North Carolina Real Estate Management Company Upgrades to IP-based Phone Solution

Panasonic Solutions for Business Blog

Small businesses need communications systems that are cost-effective, easy to manage and equipped for today's workforce. Recently, Hawthorne Residential Partners, a real estate management company with multi-family housing in North Carolina, was challenged by the limitations of its aging phone system. The company was growing rapidly and its phone system was inhibiting productivity and lacked the expandability to support the needs of their growing business. Hawthorne Residential Partners IT Manager Marry Morrow knew it was time to explore a more robust communications solution with grow-as-you-go capabilities. He partnered with Tom Martin, Manager of Technical Operations at Service Telephone & Equipment Inc., an authorized Panasonic reseller, to test a new business communications server that would provide a flexible solution and enhance call productivity – one of the companies most pressing needs.

After conducting pre-configuration tests, Service Telephone & Equipment recommended and installed Panasonic's NS700 compact hybrid communications platform and a variety of IP phones including the KX-NT553 and KX-NT556 models. The installation at Hawthorne Residential Partners was completed in just two business days – with no interruption to their business. Once the system was installed, employees were particularly enthusiastic about its feature that allowed them to forward their desktop phone to their mobile devices.

In addition, the user-friendly interface made it simple and easy for them to set it up themselves. With the new system in place, Hawthorne Residential Partners was also pleased with the remote management capabilities "including being able to add new users from any location and flexible configuration from a single site via a web browser interface. Overall it's just a comprehensive robust system... the little things that count," says Tom Martin.

Since the installation, Hawthorne Residential Partners has experienced an increase in productivity, allowing them to respond to incoming calls and requests in a timelier manner. The upgrade proved to be successful in cutting costs and allowing for the system flexibility the company needed. "The ease of management, the cost and the way it integrated into our business has been extremely valuable," said Barry Morrow, IT Manager for Hawthorne Residential Partners.

Key Features

Hawthorne Residential Partners needed a solution that could support their growth and allow for remote management flexibilities. Key features include: