RealPage

Company Boosts Efficiency, Cuts Costs with Unified Communications for 1,000 Users

RealPage is a software vendor serving more than 20,000 customers through offices in the United States and India. That makes fast, efficient, and cost-effective communications vital for the company, which provides software used by the multifamily property management industry. Faced with an aging voice-mail system that would be expensive to replace, RealPage sought technology with richer features at a lower cost. Working with The Via Group, a Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner, RealPage is deploying a unified communications solution based on Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 to more than 1,000 employees on two continents. The result is streamlined communications among employees, more efficient operations across the company, and an anticipated U.S.$5 million or more in cost savings and increased sales in 2009.

Situation

RealPage provides software solutions that help with the complex processes of multifamily property management. Its customers range from small firms that manage only one or two buildings to companies that own and operate hundreds of properties across the country. RealPage provides five on-demand solutions for its customers. These include its OneSite property management systems that automate the process of leasing, renting, and managing apartments; the CrossFire sales and marketing systems, which are used for boosting occupancy and retention; the YieldStar asset optimization systems, which manage asset valuation and investment return; Velocity utility and billing services that accelerate payments for resident charges; and the LeasingDesk systems, which streamline the leasing process.

We expect the Microsoft unified communications technology to help us earn an additional $2.5 million in 2009 based on improvements in our sales efforts.  Jason Lindwall Chief Operating Officer RealPage

RealPage has more than 1,000 employees, most of whom work at its Texas headquarters. The company also has employees at branch offices in Vermont, Nevada, and California, and it recently opened an office for software development in India. Its employees regularly communicate and collaborate on software development, customer issues, and general customer account management.

In 2007, the RealPage IT department began evaluating options for replacing its aging voice-mail system. The company was reluctant to replace the system with a new one that would offer only voice-mail capabilities while requiring capital costs and ongoing management expenses. The IT department, which was aware of emerging communications technologies for dispersed enterprises, began evaluating comprehensive communications tools that could provide a better value.

“Replacing the old voice-mail system from the existing vendor was going to be quite expensive—about $60,000 for purchasing and support,” says Joe McCorkle, Director of Information Technology for RealPage. “We felt that was too much for just a single function, particularly with the different kinds of unified communications technologies that are now available.”

Solution

Working with The Via Group, a Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner specializing in the convergence of data and voice technologies, RealPage deployed a unified communications solution based on Microsoft products. “We chose Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 because it provided a cost-effective, feature-rich solution that will integrate easily into our existing infrastructure and will scale to meet our future needs,” says McCorkle.

The solution includes Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 client software for integrated presence awareness, instant messaging, software-powered voice over IP (VoIP), and conferencing. RealPage also uses several devices designed for VoIP communications, including desktop phones and IP-based handsets from Polycom, Jabra USB headsets from GN Netcom, and Microsoft RoundTable™ conferencing and collaboration devices. Additionally, RealPage deployed Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 with Unified Messaging. This allows users to listen to and retrieve voice-mail messages in their Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007 messaging and collaboration client inboxes, and to use their phones to manage their Office Outlook 2007 e-mail and calendars.

The solution was deployed in phases beginning in early 2008. First, RealPage upgraded from Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 to Exchange Server 2007. After completing the upgrade, the company was ready for the rollout of Office Communications Server 2007 and related technologies. The Via Group helped RealPage deploy the unified communications solution to about 115 users at its headquarters. “The initial deployment went very smoothly and only took about three weeks to complete,” says Jeff Goodwin, Senior Technologist and Microsoft Practice Lead with The Via Group.

RealPage deployed the solution to about 1,000 employees, including those at the U.S. branch offices and the India development office, in late 2008. The company, which is expanding through acquisitions of other firms, automatically deploys the solution to new users. “The deployment has gone smoothly and we’ve been able to add users easily,” says McCorkle.

Replacing the old voice-mail system from the existing vendor was going to be quite expensive—about $60,000 for purchasing and support.  Joe McCorkle Director of Information Technology RealPage

RealPage has removed traditional Private Branch Exchange (PBX)−based phones in some departments and from certain groups of users, including sales personnel, the IT department, and the India office. Those users are taking advantage of VoIP devices such as headsets. RealPage, which initially used the RoundTable conferencing device in a pilot, is also expanding use of the hardware by shipping units to sales presentations and board meetings to save on travel expenses for participants.

