PRUDENTIAL NORTHWEST PROPERTIES CASE STUDY 1 CASE STUDY 3Com ® Enterprise IP Voice and Data Services Help Prudential Northwest Properties Customers Feel At Home The Challenge In today’s frenzied real estate market, eager homebuyers and motivated sellers see no reason to wait for their calls to be returned or their e-mail answered. If they don’t get an immediate response to their questions, they simply move on. In fact, a broker who takes just 20 minutes to follow up on a call is apt to lose that customer to the competi- tion. At the same time, busy agents can’t afford to sit around waiting for the phone to ring. As they race from appointments to open houses and closings, most spend more time in their cars than at their desks. Yet they also need to remain in constant contact with their office to ensure potential customers are always just a phone call away from a hot property. As the largest independently owned real estate agency in the Pacific Northwest, with more than $1.6 billion in sales, Prudential Northwest of Portland, OR fully understands the balancing act agents must perform to deliver the prompt phone and in-person responsiveness customers demand. To maintain its leadership, the firm realized last year it needed to do even more to ensure its 750 brokers never missed an opportunity to make a sale. Opening the Door to Fast Action Previously, each of Prudential Northwest’s 19 branches throughout Oregon and southwest Washington had its own non- integrated PBX phone system. These legacy systems could not transfer calls between branches; they also lacked even the most basic call handling features, like voice mail and call forwarding, forcing the company to purchase standalone services at additional expense. To remove these barriers to prompt communication and streamline customer service, Prudential Northwest wanted to unite its offices into a single voice infrastructure. In addition to providing its employees with corporate-class call management features, the company wanted to launch an advanced unified messaging system. By using this system to integrate landline and cellular phone calls with fax, e-mail, voice mail, pagers, and wireless PDAs and laptops into a seamless whole, the realtor could guarantee a fast response to every prospect and customer. Prudential Northwest soon realized that a voice-over-IP solution operating over its existing Gigabit Ethernet wide area network (WAN) could deliver the call management capabilities it needed, and far more. By routing calls over the WAN, the Organization: Prudential Northwest Properties Location: Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. Employees/Staff: 750 Market Segment: Insurance Applications: Unified messaging; “find me, follow me;” automated attendants; customer relationship management (CRM); Estos ProCall software, integrating Caller ID data with customer information; advanced call center services. “Voice-over-IP technology was the key to dramatically improving our productivity and profitability.” —Sean McRae, Vice President and Chief information Officer, Prudential Northwest Properties
Transcript
PRUDENTIAL NORTHWEST PROPERTIES CASE STUDY 1
CASE STUDY
3Com® Enterprise IP Voice and DataServices Help Prudential NorthwestProperties Customers Feel At Home
The Challenge
In today’s frenzied real estate market, eagerhomebuyers and motivated sellers see noreason to wait for their calls to be returnedor their e-mail answered. If they don’t getan immediate response to their questions,they simply move on. In fact, a broker whotakes just 20 minutes to follow up on a callis apt to lose that customer to the competi-tion.
At the same time, busy agents can’t affordto sit around waiting for the phone to ring.As they race from appointments to openhouses and closings, most spend more timein their cars than at their desks. Yet theyalso need to remain in constant contactwith their office to ensure potentialcustomers are always just a phone callaway from a hot property.
As the largest independently owned realestate agency in the Pacific Northwest,with more than $1.6 billion in sales,Prudential Northwest of Portland, ORfully understands the balancing act agentsmust perform to deliver the prompt phoneand in-person responsiveness customersdemand. To maintain its leadership, thefirm realized last year it needed to do evenmore to ensure its 750 brokers nevermissed an opportunity to make a sale.
Opening the Door to Fast ActionPreviously, each of Prudential Northwest’s19 branches throughout Oregon andsouthwest Washington had its own non-integrated PBX phone system. Theselegacy systems could not transfer callsbetween branches; they also lacked eventhe most basic call handling features, likevoice mail and call forwarding, forcing thecompany to purchase standalone servicesat additional expense. To remove thesebarriers to prompt communication andstreamline customer service, PrudentialNorthwest wanted to unite its offices intoa single voice infrastructure.
In addition to providing its employeeswith corporate-class call managementfeatures, the company wanted to launch anadvanced unified messaging system. Byusing this system to integrate landline andcellular phone calls with fax, e-mail, voicemail, pagers, and wireless PDAs andlaptops into a seamless whole, the realtorcould guarantee a fast response to everyprospect and customer.
Prudential Northwest soon realized that avoice-over-IP solution operating over itsexisting Gigabit Ethernet wide areanetwork (WAN) could deliver the callmanagement capabilities it needed, and farmore. By routing calls over the WAN, the
Organization: Prudential Northwest Properties
Location: Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
Employees/Staff: 750
Market Segment: Insurance
Applications: Unified messaging; “find me, follow me;” automated attendants; customer relationship management (CRM); Estos ProCall software, integrating Caller ID data withcustomer information; advanced call center services.
“Voice-over-IPtechnology was thekey to dramaticallyimproving ourproductivity andprofitability.”
