COMET News - April 2014

Omnia360 is a holistic, pre-integrated customer relationship management and billing solution created specifically for rural and independent communications service providers. "Omnia360 is the result of years of research and design, focused on improving business operations and providing end-to-end BSS/OSS capabilities that address the specific needs of our customer base,” said Gary Knee, CHR’s new Executive VP of Software Solutions.

Pipeline recently met with CHR at Comptel Plus in Las Vegas to discuss the company’s growth and the challenges facing Tier 2 and Tier 3 telcos. Simply put, the hundreds of telcos that serve smaller communities must evolve and innovate. If they don’t, these companies will become irrelevant and rust in the dirt they once cultivated, like an old horse-drawn plow that has been replaced by mechanized agricultural equipment.

Some of these telcos are forward-thinking and want to run with the ball, while others are content to retire on their profits. Perhaps the largest number, however, fall somewhere in between. CHR offers numerous solutions for service providers in all camps, from its specially designed support platform, Omnia 360, to a variety of managed services, to full-scale hosting and white label service delivery.

GRM Networks is a prime example of a regional telco that embraces innovation. “GRM Networks invested in its future, and are clearly committed to long-term growth and success,” said Gary Knee. I asked CHR what makes GRM stand out from the crowd, and they pointed to leadership. “It’s [GRM Networks General Manager] Ron--he really gets it,” said Kevin Kutcher, VP Marketing, CHR.  

Omnia 360 is in trials with four additional customers, and interest level is high, according to CHR. The company’s biggest focus now is on the middle layer of customers—mid-sized telcos who haven’t decided if they’ll evolve or cash out. Gary Knee brings a contagious enthusiasm to the table, and deftly articulates the value proposition of Omnia 360, so I expect we will be hearing a lot more by the end of the year.

CHR is also making headway in managed and cloud services. In recent months, the company has “doubled the number of cloud services” it offers, said Allen Lepke, Managed Services Product Manager, and is preparing to expand with additional services such as Unified Communications and Collaboration and Hosted PBX.