Response PointPhone system for small businesses
United States Change | All Microsoft Sites

powered by Live Search
Phone System for Small Businesses Buy online Find a Specialist Microsoft Financing

Harrison Technology Consulting

IT Firm Enriches Customer Relations with Telephony Software, Develops New Solutions

Partner: Harrison Technology Consulting
Web Site: www.harrisontechconsulting.com
Partner Size: 3
Country or Region: United States
Industry: Professional services — IT services

Download Case Study »

Partner Profile

Harrison Technology Consulting is based in Nashville, North Carolina, and has been in business since 1990. As a small business with only three employees, the company provides IT services and support to other small businesses.

Software and Services

  • Microsoft® Response Point™
  • Microsoft Office
    • Microsoft Office Accounting 2007
    • Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007
  • Microsoft Server Product Portfolio
    • Microsoft Small Business Server 2003

"Microsoft Response Point gives us an opportunity to recommend something to our clients that we know is going to be extremely beneficial."

Jason Harrison, President, Harrison Technology Consulting

Company Profile

Since 1990, Harrison Technology Consulting has stayed in close step with the changing IT needs of the small-business segment. A small business itself, the company brings relevant perspective to its clientele, which consists of companies with 25 to 75 employees and annual revenue between U.S.$1 million and U.S.$20 million. Harrison Technology Consulting is a Microsoft® Small Business Specialist and partners with other firms to source technical talent. Once technology is in place, the company's three in-house employees help customers integrate and use the technology within the context of their businesses.

Harrison Technology Consulting complements its IT services, which range from network and server implementation to Web site design, with an ardent focus on understanding and exceeding customer expectations. "Once we've established a relationship with a customer, it's an ongoing relationship," says Jason Harrison, President of Harrison Technology Consulting. "We become their technology partner, helping them take advantage of what they've invested in and making sure that their investment continues to pay off. In the end, this approach creates long-term customer relationships. In fact, we don't even call them customers—they're clients." Harrison Technology Consulting benefits from a core client base, many of which have been with the company for as long as 15 years.

Although Harrison Technology Consulting can partner with other companies to provide almost any IT service, Harrison Technology Consulting left one avenue unexplored. "Phone systems were always something sitting off to the side," says Harrison. "We will only recommend a product to customers if we have used it ourselves and feel really great about it. Most of the unified communications technologies that allowed for phone integration were too expensive for the vast majority of our clients."

Business Opportunity

In 2007, Harrison Technology Consulting came across Microsoft® Response Point™ phone system software and identified it as an opportunity to support its clients‟ telephony needs. Says Harrison, "My immediate reaction to seeing Response Point was "that's going to be really big!'"

Harrison understood that Microsoft Response Point phone system software was designed with the needs of small businesses in mind. This means Harrison can offer his clients the rich functionality commonly associated with more expensive systems, at an attractive price. And by integrating Microsoft Response Point with Windows® Small Business Server, Harrison can provide his clients with remote management as well.

Adding Response Point as a Line-of-Business

Before offering Microsoft Response Point to clients, Harrison Technology Consulting installed the product in its own offices. "Our own experience with Response Point was flawless. It is really simple and easy to use—just plug and play," explains Harrison. "It didn't take us more than a couple of hours one Saturday afternoon to set up."

To drive revenue, Harrison Technology Consulting has taken a "services-only" approach, partnering with a variety of companies that offer Microsoft Response Point out of the box. Says Harrison, "We don't resell Response Point, and we're not focused on licensing revenues. We are 100 percent service-focused." Harrison Technology Consulting charges for procurement, and after the customer receives the item, the company provides deployment and training services.

Since adding Microsoft Response Point phone system software to its portfolio of offerings, Harrison Technology Consulting has closed several deals and sparked a great deal of interest among potential and existing clients.

Benefits

Microsoft Response Point has enabled Harrison Technology Consulting to increase touch points with customers and ultimately provide solutions that encompass broader client needs. "Small businesses are demanding more because they actually need more than they did in the past," says Harrison. "And with Response Point, they are getting just that."

Develop New Solutions

The integration between Microsoft Response Point and other Microsoft products and technologies has helped Harrison Technology Consulting present the product to clients as part of a more comprehensive solution set. By using the system in its own office as a test bed, the company began developing solutions around the phone system.

Harrison found that by integrating Microsoft Response Point with Microsoft Office Accounting 2007 and Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007 with Business Contact Manager, he could create a cost-effective business management solution for small businesses. "Most of the people in small businesses wear an awful lot of hats," says Harrison. "Often, a receptionist may need to field questions about payments, account balances, and invoices because in most small businesses, the accountant or bookkeeper is pretty busy."

With Microsoft Response Point, Microsoft Office Accounting, and Outlook with Business Contact Manager, employees can now answer a call, click on the pop-up information about the client, and then drill down into basic account information. "It's an extremely powerful solution when combined with other products," says Harrison. "Response Point really offers clients an incredible bang for the buck."

Access New Markets

Microsoft Response Point has provided Harrison Technology Consulting with a relatively easy way to enter new markets. "Until Response Point, we really could not penetrate the telephony business because there was no continuity with our other offerings," says Harrison. "Most systems were complex and complicated to deal with, and people had to rely on the phone company to implement it. But Response Point leverages our existing networking experience; with that skill set, it is absolutely painless and amazingly easy to implement and support."

Involve the Business Side of IT

Harrison Technology Consulting has found that Microsoft Response Point pairs well with the needs of IT services companies that rely on managed services revenue. But Microsoft Response Point not only provides an opportunity to sell services; it also provides an opportunity to dive into solutions that go beyond just basic infrastructure.

"By offering Response Point, companies that have traditionally done only infrastructure can think beyond those constraints," explains Harrison. "Response Point helps IT services companies bring together the business and technical side of IT, providing them with the means to transition into a more comprehensive service provider."

For more information about other Microsoft customer successes, please visit: www.microsoft.com/casestudies .