—Sean McRae, Vice President and Chief information Officer,
Prudential Northwest Properties
2 PRUDENTIAL NORTHWEST PROPERTIES CASE STUDY
real estate agency could save thousands ofdollars in long distance calls between offices.IP telephony would allow the company torealize its plans to deploy unified messagingas well as advanced, find-me-follow-me capa-bilities. Furthermore, unlike traditionalphone systems, an IP-based telephone solu-tion could also interface with PrudentialNorthwest’s customer relationship manage-ment (CRM) database, giving employeesnear-instant access to customer data at themoment they need it.
“Voice-over-IP technology was the key todramatically improving our productivity andprofitability,” said Sean McRae, vice presi-dent and chief information officer ofPrudential Northwest Properties. “By inte-grating every possible method of contactwith all available customer data, we canguarantee our agency connects withcustomers first, fastest, and most accurately.”
Prudential Northwest Properties wanted anIP solution that would integrate well with itsexisting data infrastructure, was simple toinstall and manage, and most importantly,was easily expanded to keep pace with rapidgrowth.
Why 3Com
The solution consists of the following products:
• 3Com® VCX™ V7000 IP Telephony SolutionRead more here:http://3com.com/products/en_US/prodlist.jsp?tab=cat&pathtype=purchase&cat=23&selcat=Telephone+Systems+%26%2338%3B+Applications&family=135
• 3Com Switch 7700Read more here:http://www.3com.com/products/en_US/detail.jsp?tab=features&pathtype=purchase&sku=WEBBNC7700SYS
• 3Com Router 5000 FamilyRead more here:http://www.3com.com/products/en_US/detail.jsp?tab=features&pathtype=purchase&sku=WEBBNCRT5000SYS
• 3Com SuperStack® 3 Networked Telephony SolutionRead more here: http://3com.com/products/en_US/prodlist.jsp?tab=cat&pathtype=purchase&cat=23&selcat=Telephone+Systems+%26%2338%3B+Applications
• 3Com SuperStack 3 Switch 4400 FamilyRead more here:http://www.3com.com/products/en_US/prodlist.jsp?tab=cat&pathtype=purchase&cat=4&selcat=LAN+Switches+%28Workgroup%2FDesktop%29
• 3Com SuperStack 3 FirewallRead more here:http://www.3com.com/products/en_US/prodlist.jsp?tab=cat&pathtype=purchase&cat=134482&selcat=Security+Products
After reviewing IP telephony products fromCisco, Avaya, Nortel, and 3Com, PrudentialNorthwest found that only 3Com offered allthe functionality it sought in a solution thatwas cost-effective, easily scalable, and basedon non-proprietary technology. The realestate agency chose a voice-over-IP systembased on 3Com’s VCX V7000 IP Telephonyand SuperStack 3 NBX® NetworkedTelephony solutions. Both of these systemssupport the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP),a carrier-class, open systems messaging stan-dard that will streamline the company’smigration from PBX phones and allow it tointroduce advanced, media-independent,multi-user services.
Today, Prudential Northwest’s telephonesystem consists of a single VCX system in itsnew Clackamas, OR, office and four NBXsystems in its four largest offices. Powered by16 3Com SuperStack 3 Switch 4400 switches,which provide high-speed connections to thecorporate WAN and prioritize voice traffic,these solutions deliver unified messaging andadvanced telephony features to the agency’s750 employees.
At the network core, a 128-port 3ComSuperStack Switch 7700R with built-in secu-rity, Quality of Service (QoS), and bandwidthmanagement prioritizes voice traffic atGigabit Ethernet speed while linking criticalnetwork systems, such as servers and WANrouters. In Clackamas, a 3Com Router 5009router with advanced QoS, congestion, andtraffic management capabilities distributesvoice and data traffic to PrudentialNorthwest’s WAN. The company plans toreplace aging routers in other offices withadditional 3Com routers as needed. The solu-tion also relies on a 3Com SuperStackFirewall, which protects the company’s entiredata infrastructure from intruders, whileallowing employees to access the phonesystem securely from their home computersthrough a VPN tunnel. The company isexpects to achieve a full ROI in 36 monthsfrom all of its 3Com systems.
“With IP telephony, anduniversal messaging inparticular, we havenew tools with whichto plan creative,flexible ways to serveour customers.”
—Sean McRae, Vice President and Chief information Officer,
Prudential Northwest Properties
PRUDENTIAL NORTHWEST PROPERTIES CASE STUDY 3
“We’re measuring ROI not just in telecomcosts saved, but in customer satisfaction as aresult of our improved ability to work fasterand handle calls more efficiently,” saidMcRae. “Our sales grew roughly 15 percentin 2003, and while it’s hard to say exactlyhow much of that is attributable to the newphone system, our high-sales employees allinsist their productivity has skyrocketedsince it was installed.”
