Vowire LLC
IT Firm Creates New Business Opportunity with Small Business Phone System Software
Partner: Vowire LLC
Web Site: www.vowire.com
Partner Size: 5 employees
Country or Region: United States
Industry: Professional services
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Partner Profile
Vowire is a five-person IT practice that specializes in server deployment, e-mail and Web hosting, and custom software development services for small and midsize businesses.
Software and Services
- Microsoft Dynamics™
- Microsoft® Response Point™
- Microsoft Server Product Portfolio
- Windows® Small Business Server 2003
"We wanted to expand our market, and we’re finding that Microsoft Response Point is a very good entry point to sell additional services to clients."
Gregory Brewer, Managing Member, Vowire
Company Profile
Founded in February of 2002, Vowire LLC is a five-person IT practice that delivers high-quality services to small and midsize businesses in southeast and western Michigan. The company specializes in supporting desktop, server, and network infrastructure; developing custom software solutions; and deploying Windows® Small Business Server 2003 and Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM.
As the single point of contact for many of its clients' IT needs, Vowire understood that its customers were generally dissatisfied with their phone systems. "We definitely saw the need in our existing customers—nobody liked their current phone system. But telephony was one area where we did not have an offering," recalls Gregory Brewer, Managing Member of Vowire.
Vowire initially pursued the telephony market by attempting to partner with long-time phone solution providers, such as Cisco and Linksys. Unfortunately, these solutions were better suited for enterprise customers in both cost and complexity.
"While we have the expertise to configure these enterprise-class systems, our clients certainly don't. That means they would have to depend on us for even the simplest changes to the system," says Brewer. "To complement our small-business offerings, we wanted to offer more of an appliance-based telephone system."
Business Opportunity
When Microsoft announced the release of Microsoft® Response Point™ phone system software, Vowire recognized the opportunity to offer an advanced phone system that is both easy for customers to use and easy for Vowire to manage. After attending a series of five webinars and a day of on-site training, Vowire was listed as a qualified Microsoft Response Point specialist on the Microsoft Response Point Web site.
Shortly after, Vowire began receiving calls from customers expressing their interest in the phone system. "I got three calls in one day asking about the Microsoft Response Point phone system software—one from an existing customer and two from new prospects," says Brewer.
On their first engagement, Vowire discovered that deploying Microsoft Response Point is a painless process. The company contacted Call Management Products, a Syspine distributor, to order the base units. Call Management Products provided Vowire with the support necessary to set up the hardware. The Microsoft Response Point phone system software is so intuitive that Vowire has found no need to contact Microsoft for additional training or support.
Since January 2008, Vowire has deployed one Microsoft Response Point phone system, with two more deployments scheduled for March of the same year. "In the first deployment, we set up a fairly complex system of 22 phones for a company with four receptionists and several different groups. It took us less than an hour to set up the system; it was all very easy," says Brewer.
In addition to functioning as a full-featured, stand-alone phone system, Brewer sees integration between Microsoft Response Point phone system software and other Microsoft technologies, such as Microsoft Office Outlook®, as a key selling point for customers—and an opportunity for Vowire to develop value-added services.
"My clients love the fact that Microsoft Response Point integrates with Microsoft Office applications," says Brewer. "But Microsoft Response Point does not integrate with Microsoft CRM as it is right now. So our developers are already planning to create some add-ons and plug-ins for the phone system, especially for Microsoft Dynamics CRM."
Benefits
With Microsoft Response Point phone system software, Vowire can offer a phone solution that is easy to configure and specifically designed to meet the needs of its small-business customers.
Meets Demand and Increases Sales
Small and midsize companies require intuitive, affordable phone systems to manage their businesses. Microsoft Response Point enables Vowire to meet this demand by offering a solution that its small-business clients will want to use. Through fast training and qualification, Vowire has quickly taken the new service to market. The strength of the Microsoft brand, combined with the online tools that connect customers with local specialists, continues to drive the growth of the company's new service offering.
Easy to Maintain and Support
With Microsoft Response Point, Vowire offers a phone system that the company can stand behind and support, without increasing demands on its support staff. "One of our biggest fears in getting into the telephony market was that it represents a mission-critical service for our customers. If their phones go down, they're done," says Brewer. "But with Microsoft Response Point, we don't have to worry about fixing everyone's phone systems all the time." The phone software simplifies phone configuration, so customers can tailor settings to fit their business needs.
Creates New Business Opportunities
Microsoft Response Point phone system software has also enabled Vowire to drive more business to its core service offerings, particularly server infrastructure and custom development. "We wanted to expand our market, and we're finding that Microsoft Response Point is a very good entry point to sell additional services to clients," explains Brewer.
By capturing customers' telephony services, Vowire opens opportunities to innovate across the entire technology stack, particularly by integrating Microsoft Response Point with the company's other service offerings, such as Windows Small Business Server 2003 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
For more information about other Microsoft customer successes, please visit: www.microsoft.com/casestudies