Benefits

By deploying Office Communications Server 2007 and related technologies, RealPage has implemented more efficient and cost-effective communications, including voice mail that can be forwarded to e-mail inboxes, instant messaging, presence, Web conferencing, and IP-based telephony. RealPage anticipates financial benefits to reach or exceed U.S.$5 million in 2009 due to savings in money and resources in both capital expenditures and more efficient corporate operations, along with an increase in sales through more efficient communications. The solution also provides a highly scalable communications platform that allows RealPage to quickly incorporate new employees and can be used to extend communications solutions to customers. 

More Efficient Communications

RealPage has significantly streamlined its communications by deploying the Microsoft unified communications solution. “Because Office Communications Server 2007, Exchange Server 2007, and the related technologies are all integrated seamlessly, individuals and groups of people can communicate faster, so they get more done in less time,” says McCorkle. “We can also communicate more effectively with clients. For example, we have certain premier clients who test early versions of our products. Using instant messaging, we can get rapid feedback and make adjustments to our products virtually in real time.”

The RealPage sales department is another part of the company benefitting from the streamlined communications. Most contracts that used to come in through fax machines are now delivered directly to sale representatives’ Outlook inboxes, where they can review them at their convenience and forward for processing. This has reduced the time that it takes for salespeople to get their commissions by more than 30 percent. “Our salespeople love the ability of Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging to push faxes directly to their e-mail inboxes,” says McCorkle. “It means they get their commissions in an average of four weeks instead of six weeks. They get paid faster, which they like a lot.”

McCorkle notes that the IT department, which has 42 employees in various buildings at the Texas headquarters, holds regular engineering discussions, which are now conducted much more efficiently than in the past. “With the Office Communicator 2007 client, it’s very easy to initiate a conference call to bring multiple people in to address a specific question. And while that’s going on, maybe someone on the call is simultaneously having an instant messaging chat session on their PC—it’s very easy to multitask,” McCorkle says.

The Microsoft technology has also reduced the number of e-mail messages that employees have to read and answer. “For example, I typically would receive about 120 e-mails a day in the past,” says McCorkle. “With instant messaging, which the IT department employees now use for quick questions, I’ve seen my e-mail reduced by about 25 percent. And when I’m in my e-mail, I can use Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging to listen to voice mails without having to dial a phone.”

Because Office Communications Server 2007, Exchange Server 2007, and the related technologies are all integrated seamlessly, individuals and groups of people can communicate faster, so they get more done in less time.  Joe McCorkle Director of Information Technology RealPage

The technology is also helping improve the efficiency of internal specialists, such as economists who help RealPage customers create financial strategies and revenue projections for managing large or multiple properties. “In the past, our staff economists would frequently fly out for a sales meeting to help customers,” says Jason Lindwall, Chief Operating Officer at RealPage. “Now these individuals can participate from their offices using Web-based conferencing or instant messaging, and they can have multiple conversations going on simultaneously about different deals.”

Lindwall continues, “These people are a valuable and limited resource. With Microsoft unified communications, we don’t have to commit time and money flying specialists to sales meetings. They can be much more productive because they can stay in their offices and still participate fully in sales meetings.”

Dramatic Cost Savings

RealPage is dramatically cutting expenses through its decision to deploy a unified communications solution based on Office Communications Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2007.

“We saved about $60,000 in acquisition costs by using the Microsoft unified communications solution instead of installing a new voice-mail system provided by our prior voice-mail vendor,” says McCorkle. “We estimate that the Microsoft unified communications solution will save us an additional $120,000 over the course of two years because we can avoid the costs for new equipment, maintenance support, and per-user licensing related to a new voice-mail system.”

By deploying the Microsoft solution, RealPage could take advantage of existing infrastructure such as PC hardware and the Windows® operating system. In addition, Office Communications Server 2007 software was included in the company’s enterprise licensing agreement. “The Microsoft unified communications solution delivers a lot more functionality than we had in the past for a lot less money than it would have cost to replace our old voice-mail system,” McCorkle says.

