In 2001, James Higgins and his team at Communitect were feeling optimistic.

Their company, which provided texting and e-mail reminder services to financial institutions, was growing. The firm had started to overcome the skepticism of potential customers, who did not yet see the huge potential in communicating with clients via e-mail and text.

Then the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks occurred. The devastating aftermath of the attacks froze Communitect's business as swiftly as it devastated many others. The company's growth screeched to a halt.

But one day, Higgins' neighbor, a dentist, asked him if mobile technology could help reduce the number of "no-show" customers at his dental practice. Just like that, the company found new life by going in a new direction.

Communitect's technology proved to be an excellent fit with the needs of medical and dental practices, and today the Lehi-based company, renamed SmileReminder, is an industry leader in a field it essentially created.

As one of the first firms to embrace Software as a Service (SaaS) technology, SmileReminder is a pioneer. But it stays ahead of its competition by continually offering upgrades and improvements based not on some vague concept of "coolness," but on usefulness to customers based on their suggestions and needs.

Unlike financial institutions, medical and dental practices have been quick to embrace SmileReminder's services. One consultant described the company as "the tip of the spear," explaining that SmileReminder's technology allows more patients to benefit from the growing variety of life-changing technologies at medical and dental offices, simply by getting them through the door.