Women in VoIP continues…I told you there are more than a few! Next up is Suzanne Bowen, CEO at Super Technologies, Inc., commonly known as DIDX. Anyone who knows DIDX, instantly knows Suzanne. Suzanne has been involved in VoIP as a hobby since 1995, when she used it as a teacher in her middle school language arts gifted studies class as a learning tool. In 1999, she officially went corporate.
What is it like working as a woman in the VoIP world?
Just a tiny percentage of women are CXOs in the global VoIP world, and I could describe it with my revision of Gandhi’s quote: “at first, they will ignore you, then they may laugh a bit, then they may debate/fight with you, but hey, hang in there and be a winner.” By “win” I mean just have the aplomb to know that “gender,” “size,” “hair color,” “level of technical expertise,” and other characteristics have little to do with success or the lack of it in any industry. On the other hand, I’m inspired by other women in the industry such as Karen Campagna of Cisco’s leadership skills, Brooke Afick of Bezeq’s tenacity, Susana Etcheverry of JetNumbers’ efficiency, and Debbie Grasso of McLeod/Paetec’s out-of-the-box thinking.
How did you become interested/introduced to VoIP?
Experimentation during classes I taught in Century, Fla. and seeing the power that it places in the users’ hands, even in the hands of 11-13 year olds, in the form of a less expensive, super feature-rich, and mash-up inspiring tool. Rehan Ahmed (our CTO and President) and Herman Dewitt (a South African banker) were two of the first to collaborate with me in the research back in 1995.
What are some of your networking/marketing methods?
Let me make a list: blogging, commenting on blogs, press releases, sponsoring and exhibiting at global conferences (See http://www.didx.net/events/), video interviews of current and potential customers, suppliers, and industry-related companies, where it’s all about them, not us…DIDX dinner parties, blogger breakfasts, Facebook, LinkedIn, Oser, TMCnet.com, and the Asterisk community.
How is it working with men in VoIP?
I’m a positive thinker, so let me highlight some really cool guys in the VoIP industry. Jim VanMeggelen, wise think-tanker and president of Core Telecom Innovations and an author of Asterisk, the Future of Telephony; Rehan Ahmed of Super Technologies’ inventive mind; Rich Tehrani, VoIP’s most welcoming enabler and promoter of innovation; Muneeb Iqbal of Super Technologies’ example of excellent mega-multi-tasking with a smile; James Body of Truphone’s gift of speaking and humor; Arfeen Muhammad of Super Technologies’ calm in the face of anything; Philip Mobin of Jaxtr’s ability to inspire those who work for him and with him; and Sergey Okhapkin of Callwithus’s non-nonsense sage ability to solve anything in VoIP in a heartbeat. Wow, there are so many great men in VoIP…so that’s just a start.
What do you see for the future of women in VoIP?
Can I change the question to the future of VoIP because of women’s participation? They tend to know how to “evangelize” upon the actual empowering uses of VoIP without mentioning the term and without all the technical jargon and acronyms. That’s what sells.
