It’s no surprise our latest ‘Customer Spotlight’ shines on long-time TeleLink user Dwain Springer…when we re-introduced the TeleLink User Group Meeting (TUGM) in 2018, he was the first registrant and has participated in every TUGM since. He loves the event because he can “bounce ideas against, collaborate with, and discuss perspectives with others. I value not only the Equinox team, but also the other members of the telecom community who have the same system yet a wildly different implementation. No single customer I’ve met at TUGM has the same deployment, needs, or uses for TeleLink, which is a testament to the scalability and flexibility of the platform.”
A bit over 23 years ago, after a career in the US Navy, Dwain started as a switch technician at WorldCom, did stints at a few other IXC telecoms, and landed in engineering at his current company in 2006. As Senior Manager, Cost Analysis, Dwain’s primary responsibility is for the voice network long distance and international call routing regime, managing the vendor relationship, plus monitoring quality of service for the whole company. He also manages the investigation and documentation of Rural Call Completion issues from regulatory, federal, and vendor domains.
Dwain’s been a TeleLink user since 2014. As part of his cost management and LCR administration duties, he’s been heavily involved with the system since 2016. He describes his dependence on the system by saying “TeleLink is the enabler of most decisions I make. While call detail records (CDRs) are not the end-all/be-all for network monitoring, they provide valuable, definitive insight to trends and slow-burning problems that other network tools are unable to address. TeleLink is my primary instrument for all cost analysis evolutions, and it drives virtually all analytics issues. It’s also the platform for discovering new opportunities and projects, giving flesh and body to vague ideas.”
He and his organization rely on TeleLink primarily as an analysis tool. Dwain explains, “TeleLink mediates some records for us; however, we mostly use it for performance and reporting analytics plus its cost management features that apply after call routing decision trees are executed. Since 2016, our cost analytics have moved to within 0.01% of invoiced volumes, primarily due to TeleLink’s influence. Before TeleLink 7, the margin of error was approximately 10% and involved significant manual efforts to clarify and track negative trends and avoidance issues.”
According to Dwain, “Equinox Support is responsive and flexible. We’ve had some pretty odd asks over the years, and they never said, “can’t do that”. Most vendors stay to their established playbooks and scripts and don’t dive deep into problems; it’s quite refreshing to find a support team who owns the opportunity to succeed.”
Born in Blaine, Washington, Dwain moved around the globe with his Air Force family, from the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and several US states. As an adult in the US Navy, he was stationed in Hawaii, South Carolina, Virginia, San Diego, and Washington state aboard various US submarines and shore commands. Dwain and his wife Jeanine reside in Chesterfield, MO, ever since they married in 2010. When he’s not creating or analyzing TeleLink reports, Dwain enjoys competitive sailing, dog rescue, and floating in the pool.
We appreciate Dwain’s enthusiasm for TeleLink, his willingness to present case studies, and his insightful suggestions for future product features. His contributions to the user community are invaluable!
