OREANDA-NEWS. June 28, 2016. Champion Realty, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate that provides a broad range of real estate services to Maryland consumers, is enhancing productivity, communications and collaboration for its workforce with Verizon Enterprise Solution’s Virtual Communications Express service powered by BroadSoft, Inc.  

With Virtual Communications Express, a cloud IP PBX and mobile unified communication and collaboration alternative to on-premises telephony systems, Champion Realty is able to operate more efficiently across its eight branch offices and more than 250 sales associates. Powered by BroadSoft’s BroadCloud® unified communications technology, Verizon’s service enables Champion employees to work as easily on the road as they do in the office, while controlling costs and improving flexibility, and delivers the scalability required to meet Champion’s business needs as they grow.

Champion Realty had been relying on a patchwork of legacy PBX systems. With some more than a decade old, Champion’s system was not meeting the reliability, flexibility and communication needs of its dispersed and mobile workforce. Because its PBX systems were on-premises, management and maintenance needed to be handled at each of the eight locations – driving up costs and tying up its small team of IT and administrative staffers.

“As a flexible, scalable cloud solution, Virtual Communications Express has improved communications and collaboration for our sales associates who need to keep in touch with colleagues, customers and partners while working across multiple offices and across all devices, said Michael Greentree, director of IT at Champion Realty. “The fact that the service was easy to install and offers our agents the flexibility to use either desk or mobile phones, required minimal capex, and delivers advanced features has led to a rapid return on investment for our company.”

Leveraging Verizon’s service, Champion Realty is experiencing cost, operational and capabilities benefits, including: 

  • Access to a range of advanced communications  services – Champion Realty gains access to cloud PBX, HD voice, auto attendant, “find me, follow me”, soft phone support, mobile integration, visual voicemail, simultaneous ring One Number calling, and inter-office extension dialing that is optimal for workers seeking to connect and communicate across multiple office sites. 
  • Minimal upfront capital investment – Champion was able to drastically reduce capital investment relative to on- premises PBX installations. Verizon gave Champion the option of purchasing pre-configured IP phones, or leasing them to further reduce capital expenditures. 
  • Ease of installation and management – Champion Realty was able to easily and rapidly install the system and manage it centrally – a significant improvement over the prior multi-site management process. With Verizon’s remote implementation support, Champion smoothly transitioned its offices to the service without disruption. 
  • Agent flexibility for preferred communications – With the Verizon offering, every agent received an office number. They choose either a desk phone, a mobile app, or simply to get an extension that rings the mobile app on their smartphone. Calls made from mobile devices display the agent’s office number.

“Verizon is enabling the customer experience through our portfolio of advanced communications offerings,” said Eric Sorensen, director, Advanced Communications, Verizon Enterprise Solutions. “Virtual Communications Express offers enterprise-grade business communications right out of the box, enabling businesses of all sizes to spend less time managing the complexities of their communications systems and more time focusing on growing their business.”

“BroadCloud-powered offerings are perfect for businesses like Champion Realty that have multiple offices and dispersed workforces seeking to get up and running quickly, easily and cost effectively,” said Taher Behbehani, chief digital marketing officer, BroadSoft. “Verizon service provides Champion Realty with access to cloud-based features without having to pay for costly upgrades to premise-based telephony systems or struggle to find parts for old PBX systems.”