I finally had the opportunity to catch up with Fonolo's Shai Berger last week at the VON.x show, and learn what they're all about. Fonolo's "Deep dialing" let's users skip the IVR tree of the companies that they dial in to, and just reach the person they need to reach. A user starts by finding the company he needs on the Fonolo Web site, then visually scans through the phone menu and clicks on the appropriate point. Fonolo will then dial the company, navigate the phone system and call the user’s phone. When the user answers, he will be connected to the desired point in the menu. Furthermore, the user can bookmark this point inside the menu so that in the future, it is only a click away. With Fonolo, users can navigate the call-path options visually, on a computer or mobile device, then click to be connected directly, rather than plodding through the menus step-by-step.
It's like a search engine spider that catalogs the worlds IVR trees, rather than web sites. What a clever idea!
In private beta now (sign up here), they expect to be out later this year.
Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for BlackBerry make Research in Motion. This is his personal blog, with his personal viewpoints. Prior to this Alec was the CEO and co-founder of Calliflower — the easiest way to hold a meeting, online, on a conference call, or on the go. A double-decade veteran of product management and marketing, he spent nine years at Microsoft where he helped launch Windows 95, the first two versions of Internet Explorer, the Universal Plug and Play initiative, the push into home markets, opt-in email marketing and what might well go down in history as the very first direct email list ever.
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Yup, Fonolo is doing some cool stuff, and I reckon the API will see them leapfrog GetHuman. But I think the key is getting this ap mobile like Direct Line for the iPhone.
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