Such was the case for VoIPshield Systems, which experienced a slow first half of the year but landed three "reasonably high-profile deals" in early fall that saw the company's products sold to the Canadian government, a U.S. government department and a Korean customer.
"This fall has been the best quarter the company has ever had," says Rick Dalmazzi, a former Silicon Valley CEO who now heads the local developer and marketer of security applications.
"It was the economy coming back to life after a year of being asleep."
One of the main drivers of VoIPshield's business is the level of overall VoIP penetration, particularly in its targeted market of medium and large organizations.
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Mr. Dalmazzi says the technology continued to be accepted at the enterprise level, particularly in the government and financial sectors, as organizations took pilot implementations and rolled them out more widely.
Another key factor influencing sales is the degree of knowledge about various VoIP security vulnerabilities. A high-profile breach would boost security product sales across the sector as regulators mandate new protection requirements.
While Mr. Dalmazzi says there has been an increase in overall awareness, he says there have not been any breakthrough regulations introduced.
"It was a year of hard work for us. It was a year of learning and focusing in on the sectors that appeared to be the early adopters." - Rick Dalmazzi, president and CEO
"We've seen some progress, although I would say that if you talk to chief information or security officers across major corporations, they would say that their focus is still more on traditional networks than VoIP."
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Year founded: 2005
Local head count: 16
Venture capital to date: $8 million
Product: Voice-over-Internet protocol security products
