of what we now call unified communications. Although voice and data still relied on separate networks, more creative product development teams were anticipating a post-analog world. By the end of the 80s, Sprint had launched an all-fiber network and MCI had integrated voice and data on a single platform.
In the mid-1990s, I recruited a team of engineers in Chicago to develop the first voice-recognition-based Personal Assistant. As part of that project, we began exploring broader applications of internet-based systems and SIP-based platforms. XCastLabs’ CTO, Vladimir Smelyansky, was a key architect of those platforms and guided the introduction of the first soft switch into a major carrier network. Vlad re-assembled the most talented members of his team to form XCastLabs in the spring of 2002 and introduced what is now called “SIPTalk IP-PBX.” The first commercial installation occurred in July 2003. By early 2005, hundreds of companies were using XCastLabs’ hosted solutions.
What market gap does XCastLabs fill? How is the company making a difference for its customers?
Our goal has always been to deliver the best-in-class communication services to small and mid-size businesses at an affordable price. XCastLabs serves multiple markets for our “all in one” voice communication needs and has a nationwide and global footprint. Our engineering team built our proprietary network from the ground up based on three basic principles: reliability, flexibility, and scalability.
From the outset, our goal was to provide products that perform at the same—or better—level as the most reliable landline provider. But we also wanted to offer much greater flexibility to this market by allowing our 125 Resellers to white-label our services as their own and build their brand and customer loyalty. This flexibility allows business customers to address a wide range of vertical markets—including markets so diverse as retail chains, restaurants, schools, hospitals, hotels, banks, cable providers, and call centers.
How has XCastLabs advanced VoIP communications?
Because we entered the market before most others, we frequently provided both the know-how and the technology to promote overall growth in the internet infrastructure. Some of the largest brands known today adopted XCastLab’s Session Border Controller while they developed their platform.
What is the XCast Advantage? How does it help differentiate your products from your competitors?
Our high-volume switching capability integrates voicemail, videomail, faxes delivered via email, and voicemail alerts via SMS in a single web application into a single, web application. Also, our highly intelligent STIR/SHAKEN compliant network enables advantageous NPA-NXX, flat-rate pricing, and high-grade carrier services transport.
Because we built our own proprietary network, we don’t have to pay others high licensing fees, and this means we can pass along these savings to customers. Our greatest advantage is probably our reputation. We place a lot of emphasis on service. This means every customer gets a white glove experience and no one needs to sit at the back of the phone. Our 24×7 customer service center is staffed by people who know the customer and care about solving their problems. So, our Resellers and others don’t think of us as just a vendor; they see us as a partner.
How has moving your XCL platform to the cloud helped the company?
Although XCast has lived in the cloud for two decades, we introduced more cloud real estate as part of our next-generation network design during the 2019-2020 period. The new architecture was framed around our private cloud and expanded our network flexibility. This innovation allowed us to accommodate the requirements of both legacy customers who only wanted basic features and those customers who required emerging technology and features. Our new architecture provides better utilization of our surviving hardware and enhanced our scalability while allowing our Reseller customer base more freedom to tailor services for their customer base.
What technology has the company released recently on its platform?
We’ve added several call handling and security features to our platform. Customers have more options to block spam and robocalls, so they only receive the calls they want.
Our CAPTCHA call blocking feature prompts callers to press a digit before being connected. Every time someone successfully completes the CAPTCHA, their number will automatically get added to the customers Contact list. The system remembers their response so they will not be continually presented with that message. Calls that can’t dial a digit will be disconnected.
Also, you can add contacts in advance to your Contact list. This will allow these authorized callers to bypass Captcha. This could be your pharmacy, doctors’ office, or school that sends automated messages that can’t dial Captcha. This feature is available to PBX and Single-line customers.
Additionally, we have a Customer Callback Option. This service will wait on hold for you while keeping your place in a queue. When your call moves to the front of the queue, you will be called back and connected to the first available agent.
Our engineering department has also developed the XCL Phone app. It’s an app that you download to your mobile device and then you can make and receive calls from your PBX account. No setup required. Just login with your PBX account credentials. This product has many functions of a typical VoIP hardware phone but now you can take it with you. This app is available for android devices from the Google Play store. The XCL Phone App for IOS will be released soon.
About Co-Founders
Patricia Mathis is the Co-Founder and Executive Chair at XCastLabs. Pat has been a board member or CEO of several prominent communications companies and a Board member of some major American universities for the last forty years.
Vladimir Smelyansky is the Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer at XCastLabs. Vlad has over 35 years of leadership in the development and deployment of cutting-edge technologies spanning image and voice recognition, real-time networking, telephony, and VoIP.
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