Top wine distributor relies on integration of Exchange email and other unified communications features to improve employee productivity
2010-11-10
Intermedia, the world’s largest hosted Microsoft Exchange provider, announced promising data coming off the first three months of the company’s hosted PBX offering. Customer adoption of hosted PBX, which offers companies business-grade VoIP telephone service integrated with their Exchange email, has doubled month-over-month since the August 2, 2010 launch. One of the first customers to sign on, JJ Buckley Fine Wines, already reports positive results, including improved employee productivity and customer service.
"We've taken our communications from basic necessities to business class," says Michael Stajer, founder/owner, JJ Buckley Fine Wines. "Without a full-time IT department, I rely on Intermedia's hosted products. With them, we control our email, calendars, contacts, phones and voicemail all from Intermedia’s HostPilot® Control Panel – without any of the maintenance or hardware expenses that bigger companies pay for these features. Our employees have unified communications in Microsoft Outlook® including email, phone and instant messaging, all with the business-class features one needs to stay ahead in today’s environment."
Intermedia's hosted PBX service is VoIP-based and integrates with Intermedia’s hosted Exchange email service – enabling customers to access not only hosted PBX features such as unlimited domestic calling and extension dialing, but also unified communications (UC) features such as Voicemail to Email and Click to Call. Companies manage their services from Intermedia’s HostPilot Control Panel.
Additional usage stats from Intermedia include:
- OCS Calling, where calls can be placed to any instant messaging contact in Office Communications Server or any contact in Outlook with the click of a mouse, has more than doubled – showing a promising acceptance of unified communications amongst SMBs.
- Voice Menu, which is used to set up an automated attendant to answer and route incoming calls, is the most popular and widely used feature by companies using hosted PBX.
- Voicemail to Email is the most widely used end-user feature, allowing employees to never check voicemail again.
"We receive over 500 calls a day, half involve sales," continues Stajer. "Now that each employee has their own direct dial number, our customers reach the right person faster and have a better experience. With OCS Calling, the caller's name pops up on the screen and our sales force can start pulling up the customer’s file as they are answering the call. It has made us more customer-centric. Customer queries are answered in seconds, not minutes. With Find Me/Follow Me, our representatives can walk away from their workstations, go check inventory in the distribution center, and know they won’t miss an important call. Our customer relationships have increased and we fill orders in less time."
"We're very pleased with the growth we have seen in the three months since bringing hosted PBX to market," says Jonathan McCormick, COO, Intermedia. "Offering affordable Fortune 500-level business communications solutions to small and medium-sized businesses is one of our driving forces and we are eager to see continued growth in the unified communications market, and more importantly, see our customers grow their businesses and increase their productivity."