“We empower enterprises to maximize the reach, impact and value of their communications systems by extending their applications to any mobile device”: Tango Networks

“Our services integrate business communications services with mobile phones using the native dialer for a superior user experience.”

We live in an increasingly automated and robotized information society. With their dramatic development, mobile communications and information and communication technologies (ICT) are the key element in this process. In only three decades several generations of mobile communications have been developed.

As companies grow increasingly global and dispersed, with employees working from places other than the office on a regular basis, organizations must deploy technology that supports communications and collaboration for a growing, and changing population of mobile workers. The wireless mobile communication markets are witnessing unprecedented growth fueled by an information explosion and a technology revolution. Mobile communications systems add an important capability to our communications society. 

For mobile devices, companies had been forced to give up control and visibility to external mobile service providers, creating expensive management and regulatory headaches. Douglas Bartek and Andrew Silver decided to address this problem and is why they co-founded Tango Networks over a decade ago. Together Bartek and Silver set out to revolutionize mobile business communications by enabling enterprises to manage and control their mobile communications. 

Product report

First commercial service of Tango Networks was in 2009 through a partnership of Sprint. The service was named Sprint Mobile Integration (SMI) which enabled companies to connect Sprint mobile devices to the enterprise’s communications infrastructure. The uniqueness of the solution is that the user interface was the native phone dialer - not a separate application - so there was no end user learning curve necessary to utilize the service. 

At customer’s service!

Customers and analysts were pleased with The Sprint Mobile Integration because of its unique and innovative approach to addressing the real industry issue of control. The company deals with large customers ranging from US financial trading exchanges to leading Las Vegas casino properties. 

Quantum Leap

• The company has seen a lot over the last ten years and it would be an understatement to say they’ve made a few shifts! Mobile innovation has been transformational to businesses and a primary growth driver. It’s hard to remember a time when the smartphone didn’t exist - but our first launch supported the original flip and featurephones!
• Tango Networks most recently announced the Mobile Customer Engagement Communications solution, which leverages its Kinetic Communications Platform. It seamlessly integrates employees’ mobile communications into enterprise customer relationship management (CRM) and workforce optimization (WFO) systems, keeping mobile calls from being siloed outside the customer engagement process. 

The Kinetic Communication Platform offers:

• Rich UC features on mobile - such as short code dialing, call transfer, conference, call move, and more.
• Identity Management - uses employee’s business identity across both voice calls and messaging on mobile.
• Enable BYOD while maintaining control and compliance - log and record business communications for compliance and quality assurance.

Stumbling block

One of the biggest challenges was knowing when to really go for it!  Strategizing, planning and weighing options are all extremely important when you start a business - but there comes a point when you just have step out on the ledge. 

Tango Networks; in founders words 

People– From generating the far-reaching ideas that lead to new business propositions, to the technical resources that help turn the ideas into reality, to the personal engagements needed to open the right doors to opportunity - people are clearly the most important asset. Our 10-year track record of innovation and evolution is a testament to that spirit and culture at Tango Networks. 

Intellectual Property – Our company has expended significant effort in protecting our ideas, innovations and technology, receiving over 50 patents granted to date. 

Innovative technology – When we started the company, nobody believed that we could convince a mobile service provider to allow us to put software into their network, and furthermore to convince them to let enterprises access their networks to selectively share control.

When push comes to shove

• The biggest market trigger or event which played a key role in shaping our road map was the introduction of the smart phone. This really changed the dynamic of business communications as employees preferred using their mobile phones over their desk phones because of the convenience and overall superior user experience. This mobile-first trend in enterprises introduced new issues to be solved and put an emphasis on end-user experience.
• Then distracted driving suddenly became a worldwide phenomenon, which we incorporated into the Kinetic platform as yet another use case for policy control. Responsible Driver System (RDS) combines distracted driving controls with the other Kinetic policies, opening up another level of customizable and tailored controls for corporations, insurance carriers, governments and even families. 

Sui generis

“Often our technology is coupled with partners in a larger ecosystem to deliver innovative solutions to our enterprise customers. We have partnered with a carrier and another technology firm to provide a solution for distracted driving. This solution is targeted towards insurance companies and their enterprise customers, who facerising costs and rates due to distracted driving incidents,”says the CEO. 

Failte the master spirits  

Douglas J. Bartek, Co-Founder & CEO

Doug is a recognized leader with more than 40 years of industry experience. He has led more than 20 successful sales, acquisitions, mergers, and financings of high-tech firms. Prior to co-founding Tango Networks, he founded and led Microtune, a firm that he took public. Mr. Bartek has an electrical engineering degree from the University of Texas. He has pursued an MBA from Arizona State University.

Andrew Silver, Co-Founder & CTO

A company co-founder, Andrew Silver serves as Tango Networks’ Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Silver is an entrepreneur and business technologist who has held senior management and director roles in large and small wireless companies including Ericsson, Nortel Networks, Comverse and Spatial Wireless. He holds an electrical engineering degree and an MBA from McGill University.

"Our groundbreaking Kinetic Communications Platform provides simple, flexible orchestration of enterprise voice and messaging applications, even in multi-vendor environments.”