At IDI Billing Solutions, we talk a lot about the “IDI difference” – how our company’s collaborative approach results in higher-quality telecom billing solutions for our clients and a stronger relationship with our customers. It’s an organizational trait that we’re very proud of and is one of the many reasons IDI has become a leading force in our industry.
As much as we trust that our winning company culture and commitment to excellent product development shines through in every facet of our operations, it’s always nice to have that confidence validated – receive positive feedback from the customers we work with and hear that the IDI difference is very much real and leaves a lasting impact. In some cases, that first brush with IDI and CostGuard® created such a strong impression that it changed the course of a few careers. Some of our most valued members of the IDI team were actually CostGuard users in another professional life. By witnessing the functionality of our cloud-based Billing and Operations Support System and the collaborative spirit of IDI firsthand, these three future employees got a taste of what sets our company apart and makes it a truly special organization.
IDI team showcases a positive, welcoming working environment
Although Joe Frediani wasn’t a CostGuard user himself, he had plenty of experience with the platform before coming to IDI. For years, Joe worked for a wireless services provider, which used an application-based POS system for various tasks including retail services, cash management, inventory management and activation of wireless services.
The platform was owned and managed by a company based out of Massachusetts. However, about 15 years ago, IDI acquired that platform provider and integrated its software into CostGuard. As the Director of Franchise Application System at his company, Joe was intimately familiar with the previous application, which meant he got a lot facetime with the IDI team.
Joe worked alongside IDI to offer up ideas on how to improve the platform and build out its features. In fact, Joe held several sessions with IDI’s support team to help train people and get them up to speed.
Joe’s first impression of IDI was a positive one: The staff was very friendly, always open to hearing his ideas and willing to learn. There was no ego here; just people who wanted to make the best product possible and were more than willing to listen to someone with experience using the platform.
Joe’s brush with IDI proved to be serendipitous, because it wasn’t long after that his company closed, giving him the freedom to take his talents elsewhere.
IDI reached out to Joe about taking on a potential position with the company, and he quickly jumped at the opportunity. His past conversations with the IDI team gave Joe a taste of the company culture, and IDI did not disappoint. He was warmly welcomed into the organization and became very close with his co-workers in a short amount of time. Fourteen years on, Joe hasn’t looked back once.
As a Senior Implementation Consultant, Joe works with new customers on the onboarding process as well as any existing customers looking to upgrade their software. Joe and his team provide hands-on support to find the right solution for each situation, even if that means writing custom software.
From his perspective, that customer-focused approach is what truly makes IDI unique. In his former position, he was essentially an IDI customer himself, even if he didn’t use the CostGuard platform on a day-to-day basis. That meant that he dealt directly with the IDI support team on a regular basis, and the way they approached their roles was night and day from other companies – not just helpful, but friendly and outgoing. They were always willing to go the extra mile to make sure problems were solved as quickly as possible.
To this day, IDI still feels like a family business to Joe, with an inclusive, warm and friendly company culture that encourages everyone from every department to come together.
Sydney, Jeff and Joe – making a difference at IDI.CostGuard, IDI impress with reliability, support
Jeff Wilson’s path to IDI was a bit different from Joe’s, but the two do share some similarities. For one, they both had several years of experience prior to joining the IDI team. Two, Jeff was also very impressed with IDI as a company well before he became an employee himself.
Jeff’s experience with CostGuard can be traced all the way back to 1999, when he was working IT at a telecom wholesaler. His company needed a new telecom billing system, and so, being an IT guy, Jeff was very much part of the solution vetting process.
As Jeff recalls, he was very impressed with the presentation given by the IDI team and was equally won over by the performance of the CostGuard platform itself. In short, it did everything his company needed out of its telecom billing software – which was no easy feat, seeing as it had a very complex and specific commission system that needed to be accounted for.
Like Joe, Jeff’s first brush with IDI came at an opportune time. Not long after, his company was bought out by another telecom organization that was interested in moving the business in a different direction. Not wanting to take the risk that the new ownership would keep the old staff around, Jeff began to look for a position with a company he knew, trusted and liked. That company was IDI Billing Solutions.
Jeff had actually attended the very first annual IDI User Conference in 2001 and had the opportunity to see the IDI headquarters first-hand. He really liked the way the IDI employees interacted with each other, and he saw a camaraderie between those team members that was lacking at other companies.
Jeff reached out to IDI and quickly came on board. Today, he serves as IDI’s Senior Database Migration Engineer, helping customers bring their old system into CostGuard.
Through his past experience, Jeff has witnessed firsthand how important telecom billing is to a business’s revenue streams. It’s not hyperbole to say that a company’s livelihood depends on its ability to quickly and accurately generate invoices. If a problem arises, Jeff knows that his team needs to do whatever it takes to resolve it. This is especially true when implementation deadlines are approaching. His team will go the extra mile – working longer hours when needed – to see the job finished.
Sales prospect wowed by IDI’s collaborative culture
Sydney Daly’s past experience with CostGuard differs from both Joe and Jeff’s in one very crucial way: She never actually used it.
Sydney worked in Account Management at her former employer and was brought in close to the 11th hour to provide input on a possible replacement for its telecom billing system. Of the handful of platforms reviewed and vetted, CostGuard came out on top, and Sydney’s group of stakeholders ultimately recommended implementing IDI’s telecom billing software.
Although company stakeholders overlooked that recommendation and went a different route, Sydney’s IDI experience was far from over. During the vetting process, she had a chance to meet members of the IDI team, and really hit it off with them. That interaction stuck in her mind, and when she began looking for new employment opportunities soon after, IDI quickly moved to the top of her employer wish list.
Like Jeff and Joe, Sydney was really won over by IDI’s company culture – without that supportive and collaborative spirit, her job would be a whole lot harder.
Sydney continues to work in Account Management, although at IDI her role is less about making sales, and more focused on maintaining strong relationships with IDI’s enterprise clients. In that capacity, Sydney interfaces with just about every other business unit and department on a regular basis, whether it’s billing, support, engineering or even finance.
There’s a strong spirit of partnership that traces its way through everything that IDI does, and that kind of cross-departmental collaboration is a regular occurrence. Regardless of what task they are faced with, IDI team members always roll up their sleeves and get the job done.
The IDI effect
Three different employees, three very different career experiences. One thing unites Sydney, Jeff and Joe, however – IDI came around at a critical moment in their careers and presented a better way to do business in the telecom world. From painstakingly designed billing solutions to supportive and inclusive working environments, the IDI difference left a lasting impression on each individual.
The decision to join the IDI family was a no-brainer, and even now, years later, it’s become crystal-clear to this trio that they made the right choice. They found the right company with the right culture in IDI.
