Insights

Empowering Connection: Industry Leaders “Go Further Together” at the 2024 Somos Summit

Oct 07, 2024

The 2024 Somos Summit in Las Vegas brought together industry leaders, innovators and visionaries to explore the future of telecommunications, fraud prevention and trusted communications. Packed with insightful sessions and engaging discussions, this year's event offered a unique opportunity to dive deep into the latest technologies and strategies shaping the industry.

Gina Perini, our very own CEO, opened the Summit with a powerful keynote, taking the audience through a journey of progress and reflection. She highlighted the milestones achieved since our first gathering ten years ago, while also addressing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

With a theme of “Go Further Together,” Gina began by emphasizing the power of connection. “Thanks to Modern Technology, we can be together at any moment from opposite sides of the globe, and right here today together,” she said. “That brings a level of energy and excitement that can't be matched.”

Looking back on a decade of Somos Summits, Gina reflected on the early days when Toll-Free Numbers were primarily seen as business tools connecting companies with consumers. Since then, the industry has evolved significantly, adapting to new technologies like STIR/SHAKEN, generative AI and machine learning. Gina also noted that the industry’s journey had been marked by both global and cultural shifts, from the pandemic to technological advancements like the first image of a black hole. Yet, despite the rapid changes, Toll-Free Numbers remain indispensable.

Her keynote framed this year’s event as a commitment to pushing the industry further, together. In it, Gina posed three critical questions: Where have we been? Where are we going? And how will we chart the journey together? To answer these, she walked the audience through the evolution of the Somos Summit itself.

From its origins in Orlando in 2015 to a growing recognition of the importance of Toll-Free Numbers in the “conversation economy” in 2018, the Summit has always been about fostering connections. These connections have now expanded beyond the traditional contact center and into a digital world where trust and security are paramount. As Gina pointed out, the rise of the digital economy also brought increased opportunities for fraud, a challenge that the industry has had to confront head-on.

The fight against fraud was a major theme of the keynote. Gina revisited the 2020 Somos Summit, held virtually during the pandemic, where combating telecom fraud took center stage. The ongoing battle against fraud has since intensified, with insights shared by experts across industries, including security, banking and regulatory agencies. A major outcome of this focus was the development of the Trust Framework, which Gina described as a foundational vision for securing phone numbers as trusted digital identifiers.

According to Gina, the Trust Framework is guided by two core principles: trust and transparency. Its goal is to verify the “right-to-use” for phone numbers throughout the call path, ensuring that calls and texts are secure, private and consent-driven. With features like rich call data, users will be able to trust the information displayed on their devices, leading to what Gina described as “handshake-level” trust.

In closing, Gina issued a call to action. She compared the industry’s efforts to the Avengers assembling to defeat Thanos, emphasizing that collaboration is key to unlocking the full potential of phone numbers as digital identifiers. “Together is how we make game-changing connections,” she said, urging the audience to embrace the collaborative spirit of the Somos Summit as they work to build a more secure, trustworthy digital future.

To learn more about the 2024 Somos Summit and to gain access to on-demand recordings, visit www.somos.com/summit