VoIP Providers Aren’t Innovating–And Neither Is Skype
Sorry, Rich, I disagree with your assertion that Skype is innovating. Certainly, they are doing more than a lot of the PSTN replacement companies, but to me they are bringing a lot of voice 1.0 concepts to the 2.0 world. While it will no doubt be a force to reckon with, I think their usurious charges for the service and (especially) lower limits on charging will be a huge barrier to adoption.
I think the title for eBay for consulting will go to a company called SupportSpace (Disclaimer: I am on their advisory committee). While Skype is providing voice and video on a closed ecosystem, SupportSpace has created a system based on open-source software and open standards for both asking for and providing technical support/consulting services. Furthermore, they are providing a whole ecosystem behind the tools to ensure a quality experience all around. I can’t remember if VoIP was part of their offering, but there’s no reason it couldn’t be. Certainly, SupportSpace will do more to earn their margin (which I don’t remember off-hand) than Skype ever will.