The Set-Up - Linking Nineteen Locations,Locations, LocationsPrudential Northwest worked with a 3Comnetwork consultant and its longtime reseller,Verizon, to deploy its new voice solution.First, the implementation team preconfiguredand installed the core and edge devices.Next, they configured and staged the VCXserver and NBX chassis to ensure a rapiddeployment. Once the servers and switcheswere racked, Prudential Northwest simplyconnected four T-1 lines and began to assignemployees their new extensions and directdial numbers. As a result, the company wasable to replace the legacy telephone systemsin each branch in just a few hours and beginusing the new system the following morning.The voice over IP (VoIP) systems are managedas part of the WAN.
“In the real estate business, we can’t be outof touch for even a moment, so we took acautious approach to ensure a fast, error-freecutover,” said McRae. “With everything pre-programmed, it was virtually plug-and-play,with minimal onsite configuration.”
Setting up 450 NBX telephones and 300 addi-tional phantom extensions with voice mailwas surprisingly simple; the primary chal-lenge was user training. With each of 19offices using a different legacy system,Prudential Northwest’s IT staff had to trainemployees at each branch individually - aninvestment of three to four days per branch.
In addition, the implementation team discov-ered mid-deployment that one large officewas wired with category 4 cable rather thanthe recommended category 5 cable. With noroom in the project budget to rewire theentire site, the firm was forced to use theexisting infrastructure. While it’s achievingsatisfactory voice quality nonetheless,Prudential Northwest now knows it needs toensure every branch-office LAN has enoughbandwidth to support voice traffic withoutpacket loss.
The Benefits
In the Pacific Northwest, 2004 began with arecord-breaking winter storm that encasedthe region in a treacherous layer of ice. Mostlocal businesses skidded to a halt for thebetter part of a week, but PrudentialNorthwest never lost touch with itscustomers. The secret to its success wasn’ttire chains, snowshoes, or a team of huskies,but IP telephony features that helped itsagents stay on the job even as they werestuck at home.
Today, Prudential Northwest’s employeesenjoy maximum mobility while remaining incontact with buyers, sellers, mortgagebrokers, and other agents. Unified messagingforwards calls to their mobile phones orhomes, delivers faxes electronically to theirPDAs and computers, alerts them toincoming messages via pager, and even turnsemail into voice mail with a text-to-speechfunction. Moreover, with built-in “find me,follow me” notification, incoming calls alsogenerate alerts to employees’ voice mailboxesand pagers, ensuring they never miss amessage. Automated attendants direct callson evenings and weekends and routecustomers to specific offices and depart-ments, while features such as call forwardingand hunt groups send calls to their properdestinations during business hours.
In the agency’s home services department,which helps new homeowners find the goodsand services they need to settle in, a CRMpackage called Clientele sends Caller IDinformation to employees’ computers. Theemployees can then quickly look up thecustomer’s information in the company’sMicrosoft Outlook sales database and deter-mine the likely reason for the call - thusensuring a fast, accurate response. Roughly adozen real estate agents are testing EstosProCall, a software solution that directly inte-grates Caller ID data with the customerdatabase, to further speed the process.
In addition to boosting performance, thenetworked telephony system is savingPrudential Northwest thousands of dollars intelephone fees and maintenance costs.Eliminating a legacy standalone voice mailsystem instantly saved the company $6,000 amonth, while replacing 100 phone lines withfour T-1 lines and routing interoffice callsover the WAN cut an additional $1,000 fromthe monthly budget. Furthermore, becausethe IT staff can manage the phone system aspart of the larger network infrastructure, thecompany is saving significant amounts onoutsourced maintenance.
“We’re measuring ROInot just in telecomcosts saved, but incustomer satisfactionas a result of ourimproved ability towork faster andhandle calls moreefficiently.”
—Sean McRae, Vice President and Chief information Officer,
Prudential Northwest Properties
Prudential Northwest expects to add furtheragents and locations to keep pace with fast-rising sales. As it grows, the company plansto expand its voice and data network tomaintain customer satisfaction.
The VCX solution, which can scale to accom-modate tens of thousands of users, willeventually support many of the branchesnow connected to smaller NBX systems aswell as those the company opens in thefuture. This will enable Prudential Northwestto create a single call center to manage all calltraffic for its smaller offices over the WAN—further improving efficiency whileguaranteeing every location has theadvanced call-handling functions it needs.
Prudential Northwest also intends to use itsnew Switch 7700R core switch to set up twosecure virtual LANs: one exclusively forvoice traffic and one for servers supportingback-end applications ranging from mortgageunderwriting to internal e-mail. This willfurther protect the quality of voice transmis-sions while also blocking unauthorized accessto customers’ sensitive financial records.
“Making our agents so highly available in somany ways increases their aura of profession-alism and allows them to deliver a superiorlevel of customer service,” McRae concluded.“With IP telephony, and universal messagingin particular, we have new tools with whichto plan creative, flexible ways to serve ourcustomers.”
For more information about 3Com products:
1-800-NET-3Com(1-800-638-3266)
www.3com.com
3Com Corporation, Corporate Headquarters, 350 Campus Drive, Marlborough, MA 01752-3064
To learn more about 3Com solutions, visit www.3com.com. 3Com is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol COMS.
