Death of a trade show

Telezoo.com plans to put an end to the confusion of buying and selling all telecommunications products. Placing simplicity and education at the top of its list, the company is creating a virtual trade show without the glitz and glamour.

Using information from the vendors themselves, the company is offering a consolidated area where professionals can compare information on almost any telecom product. Ascend Communications, Cabletron, Lucent Technologies, Newbridge Networks and other companies have already signed onto the site that launched March 15.

"We wanted to make the Web site as easy as possible, so engineers, who are always lacking time, don't have to think, so all the information is in front," said Elias Shams, founder and CEO of telezoo.com.

To start the process of simplifying all things telecom, telezoo.com created a database that standardized terms, acronyms and product information from vendors. This standardization was essential to create an environment where telecom professionals can compare products to make informed decisions.

Before, buying a switch might take weeks of collecting information from various vendors and hours of sales meetings, or hiring a consultant to do the work. telezoo.com wants to take the hassle out of the buying process and put all the information in front of the buyer in a standard format. "I built this site out of my frustrations with both buying and selling telecommunications products," said Shams.

The site offers a proprietary search engine that allows users to search for anything from cell phone service in their area to $100,000 switches. Information is formatted into tables that allow side-by-side comparisons of products. With this system, decision-making can be based on comparing raw data on products from the companies.

Vendors with data on the site are responsible for updating information. By having control over their own information, companies can update material quickly without having to worry about sending materials to various areas.

The seemingly anti-marketing approach of giving prospective buyers unfiltered information about products may seem strange, but technical decision-makers are a different kind of sale.

"Engineers are notoriously not taken by glitz and glamour," said Kevin Hayes, vice president of emerging services for Metrocall.

"A lot of high-tech people like to evaluate information themselves, and they will use this," said John Neunan, manager of global accounts for Ascend.

Besides being a good service for technical consumers, the site has the potential to save companies money on advertising, which will benefit other areas, Neunan said. "All of the money that [Ascend] has spent on marketing and hyping products can be put into product development," he said.

The company has also developed a system that allows people looking for entire network solutions to make requests for proposals or requests for information. Users enter the information into a form on the site and the request is sent to companies that can complete the project. Those companies then contact the individuals with proposals.

Customers are able to contact various vendors with their proposals in one shot rather than having to go through the trouble of contacting different sales people or spending money on a consultant. This process might affect the way that consultants work, Neunan said.

"The good technical consultants can leverage this," he said. The individual can do the first round, but the second round is where good consultants make a mark with their knowledge. "It will weed out the marginal consultants," he said.

By putting information directly into the hands of decision-makers, the site cuts the need for a liaison. "If you can get everything you need, why wouldn't you want to do it yourself?" asked Shams.

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