2020 Agenda

Join Somos’ President & CEO Gina Perini for the official kick-off of the 2020 Toll-Free User Summit!

In a world that is increasingly dependent on trust in businesses, how can you help stay ahead of the curve and ensure that you are delivering both trust AND innovation? With technology that seems like it’s sped up five years in the last six months, it takes a little something extra to keep from being left behind. In his exciting keynote presentation, Scott will unlock the secrets of digital transformation and trust to help you better understand your consumers, technology and how those habits might change.

2020 could easily be described as the year of the unpredictable. As we face sustained uncertainty around the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, we are continuously seeking answers to the unanswerable: When will the outbreak subside and (eventually) end? What does the “new normal” look like? What do businesses need to do in order to adapt to present needs and, on a more future-focused scale, pivot to long-term priorities? When faced with crisis, it’s essential that we look for opportunity – particularly, the opportunity to embrace what’s essential in the present and what’s critical to ensuring long-term success for the future. In this panel, we will examine how organizations can balance caution, courage, conviction and compassion – and come out ahead at the end of it all. Gina Perini, alongside key innovators and decision makers in our industry, will share their open and honest opinions around where we are, where we’re going and where we ultimately need to be. Key areas of consideration include: How have customer needs evolved? How can we better serve these needs? What can organizations do to better assess, expand and deepen these inherent values? As the saying goes, “the pandemic isn’t over because you’re over it.” In keeping with this adage, the panel will identify potential indicators for success and outline their views of the future of telecom.

With the digital economy’s transformation of the future of telecommunications, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is at the forefront of driving initiatives that help improve and secure our industry. From shaping the future of Toll-Free in a STIR/SHAKEN world to how auctions can be further utilized for number allocation, the FCC continues to position itself as a key driver in the future of Toll-Free and Numbering as a whole. Join Somos’ own foremost public policy and number administration authority, Ann Berkowitz, for an exciting Fireside Chat featuring FCC leaders.

Steve Jobs said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” As innovators in the fight against Toll-Free telecommunications fraud, Somos is leading the charge to protect the integrity of Toll-Free through partner outreach, solutions delivery, continuous process improvement and more. Joel Bernstein, Somos’ VP, Regulatory & Public Policy and Catherine Palcic, Manager, Strategic Industry Relations & Public Policy, will be joined by a panel of industry Fraud Fighters to discuss hot topics related to fraud mitigation including traffic pumping and non-STIR/SHAKEN mitigation solutions.

Connect one-on-one with this year’s keynote speaker, Scott Klososky, in an open chat session! Scott will be available during the hour-long session to answer your questions.

Join Toll-Free Exchange Managing Director and 2019 Somos Toll-Free Industry Trailblazer Award winner Shaun T. Moore for a 2-part conversation about the state of Toll-Free peering and the driving forces behind its evolution(s). In the first conversation, Mr. Moore will be joined by Somos’ very own Sr. Director of Industry Relations & Public Policy, Justen Davis. The two will discuss a variety of forces currently influencing the rapid adoption of Toll-Free Peering; including market drivers, regulatory drivers and technology driven changes of perspective. In the second half of this informal but information rich twenty minutes session, Mr. Moore will be joined by Toll-Free Exchange partner Peter Rank Schroeder, CEO of Telzio and well known customer advocate extraordinaire, Heidi Guetlein, Director of Technical Operations for the Toll-Free Exchange and partner Resp Org, Teliax. The three will chat about a couple of exciting projects and initiatives that are helping to transform the role that the Toll-Free Exchange is playing in the continuing evolution of Toll-Free peering.

Software and systems don’t live in isolation today. The ability to build a platform that is sustainable and that also promotes collaboration and innovation is an art more than a science. Most successful unicorn companies today follow some form of platform business that utilizes the power of the network to succeed; this reinforces the need to have good platforms, which are built on trust. Systems today are part of a multi-faceted ecosystem. The platform business model, also known as a marketplace, can be internal, where the focus is on internal innovation, creativity, and sustainability, or external, where the focus is on collaboration, coopetition, and the network effect. In this session, we take a broad look at the best practices and lessons learned in building sustainable platforms using platform technology. Coming from a technology vendor involved in 1000+ integration projects, this session looks at how to thrive in an ecosystem and will focus on: the economics of platform business models and the network effect, trust-based collaboration and coopetition in systems, types of API-driven ecosystems and marketplaces, and best practices and lessons learned from sustainability in platforms