The company is also saving money and resources in other ways. For example, top company executives normally fly to New York for their final board meeting of the year, an excursion that can include travel expenses for 20 people or more. “This year, our CEO went to the board meeting by himself. We shipped a Microsoft RoundTable device to New York, had someone on that end set it up, and held the board meeting through a Web conference,” McCorkle says. “It saved us about $14,000 just in airfare. It made a big impression on our top management.”

The company has also reduced the number of people required for many sales trips—from three or four people to only one representative. “Now I just ship a Microsoft RoundTable device to a sales meeting so technical people can participate in a sales call through a Web conference,” says McCorkle. “It saves us the cost of two or three plane fares for every trip.”

With the reduction in travel due to the unified communications technology, RealPage expects to save about $3 million annually in travel expenses that are reduced or eliminated. The company also expects to save more than $200,000 annually in customer support costs.

“The Microsoft unified communications solution will help us when calls need to be escalated to our development teams,” says Lindwall. “For example, presence helps a call center employee know when a developer is available so the employee can quickly add the developer to the conversation, resolving issues immediately instead of taking up time and resources.”

This year, our CEO went to the board meeting by himself. We shipped a Microsoft RoundTable device to New York, had someone on that end set it up, and held the board meeting through a Web conference. It saved us about $14,000 just in airfare.  Joe McCorkle Director of Information Technology RealPage

Increased Profits

RealPage plans to have Office Communications Server 2007 voice capabilities deployed to its entire sales force by the middle of 2009, which in turn will help boost profits.

“This technology changes the way that salespeople can be contacted. With Office Communications Server 2007, we can eliminate their local phone numbers and fax numbers and give them a phone number that is tied to our corporate directory,” says Lindwall. “Also, the Microsoft unified communications solution is helping us educate our sales team on our products.” In the past, the company held quarterly sales meetings, with sales personnel coming to the RealPage headquarters to learn about products.

“Now we have created a monthly Web-based meeting to educate the sales team on products,” says Lindwall. “We expect the Microsoft unified communications technology to help us earn an additional $2.5 million in 2009 based on improvements in our sales efforts. As we educate the salespeople, they will sell more products than they can today.”

High Adoption and Scalability

McCorkle says the Microsoft unified communications solution has been enthusiastically adopted at all levels of the company—to the extent that RealPage is looking at ways to use the technology as the foundation for possible customer solutions. The highly scalable nature of Office Communications Server 2007 also means that the company can extend its communications infrastructure to external parties and employees who are frequent travelers.

“We have some executives who travel a lot and some who have families that live quite a distance from our headquarters,” McCorkle says. “They’ve become very enthusiastic adopters of this new technology. The solution provides so much more flexibility that one of our top executives asked us to remove his old phone from his office. It’s also a great asset for other employees who are telecommuting because it simplifies the process of using our corporate communications system.”

Because the technology is highly scalable, the company can easily plan for additional personnel and can quickly extend the communications infrastructure to traveling employees, who can take their IP-based phones with them to use in motel rooms and at customer sites. “One of the big U.S. office supply chains came up with that ‘Easy’ button application,” McCorkle says. “Microsoft created its own ‘Easy’ button with Office Communications Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging. All our users have to do is click to communicate.”

The strong internal response to the Microsoft technology has led the company to look for ways that it can create new communications solutions for its corporate customers. “We see the unified communications market as having a big future in our industry, and we think the Microsoft technology will play a central role,” McCorkle says. “It will allow our customers to collaborate more easily—for example, to train their people in property management without having to fly a bunch of people to a location. It will save time and money. As a company, we’re really excited about the new tools it can deliver to our industry.”

For More Information

For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:
www.microsoft.com

For more information about The Via Group products and services, call (800) 807-8854 or visit the Web site at:
www.theviagroup.com

For more information about RealPage products and services, call (877) 325-7243 or visit the Web site at:
www.realpage.com

Microsoft Office System

The Microsoft Office system is the business world’s chosen environment for information work, providing the programs, servers, and services that help you succeed by transforming information into impact.

For more information about the Microsoft Office system, go to:
www.microsoft.com/office  

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published January 2009