GrandCentral and HighDef Conferencing: How They Changed Our World Forever

In the ongoing evolution of communication technology, two companies—GrandCentral (now Google Voice) and HighDef Conferencing—played pivotal roles in shaping how we connect, from voice to conference calls, and even how we now experience high-definition audio. Both were led by visionary founders and teams, and they offered groundbreaking solutions that would influence the major platforms we use today.

GrandCentral (Google Voice): The Start of Mass Acceptance of the "Single Number" Revolution

Founded in 2005 by Craig Walker and Vincent Paquet, GrandCentral sought to solve a growing problem: managing multiple phone numbers. Their vision was to give users "one number for life" that could and would route calls to any phone they owned. This concept was revolutionary for its time, allowing users to centralize all their communications under a single, easy-to-manage interface for FREE. GrandCentral allowed people to ring all their phones simultaneously, screen calls, and manage voicemails in cutting-edge ways in the mid-2000s.

What GrandCentral did brought “FindMe/FollowMe” to the masses. While AT&T had experimented with Easy Reach, and Webley was being used by a knowledgeable few and many in MLM, GrandCentral democratized the idea that one number was all you needed.

In 2007, Google recognized the potential of this concept and acquired GrandCentral, relaunching it as Google Voice. Under Google, the platform became more than just a single-number solution. It added features like voicemail transcription, call recording, and free calling within the U.S., further solidifying its place as a critical player in VoIP communication. Walker and Paquet, however, weren’t finished.

After their success with GrandCentral, Craig Walker and ex-Googlers Brian Peterson and John Rector launched UberConference in 2012. UberConference was designed to tackle the frustrations that users experienced with traditional conference calling services: long PIN numbers, bad audio, and complicated user interfaces. UberConference eliminated the need for PINs, offered clear audio, and included features like screen sharing, creating a seamless and user-friendly conference calling experience.

Walker was soon rejoined by Paquet, who helped grow UberConference into a broader business communications platform, and a few years later, they started Switch (not UberPhone, which had been tossed around). In 2017, the company became Dialpad. This full-service cloud communications platform integrated VoIP, conferencing, and messaging into a single solution when Walker artfully bought back the name and domain he had sold over a decade ago to Yahoo when Yahoo was being sold off to Verizon, which did not need another phone brand.

Today, Dialpad is far and away the leader in AI-powered business communications. (In full transparency, I was a founding shareholder, and Comunicano was the agency for GrandCentral. I am now both a shareholder and have worked with the Dialpad team on no less than three occasions since the start.)

HighDef Conferencing: Pioneering High-Quality Audio

While GrandCentral was reshaping how we managed our phone numbers, HighDef Conferencing was revolutionizing how we experienced audio quality during conference calls. Founded by Ben Lilienthal, HighDef Conferencing (originally named VAPPS) addressed a glaring issue in the industry: poor sound quality.

In the early 2000s, most conference calls sounded like they were happening through a tin can. Scratchy, low-fidelity audio plagued businesses and wasted time as people struggled to hear one another. HighDef Conferencing brought a breath of fresh air to the market by offering high-definition audio—a first in the industry. The company focused on delivering crystal-clear sound quality, making conference calls more efficient and enjoyable. When my colleague Bill Ryan and I worked with Ben Lilienthal to grow the company, Bill suggested renaming VAPPS to HighDef Conferencing to emphasize this breakthrough in audio clarity. Ben said, yes, and immediately changed the name.

A key differentiator for HighDef Conferencing was its integration with Skype. At the time, Skype was growing as a platform for personal and professional calls, and by partnering with HighDef Conferencing, Skype users could now experience high-quality, high-definition audio in their conference calls. This partnership elevated both companies, solidifying HighDef Conferencing’s reputation as a leader in audio quality.

In 2008, HighDef Conferencing was acquired by Citrix, just as GrandCentral was acquired by Google on our watch, and became part of its GoToMeeting suite, helping GoToMeeting enhance its audio capabilities. This acquisition improved GoToMeeting’s conferencing services and made high-definition audio the "gold standard" feature across the industry. What had once been a niche service offered by HighDef Conferencing became the norm for business communication.

How GrandCentral and HighDef Conferencing Shaped the Future

Both GrandCentral and HighDef Conferencing tackled different aspects of telecommunications, but they shared a common goal: to make communication simpler, clearer, and more effective. GrandCentral, through its transformation into Google Voice, pioneered the concept of a centralized, easy-to-manage phone system, based on the “one number for life” premise. This idea eventually expanded to business communications through UberConference and Dialpad, where Walker and his team continued to simplify and enhance the way we connect for work.

HighDef Conferencing, by contrast, solved a problem that businesses didn’t know how to fix: poor audio quality. By improving the sound of conference calls and setting a new standard, HighDef Conferencing made it clear that audio quality matters, and it changed the expectations of what a conference call could be. Its influence continues through GoToMeeting, which remains a major player in online meetings today.

The Rise and Legacy of Communication Innovators

Both GrandCentral (now Google Voice) and HighDef Conferencing were acquired by larger companies, but their impact is still felt today. GoogleVoice is still used by millions of individuals and businesses who rely on its seamless, almost invisible integrated phone management system. Meanwhile, UberConference's innovations live on in Dialpad, a platform that continues to push the boundaries of VoIP and cloud communications with features like AI-driven insights and advanced call analytics.

Similarly, the high-definition audio pioneered by Ben Lilienthal and HighDef Conferencing team became the gold standard for business communications. By integrating with Skype and later being acquired by Citrix, the technology has touched millions of users worldwide, making poor-quality conference calls a thing of the past.

These companies may not dominate headlines anymore, but their innovations are deeply embedded in the communication tools we use every day. They remind us that real breakthroughs come from solving the problems people don’t even realize they have—whether it’s managing multiple phone numbers or hearing every word clearly in a conference call.

Both GrandCentral and HighDef Conferencing demonstrate the power of tackling niche problems in big ways. Their founders—Craig Walker, Vincent Paquet, and Ben Lilienthal—redefined how we think about communication, whether through voice management or the quality of the calls themselves. Their technologies and the companies that absorbed them continue to influence the industry, shaping the way we connect, work, and collaborate.