Article Excerpt:
TWST: We would like to begin with a brief historical sketch of Inter-Tel and a picture of the things you are doing at the present time.Mr. Stout: Inter-Tel was founded in 1969. It provides voice and data communication solutions for businesses, ranging from micro office and to SOHOs, or small office and home office environments, to the small and mid-size businesses, as well as to larger enterprises. We have 59 direct sales offices in the United States and a distribution network of approximately 350 single tier dealers. So when we market our products, applications, and services, we are selling through a single tier network, whether it's a direct office or dealer network. Inter-Tel is principally in North America, but we've expanded our European presence. Almost 10% of our sales are in Europe, with some sales in South Africa and Australia as well. One of our biggest points of differentiation is that we can provide a complete communications solution to any business ' large or small ' through our managed services program. We are experts in providing solutions, including advanced technology, that offer more than just communications tools; we have a heritage of helping our customers improve their productivity and efficiency on multiple levels.
TWST: Would you tell us about the managed services concept?
Mr. Stout: When we think about managed services, it is a real
differentiator. It is a full, encompassing communications solution for
businesses. When we go to the customer, we are providing the total
solution on the front end, from the design and quality of their network,
to hardware, software and business-productivity applications. We also
manage the data side of the network, the network and carrier services,
whether it is local, long distance, traditional long distance or next
generation, say, an MPLS network. We also provide peripheral products
like videoconferencing, speakerphones, wireless handsets and the like.
We provide all of these elements for a fixed monthly fee, so our
customers can focus on managing their own businesses and stop worrying
about maintaining their communications network. We worry about that.
The owner/operator or the IT manager or the CIO of the business can
always call us to upgrade their systems, whether it's for an add-on or
training ' again, it's a full service, single point of accountability.
So when we talk of managed services, we are really trying to make sure
we are that total outsource solution for the customer.
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