Popup Navigation

CUPERTINO, Calif., Feb. 7, 2000 -- A new Silicon Valley startup is developing products to help broadband local-loop carriers better manage, differentiate and profit from their service offerings as they evolve to next-generation converged voice-over-IP (VoIP) and voice-over-ATM (VoATM) networks.

Syndeo Corporation this spring will introduce its Broadband Services System^TM, a family of Class 5 replacement/enhancement telephony applications and a "softswitch" platform for carrier-grade networks that combine voice and data traffic. Customer trials will begin in May.

Syndeo was founded in 1999 by Ted Griggs, president and CEO; Sohail Parekh, director of engineering, and others who had previously formed the founding team of Junction, Inc., a developer of next-generation telecommunications switching infrastructure products that was acquired by Cisco Systems in 1998. Jeff Paine, formerly vice president of marketing at Magellan Network Systems, joined Syndeo last month as vice president of marketing.

Syndeo has raised $5 million in private funding from Redpoint Ventures (formerly Brentwood Venture Capital) and Thomas Weisel Partners. The company has approximately 30 employees.

The name Syndeo comes from the Greek word "syndein," meaning "the shape or manner in which things come together and a connection is made."

Merging the Web and PSTN
Primary markets being targeted by Syndeo are incumbent and competitive local exchange carriers (ILECs and CLECs) -- typically providing digital subscriber line (DSL) services to small and medium-sized businesses and consumers -- and cable broadband local-loop providers.

"Until recently, businesses have gone to Internet service providers or data CLECs for their high-speed data connections, and to separate ILECs for their telephony services," said Griggs. "Syndeo takes a top-down approach to addressing what a CLEC needs to compete with an ILEC in the converged network space. It's more than just a softswitch -- another infrastructure component. On the services side, it's dialtone, Centrex-class features and network-based voice messaging. On the platform side, it's software with no single point of failure, a highly scalable architecture and a broad choice of network components and access devices. Our Broadband Services System is a highly integrated, easily managed solution less costly than any current approach. Syndeo's goal is to let carriers give their business and consumer customers more options, and more ways to customize those options, than ever before."

ISO 9001 Certification Almost Complete
From its inception, Syndeo has been committed to obtaining ISO 9001 certification, which ensures adherence to a model for product design, development, installation and servicing created by the International Organization for Standardization; the certification process is expected to be completed in March. ISO 9001 certification is critical to a company's success in Europe, as it is mandatory for system deployed in most European PTTs, such as British Telecom.

The company is also a member of the Softswitch Consortium, an international organization chartered to coordinate internetworking technology developments pertaining to Internet-based, real-time interactive communications.

Management Background
Syndeo is the fourth company co-founded by Ted Griggs, president and CEO. In 1997 Griggs founded and served as president of Junction, Inc., a telecommunications switch provider that is now part of Cisco Systems. Previously he established The Renaissance Group, Inc., which built a flexible enhanced service platform now being resold by Motorola, Nortel and AG Communications Systems; in 1994 Renaissance was acquired by Precision Systems, which, with Griggs as its chief technology officer, became a Paul Allen company. His first on- line venture, the Internet Gaming Zone, was sold to Microsoft. Griggs, 32, holds a B.A. degree in computer science from the University of California at Berkeley.

Sohail Parekh, director of engineering, was a co-founder of Syndeo and before that of Junction, Inc. An expert in the fields of redundant architectures, fault tolerance and distributed systems, he previously served as technical manager of Precision Systems' Advanced Technologies Group, senior software engineer at Grumman Data systems, and a senior member of technical staff with the Super Computing Center at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Parekh, 37, holds a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Houston.

Jeff Paine, vice president of marketing, came to Syndeo from Magellan Network Systems, a provider of enhanced telecom services platforms, where he was vice president of marketing. Previously he held the same title with Network Tools and Eicon Technology. His networking industry career began with six years at Cisco Systems, which he joined as one of the company's first 100 employees and served as director of corporate marketing. Paine, 49, holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in communications from Brown University and the University of Texas, respectively.

Syndeo Board of Directors
Syndeo's board of directors includes Rob Abelmann, retired CEO of Wind River Systems and currently Chairman/CEO of CyberstateU.com; Griggs; Richard Liebhaber, a director of Qwest Communications; Russell Pillar, president and CEO of CBS Online; and John Walecka, a partner at Redpoint Ventures.

More information can be found at Syndeo's web site, http://www.syndeocorp.com.