In today’s highly competitive landscape, earning and maintaining a consumer’s trust is mission critical. For the public telephone network, this is especially relevant as an increasing number of consumers have lost trust in the PSTN and are no longer confident answering incoming calls. In an effort to regain confidence and restore trust, the FCC has mandated that carriers implement the STIR/SHAKEN framework by June 2021. With consumer loyalty and trust at the forefront, and a myriad of competing, available options not far behind, enterprises are left asking: How do I approach obtaining the greatest benefit from STIR/SHAKEN in a way that promotes meaningful customer connections? In this panel led by David Stewart, Somos’ VP, Business Development, leading industry stakeholders will explore what Responsible Organizations and Service Providers can do to help enterprises maximize the value from STIR/SHAKEN and in turn, better serve and retain their customer base.

As much as 2020 has felt like something out of the Matrix, for the Toll-Free industry, even when hard times come, we persevere and keep moving onward and upward. How do we accomplish this? By concentrating on an exceptional customer experience founded on trust and innovation. Join Ryan Karnas, Somos’ Director of Product Management, as he highlights Somos’ key contributions to this effort as well as exciting advancements from 2020. With a focus on digital brand and telephony asset management, this session will show you how, in today’s unknown climate, Somos’ product offerings are delivering trust, authentication enablement and security to consumers.

1800FLOWERS, 1-800-273-8255, 844.HEY.SOMOS…. There are unquestionably digits out there that transcend simply being phone numbers and have become icons in their own right. This is especially true for Toll-Free Numbers. As some of the most easily identified, recognized and acknowledged numbers, Toll-Free Numbers continue to be prized for the value they provide individuals and businesses alike. In this session, Michelle Larsen, Vice President of Customer Engagement & Product Strategy for Somos, will take a more intimate look at what this value means for enterprises. From campaigning for the benefits of business texting to demonstrating how Toll-free Numbers can do almost everything, you’ll see firsthand how, especially in a world turned upside down, Toll-Free Numbers continue to keep us connected and together, at a distance.

During this open chat session, Somos’ CTO, Sri, will be available to talk all things tech! From IoT to attestation and beyond, Sri will be answering all your questions live.

As a go-to application for anyone looking to streamline operations and expedite results, APIs have quickly evolved from futuristic tools for advanced programmers to user-friendly, present-day must-have technology. Looking for faster deployments, less cumbersome integrations and then some? APIs hold the key to successfully taking your systems to the next level! Join us for this interactive workshop where a dream team of SMS/800 TFN Registry development and product management subject matter experts lead attendees in a hands-on Power Session that includes API utilization best practices and a walk through of the most popular and recently deployed API calls.

Caller ID can say a lot about a business – It provides brand identity and a trusted, recognizable name to customers. At a time when consumers are jaded and hesitant to answer calls that they don’t recognize, having a solution that allows businesses names to be displayed for callers can mean the difference between making meaningful, direct connections and having a call go unanswered. In this Power Session, Kathy Stuart, Senior Product Manager at Somos, will provide you with an overview of and training on the only Toll-Free CNAM database solution that is validated against the SMS/800 TFN Registry – TFN Identity. Through powerful use cases, a future-thinking look at TFN Identity’s product roadmap and a demo, Kathy and her subject matter expert peers will show you how you can help deliver Toll-Free Caller ID information to customers.

To maintain trust and drive innovation in a rapidly evolving digital climate, it’s critical that available solutions are flexible, scalable and serve the needs of their customer base. When it comes to getting calls where they need to go AND helping businesses achieve A-level attestation, what solution can enterprises rely on to not only deliver the greatest possible value but also ultimately get customers answering their calls again? The answer is REAL – RealNumber. Join Kyle Belcher, Senior Product Manager for Somos, alongside additional subject matter experts as they illustrate key features, functionality, uses cases and demos of Somos’ newest authentication enablement solution.

We all want the fastest, smartest and most efficient solutions to making business operations – and more importantly, our CUSTOMER’S business operations – the best they can be. In this POWER Session, Sushil Inaganti, Product Manager for Somos, and his product, engineering and public policy subject matter expert peers will demonstrate how Somos’ RouteLink provides the utmost value in call routing flexibility and versatility. Not only does RouteLink consume both IP AND TDM records, it also supports IP peering via a secure, reliable and user-friendly platform.