Independent technology advisor · Utah
Your phones should be answering, summarizing and routing calls by now.
Most businesses still pay for a phone system that rings and takes voicemail. I compare the AI-ready options side by side, including the cost to switch, and the provider you choose pays my fee.
Sound familiar?
Four problems I hear on almost every first call
Calls go to voicemail after hours
Callers who reach voicemail often try the next company on the list.
Nobody knows what was promised
Follow-ups live in someone's head or a sticky note, so they slip.
Bills keep growing
Lines, circuits and licenses from old sites and old systems are still being paid for.
Every vendor says their AI is best
There is no neutral way to compare what each one actually includes and charges.
What I help with
Seven practice areas, AI first
Each area has its own page with what you get, how it works and the questions buyers ask most.
AI Phone Systems & AI Receptionist
An AI assistant that answers every call, writes the summary and routes the rest. Side-by-side quotes from two or three providers.
Read more →Leadership and ITApplied AI & AI Cost Governance
Find where AI will save real hours, then keep the bill under control as usage grows. Seats, tokens and add-ons in one view.
Read more →Teams of 25 to 500 agentsContact Center & CX
CCaaS selection, routing, workforce management and AI agent assist, from requirements through go-live.
Read more →Credit unions, insurance, health plans, utilitiesFinancial Services & Regulated Industries
Contact center, voice and network choices that fit your core systems, your compliance team and your customers.
Read more →Multi-site businessesConnectivity & Telecom Bill Audit
A free review of two recent invoices to find charges for services you no longer use, plus SD-WAN, SIP and circuit planning.
Read more →Multi-site and growing companiesManaged Network & Wi-Fi
Wired, Wi-Fi and security designed, installed and run by one provider for a monthly price, compared side by side with what you run today.
Read more →Buyers comparing optionsPlatform Comparisons
Plain-language comparisons of the platforms buyers ask about most, starting with Zoom vs RingCentral vs Dialpad.
Read more →How the math works
You pay the provider's price. The provider pays me.
Technology providers set aside part of their margin for independent advisors. Using one does not add a line to your bill, and it gets you a second opinion on every quote.
Pay the provider directly
Same contract, same price you would get going direct. No advisor invoice and no retainer.
Pays my fee
Out of their own margin, for as long as you stay a customer. That keeps me involved after go-live.
Stay neutral
Providers pay advisors at comparable rates, so there is no reason for me to push one over another.
Ways to work together
Start free, go as deep as you need
Bill audit + platform comparison
Free
- Review of two recent invoices
- Findings list of charges that look wrong
- Side-by-side of two or three platforms for your size
AI Readiness Assessment
Fixed scopeQuoted up front after the first call
- Inventory of AI tools and add-ons you already pay for
- Three to five use cases ranked by hours saved
- Cost model for seats, usage and add-ons
- Guardrails to keep AI spend predictable
Ongoing advisor
No fee to youCovered by the provider once you buy through me
- Selection, contract review and negotiation
- Oversight through porting and go-live
- One contact for escalations and renewals
Free bill audit
Send two invoices. Get back a list of what looks wrong.
I won't estimate savings before I've seen the bills. These are the six findings that come up most often.
Circuits at closed sites
Lines and circuits still billing for locations you have left.
Legacy lines after cutover
Old phone lines that never got disconnected after a move to cloud.
Expired contract rates
Services that rolled to month-to-month pricing when the term ended.
Duplicate services
Overlapping carriers and lines left over from an acquisition.
Orphaned analog lines
Fax, alarm and elevator lines nobody can trace to a device.
Misapplied fees
Taxes, surcharges and fees applied to the wrong services or locations.
- Cost
- Nothing
- What I need
- Two recent invoices
- What you get
- A findings list
Technology advice from someone who doesn't carry inventory.
- Inventory
- None. I don't resell hardware or licenses.
- Quota
- None with any vendor.
- Paid by
- The provider you choose, at comparable rates across providers.
- After the sale
- I stay through go-live and renewals.
How engagements work
Five steps from first call to go-live
Discovery
How you work today, what it costs and what is not working.
Requirements
What the new system must do, written down and agreed.
Market scan
Which providers fit, and which to rule out early.
Selection
Side-by-side quotes, scored demos and contract review.
Implementation oversight
I stay involved through porting, cutover and go-live.
Good fit
- Businesses of 10 to 500 people replacing or upgrading a phone system
- Teams that want an AI receptionist and call summaries
- Mid-market contact centers, including financial services and other regulated industries
- Multi-site companies with carrier, circuit or network sprawl
- Leaders who want a candid read on AI before they spend
Poor fit
- Fewer than about 10 phone users
- Needs a help desk to support desktops and users day to day
- Platform already chosen and just needs an order placed
- On-site field engineering or cabling work
Do you charge a fee?
No. The provider you choose pays my fee. You pay the provider's price, and there is no separate invoice from me.
Are you tied to any vendor?
No. I carry no inventory and have no quota with any vendor. Providers pay advisors at comparable rates, so my recommendation does not change based on who pays.
Who do you work with?
Small and mid-size businesses replacing a phone system, multi-site companies with telecom or network sprawl, and mid-market contact centers, including financial services and other regulated industries.
What happens on the 15-minute call?
You tell me what you use today and what is not working. I tell you whether I can help and what a comparison would look like. No slides.
Founder
Tyler Smith
I've worked in business communications since 2001, on every side of the deal: carrier, VAR, distributor, platform vendor, consultancy and reseller. I know how these products are built, priced and sold, so I can tell you what a quote really includes and what it leaves out.
I started as a Cisco voice engineer and earned the CCIE Voice. Since then I've led sales engineering teams at CenturyLink, Telarus and Vonage, designed Salesforce and Amazon Connect contact centers at NeuraFlash, and most recently ran the customer experience practice at a Zoom partner.
I started Stratis Edge Partners to sit on the buyer's side of the table, with no product of my own to sell and no reason to steer you toward one provider.
- Experience
- Voice, contact center and connectivity since 2001
- Certifications
- CCIE Voice, CCNP, CCVP, CCDA, MCSE
- Based in
- Roy, Utah
- Serves
- Clients across the US
Start with a 15-minute call
Tell me what your phones, contact center or AI tools cost today and what is not working. I'll tell you whether I can help, and if not, who can.