Company Overview

The vision of BICOM is to be the leader in standards-based enterprise telecommunication enabler technologies over circuit switched and packet switched networks.  The Company enjoys a reputation within the computer telephony marketplace for innovative, well-designed, cost-effective solutions.  This has led to BICOM’s loyal and constantly growing customer base.

History and Overview

Dr. Binal founded BICOM in 1988 to build DSP based enabling technologies for the telecommunications equipment market.  In 1989, BICOM was contracted by Philips Speech Processing (formerly known as Philips Dictation Systems) to design a digital dictation system utilizing BICOM’s DSP technology.  BICOM worked with Philips exclusively until 1994, when the rights to manufacture the digital dictation system were transferred to Philips.  At that time, BICOM took this DSP technology, which it owned the rights to, and converted it to generic voice processing technology.  Originally, BICOM produced PC based voice/fax processing boards for the CTI market.  While this was a viable strategy, BICOM decided the Company could better compete on the basis of cost-effective customization of the voice processing platforms into systems of its’ OEM customers.  The platforms are integrated into products such as PBX and Key Telephone Systems (“KTS”) for use as voice mail/automated attendant and unified messaging system platforms.  This has been a successful strategy for the Company and has enabled BICOM to carve out its own niche as the undisputed leader in this segment that BICOM calls “In-skin systems”.

BICOM has recognized the impending convergence of voice, fax and data technologies and is successfully changing its strategy of being a board supplier to becoming an enabling technology supplier for the enterprise OEM market.  Over the next several years, the voice processing market will converge, allowing voice, fax, email, data and voice over Internet to be available from a network server system.  BICOM can produce the required technology around both the PBX and the network servers that will be used as corporate communication hubs.  In this new market, BICOM’s product will be offered as part of a standard system.  A company’s existing PBX system can easily be updated with the price of a circuit card that supports BICOM DSP and driver technologies.  In addition, the Company is teaming up with the Private Branch Exchange (“PBXs”) manufacturers to integrate the voice, fax and data solutions technology into the PBX at an additional marginal cost so that the PBX Companies can continue to compete in the convergence marketplace.

Products

The Company has been focusing on the OEM, In-skin and embedded integrated platforms business since 1996.  These products are designed specifically for the OEM customers.

BICOM’s Embedded Platform products provide voice, fax and PC functionality. Through licensing agreements with PBX companies, BICOM customizes standard DSP products to fit into the PBX’s and grant manufacturing rights for these products to the PBX companies.  BICOM DSP technology, DOS, LINUX and NT driver technology, and the network interface technologies are all proprietary.  However, by providing standards based interfaces BICOM makes these products available for use by application developers who develop applications based on industry standards.