Thursday, July 12, 2012

Cloud Telephony Pioneer CallFire Surpasses 50,000 User Milestone, Sets Sights on Reshaping Telecom Space

Company Delivers Customizable Software Solutions,

Strong ROI Across Diverse Client Base

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (July 12, 2012) – Signaling an overall shift away from costly hardware in favor of affordable cloud-based voice and text messaging services for the commercial and non-profit sectors, CallFire (www.callfire.com) today announced that it has surpassed 50,000 users.

CallFire simplifies telephony, making sophisticated, expensive carrier-class telecom capabilities available through an easy-to-use GUI and API platform, which the company pioneered in 2007. CallFire powers voice and text messaging applications that enable businesses, government agencies and grassroots organizations to instantly and affordably communicate with key audiences.

CallFire serves clients in a diverse array of industries, from automotive, education and entertainment, to finance, healthcare, marketing and real estate. In particular, CallFire has answered unusually strong demand coming from political campaigns, the insurance sector and emergency notification, CallFire’s cloud-based enterprise Telephony platform has been embraced by such major brands as Sprint, FedEx, Home Depot, Allstate Insurance, Curves, Gold’s Gym, the Boy Scouts of America, and political candidates and issue campaigns from both major parties.

CallFire’s business model focuses on providing complete application solutions to businesses, while its open API enables applications to be customized in virtually any fashion.

“As voice API, voice broadcast and text messaging technology advances and cloud computing becomes increasingly sophisticated, more and more business – across all core market sectors -- are discovering why cloud telephony is the future,” said Dinesh Ravishanker, CEO and co-founder, CallFire. “We’ve added a significant number of new customers in recent months alone, including premier multinational brands, and we’re now helping these companies to achieve their communications goals with unprecedented cost-efficiency.”

Founded in 2007 by Ravishanker and a small group of talented computer science graduates from the University of California, Irvine, the University of Southern California and Harvard University, CallFire has achieved just under $10 million in sales, is profitable and has built that substantial user base -- all without venture funding.

“While our competitors have been chasing telecom rates to zero, we have kept our focus on delivering value in both our software and our services, which supports superior margins while providing customizable solutions via our software and API suite,” he said.

CallFire technology is already playing a prominent role in 2012 political races across the spectrum. The technology packs particular appeal for grassroots political outreach, empowering virtual “armies” of volunteer advocates and voice/text marketers at a fraction of the cost of previous technology support tools. Clients have included MoveOn.org, Rep. Ron Paul’s presidential bid, the Arizona League of Conservation Voters and the 2008 California No on Prop. 8 campaign, among many others that have used the technology to more effectively reach a larger base of target voters with actionable messages in real time.

Using CallFire, anyone with a cell phone and a laptop can become a virtual call center. CallFire technology likewise offers a powerful, cost-effective solution for emergency response and disaster preparedness, enabling authorities to mobilize field communications at a moment’s notice.

An integral part of CallFire’s success lies in its entrepreneurial roots. Company founders, led by Ravishanker, made the strategic choice early on to bypass venture capital. “Choosing to bootstrap over raising Venture Capital has forced us to build a profitable business,” he said. “It may have taken us a bit longer than if we had been venture-backed, but we’re now in position to make major strides in the market, thanks to our healthy balance sheet and profitable business model. CallFire will continue on a strong growth trajectory throughout the remainder of the year, driving revenues for the company as we work to transform the telecom category.”

The company is poised to make two significant and exclusive partnership announcements with enterprise customers later this month.

About CallFire

CallFire simplifies telephony, making sophisticated, expensive carrier class telecom capabilities available through an affordable, easy-to-use GUI and API platform. Any business, from start-up to enterprise, can reach its customers on any device, over voice or text, using CallFire’s massively scalable, cloud telecom platform. CallFire products include Voice API’s, Business Text Messaging, Voice Broadcast, Local Phone Numbers, Call Tracking, IVR, Power Dialing for agents and more. Call analytics enable CallFire’s 50,000 users to reach customers more often using text marketing, virtual numbers, autodialers and mobile messaging. To learn more, visit www.CallFire.com.

Media Contact

Ken Greenberg

Edge Communications, Inc.

(323) 469-3397

ken@edgecommunicationsinc.com