Chamber Insider Spotlight: Syniverse
We sat down with Florida Chamber Board Member Andrew Davies CEO of Syniverse for an industry conversation.
What is one thing Floridians may not know about your industry?
First, thank you for allowing us to share more with the members about Syniverse, “the world’s most connected company”®. We are proud to be part of the Florida Chamber of Commerce and appreciate the opportunity to share more about Syniverse and our industry.
For members that may not recognize our name, Syniverse is the company that keeps devices, data, and messages flowing seamlessly and securely around the globe, whether we are serving a Mobile Network Operator: like AT&T or Verizon, or a major enterprise: like a global financial institution, retailer, or hotel. At our core, we are both a network company and a software company, in which our two superior competencies work in tandem. Syniverse powers the connected world and the digital economy by connecting over 8 billion devices to the mobile ecosystem allowing those devices to roam the globe securely and without interruption, across different providers, network types, and locations. To put that into perspective, by connecting these 8 billion devices we move over 3.3 exabits of data annually over our IPX network, which is more than 10,000 times the data stored in the entire library of Congress.
So, what does that all mean, what do we do and how does it relate to you? When you turn your phone on in another country and it automatically connects to the local provider; or receive a code from your bank for a secure log-in; or perhaps you are traveling and get an alert for a gate change or a reservation confirmation, Syniverse is there…making it possible for you to get the information you need.
From an industry perspective, we’d offer that communications technology is ever evolving. Our job is to stay at the forefront. Syniverse – since our founding in 1987 – has been a major innovator for the industry. We were there in the early stages of 1G mobile networks – and today we’re helping to drive the transformation to 5G. We’ve been a leader in roaming technologies – ensuring end-users can connect whenever, wherever. Our innovations have also changed lives and improved the communities we live in, such as developing the platform to distribute wireless AMBER Alerts. The list could go on. The constant, however, is that this industry is ALWAYS evolving to help drive intelligent connections and we are leading the way.
We proudly have a long history in Florida, based in Tampa, since our founding as a GTE company. Today, we’re global – operating out of nine central offices, but we also, like many in our industry and others, are working to support the “new normal” of hybrid work environments. That said, we believe the talent pool is rich in Florida, and that as a communications technology business headquartered here, we want to continue to grow our local team and believe we can do so successfully.
What are one opportunity and one challenge that your industry is facing?
We want to play a key role in helping to transform multiple industries for the benefit and greater good of Florida. Transportation and logistics are great examples. As many know, there’s an effort to make Jacksonville one of the largest ports in the world. We can play a critical role in this endeavor – think about the Internet of Things (IoT) and our ability to intelligently and securely connect devices and disparate networks anywhere in the world. The use case may be an IoT sensor tracking a container anywhere in the world on its way to Jacksonville, or it may be enabling an autonomous vehicle to move off a private network onto a public network and back again. These complex use cases are not easy to solve, but this is an area where Syniverse can jump in and have a positive impact on communications technology, businesses, and our communities.
With the cessation of COVID severity and international travel and logistics services booming, technology providers are rapidly trying to catch up with demand especially in areas where there was under investment during COVID. A challenge to our industry right now is hiring the right talent with skills sets in the latest technologies to develop and deploy the solutions needed by their customers.
What is one way we can unite to help grow your industry in Florida?
Talent, talent, talent. We need to encourage and foster the opportunities for STEM in our elementary, middle and upper, and collegiate classes. Developing strong business acumen, understanding of global markets, and building technology skills – these are all attributes that will greatly enrich not just Syniverse, but also reinforce the realization that Florida is a market that can serve as a global hub to foster technological innovation.
We need to build a robust talent base, attracting high-quality individuals. Together, as a community, I’m certain we can.