A quick Google of the acronym “TSI” can turn up at least 10 different companies, all using the same three letters to sell wildly differing products and services. However, Googling the word “Syniverse” turns up only one company-Syniverse Technologies Inc.
“It’s like an alphabet soup,” said Michael O’Brien, Syniverse’s vice president of marketing. Syniverse is the new name for TSI Telecommunication Services Inc., a move company executives hope will help it stand out from the crowd.
“It’s an attempt to communicate more clearly what we do and where we want to take the company,” O’Brien said.
What is now called Syniverse started in 1987 as a business unit of GTE called GTE Telecommunication Services Inc. (GTE TSI). The company in 2000 became TSI Telecommunications Services Inc., a subsidiary of Verizon Information Services Inc. In 2002, the company underwent another change when GTCR Golder Rauner completed the acquisition of TSI and turned it into an independent, private corporation with public debt. Last week, TSI announced it latest transformation-Syniverse.
“We’re a technology company providing products and services back to primarily the telecom industry-but not necessarily,” O’Brien said. Thus, the T in TSI was misleading as Syniverse deals with companies above and beyond those in the telecommunications market.
With the help of a New York advertising firm, Syniverse executives pared down 2,000 name suggestions to one. Syniverse evolved from the combination of “synergy” and “universe,” and represents the company’s renewed focus on international expansion-with an emphasis on the European market.
“We continue to bring together synergy and the universe,” said Ed Evans, Syniverse’s chief executive officer.
Syniverse sells a range of technologies, and counts more than 300 carrier customers in 30 countries. In its network services portfolio, the company offers various SS7 signaling and roaming services. Syniverse’s clearing and settlement technologies ensure billing, roaming and messaging interoperability, and its call-processing offerings support authentication, fraud detection and subscriber verification. And Syniverse’s wireless local number portability services have scored it contracts with five of the six top U.S. wireless carriers.
“We’re very proud of our success” in WLNP, Evans said.
Now, Syniverse is looking to expand its horizons and score international customers. Today, about 10 percent of the company’s $331 million in annual revenues come from international carriers, but Syniverse is looking to increase that number. The company counts China Unicom as a clearing and settlement customer in Asia Pacific, as well as several South and Central American carriers, but Europe is now the company’s primary target.
“Our focus for where we’re trying to be aggressive is Europe,” O’Brien said.
Already, Syniverse in January acquired London-based Softwright Solutions Ltd. and thereby scored Orange plc, Vodafone Group plc, American Express and others as customers. Softwright sold number portability services throughout Europe, and gives Syniverse a toehold in the market. Further, Syniverse announced a deal with Belgacom for international signaling and text-messaging interoperability.
But most importantly, Evans said Syniverse is testing its clearing and settlement technology with two major European wireless carriers, and expects to announce deals soon.
“We’d like to see an expanded presence in Europe,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien said Syniverse is well positioned to clean up in the European market thanks to its experience with both European and American signaling technologies. Further, the company offers a range of Wi-Fi roaming services, and O’Brien said European carriers are moving rapidly to embrace wireless local area networks. Nevertheless, Syniverse faces a range of competitors from InphoMatch Inc. on the messaging side to EDS and Luxembourg-based Mach on the clearing and settlement front.
However, O’Brien explained that the key to Syniverse’s success is complexity. The more complex networks and technology become, the more opportunities Syniverse will uncover. And the rapid evolution of the wireless industry virtually ensures complexity.
