Tello launches with big-name appeal

After almost two years in stealth mode, Tello, a company with backing from wireless pioneer Craig McCaw, former Apple CEO John Scully, VoIP leader Jeff Pulver and industry banker Michael Price, today officially launched service.

The company’s first two products, Tello Basic and Tello Enterprise, aim to bridge the gap across enterprise boundaries and multiple platforms. Though it requires use of client software, the objective is to bring instant communications and collaboration regardless of location or device.

“You can interact with a partner, a customer or a supplier regardless of what systems they have on their side,” said Doug Renert, CEO of Tello.

At the core of the company is a database directory of contact entries, Renert said. Working in conjunction with a set of rules set up either by individual users or IT administrators, users have the ability to use presence management in a way that previously required significantly more effort. For example, users and see not only if a client is online, but whether they’re on their desktop phone, have their mobile phone or are not accepting messages.

In previous iterations of convergence, it more often focused around one particular vendor’s equipment, Renert said.

“The other trend is acknowledgement of other systems, which leads to open gateways and some integration,” he said. “But it’s left organizations to do the real integration work. We’re all about filling all the gaps. We allow the different silos to be bridged so person A can talk to person B even if they’re on different systems.”

Tello’s go-to-market strategy includes both a partnership model and a direct approach. In its initial launch, the company has signed partnership deals with Avaya, Cisco and Digium. The company is looking to service providers as one potential channel and being careful not to position the service as direct competition.

“We’re really as an extension of their service offering,” Renert said.