Managed service increases productivity; healthcare firm connects its various locations with VoIP technology

Communications News,  Dec, 2006  

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One of the costliest elements of IntegraMed's previous communications solution was its reliance on a Web-based conferencing application. Frequent use of this service--sometimes up to 30 times per week--resulted in high costs that needed to be addressed.

Through Inter-Tel's managed services program, Norcom deployed Inter-Tel Audio and Web Conferencing, a premise-based application that is integrated into the core communications system. This IP-based tool delivers robust audio- and videoconferencing capabilities, along with collaboration tools for sharing documents and recording and archiving online training sessions, at a fraction of the cost of Web-based services.

Another IP application that IntegraMed leverages is Inter-Tel's Unified Communicator, its presence-management and call-routing tool. Through this solution, IntegraMed's sales staff can prioritize and route calls to any device on the system, depending upon the nature of the call.

"Our sales staff really appreciates the Unified Communicator application," notes Reddy. "It gives them comfort in knowing that, wherever they are, they can transparently route calls to their existing location, to a colleague, or to voice mail, depending upon the specific situation. It has proven to be an invaluable tool for generating revenue and improving customer service."

For most organizations, integrating an entirely new communications system--including IP-based platforms, devices and applications--can be disruptive and, in the case of training personnel on new solutions, costly as well. By utilizing the managed services program, IntegraMed's experience was different. Instead of making a capital investment in new technology, IntegraMed was able to leverage the power of IP communications for a fixed monthly fee. If the company wants to leverage new technology in the future, it knows the associated costs of any adds-moves-changes in advance.

"From an operational standpoint, the managed services program allowed us to deploy voice over IP tools seamlessly, without disrupting the organization," concludes Reddy. "Plus, we've reduced our communications costs across the board about 30 percent, while enjoying enormous productivity and efficiency gains."

For more information from Inter-Tel: rsleads.com/612cn-255

COPYRIGHT 2006 Nelson Publishing
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning