User Community Continues to Grow

By Matt Lowe
December 1, 2015

Last year, I had the privilege of writing the blog after the annual Protector Users Group Meeting (PUGM) and reporting that it was the largest PUGM EVER! While that WAS true, I am thrilled to report that for the second consecutive year we had the largest PUGM EVER! We hosted over thirty attendees from more than twenty different companies covering every segment of the telecom market. Cable companies, ILEC, CLEC, local, regional, and national carriers all had a presence at the PUGM this year.

Last year we moved the meeting from our offices to the Music City Center—Nashville’s premier conference space downtown. This year with even more people attending the meeting, the Music City Center was the only choice to be considered.

We changed things up a little bit by starting the sessions at noon on Monday (11/16) with an optional training session led by Christi Vanoye, our Implementation and Training Coordinator. We had all but three people make the trip early to Nashville for this worthwhile segment of the meeting. Experienced users along with newbies alike acclaim the value of the training, as it allows them to not only hear from Christi how the software can be used, but they can also hear from other users about tips and tricks for preventing fraud losses on their networks as well. Each user could hear fraud prevention strategies from all the different market segments that were represented.

Tuesday and Wednesday provide key insights into how Protector continues to evolve with the ever-changing landscape of telecom fraud. Users comment year after year that the PUGM is truly one of the best places to learn effective strategies for protecting their company’s revenues. Staff from every Equinox department attends the meetings so that users have the opportunity to snag someone to answer questions or just to put that face with the name behind the email.

A highlight from this year’s meeting was the change of venue for the evening mixer. We selected Pinewood Social to host the Tuesday evening dinner event. Attendees had a blast bowling on restored vintage lanes, enjoying some southern cuisine, and getting to better know fellow users and Equinox staff. As you can see by the pictures, everyone had a great time throughout the event!

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One of the great privileges I have during the PUGM is to be in charge of logistics. It may not seem like a monumental task to coordinate transportation to/from the airport, Music City Center, and hotels for three vans and thirty plus attendees; however it does take some planning. I get to drive one of those vans and it gives me an opportunity to engage in a more casual environment. It is in those “off” times between the learning sessions and the business of such a rich schedule packed into only few days that I get to better know many of our users.

There is tremendous value in putting a name with a face and providing an experiential context to each customer. The next time I write an email or help with a project with that customer, I’m not dealing with “So-and-so” at “Customer XYZ.” I’m dealing with Dave, or Leo, or Dana, or Heather—real people who really use our software solutions to save real money for their companies. As our user community continues to grow, so do those connections with all of those very real people. I look forward to the PUGM each year as an opportunity to reconnect with familiar faces but also to get to know new ones. Dan, Ray, Chris, Amy, Nydia, and others who were all new faces this year will be welcomed and renewed acquaintances next year.

“How might I join you for such a clearly awesome and informative event,” you might ask. All Protector customers currently under maintenance are invited free of charge to the event. Equinox covers all event costs including meeting fees, food, and transportation to and from the airport. Attendees simply have to cover travel expenses, hotel accommodations, and incidentals. We’ll be sending out a “Save the Date” announcement to all our customers early in 2016. Will you be a new user who I will meet in 2016?

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