Packaging Incorporated

Mitel® 5000 Communications Platform gives packaging

distributor a big solution in a small box

WHY MITEL?CUSTOMER HIGHLIGHT SERIES

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2 WHY MITEL? CUSTOMER HIGHLIGHT SERIES

The folks at Packaging Incorporated ought to know thatgreat things can come in small packages. Distributors ofpackaging and fastener supplies, the 50-person companyhas been helping industry and business deliver excellencethroughout the US for over half a century.

So it was no surprise that, when they upgraded their voicenetwork to the Mitel 5000 Communications Platform (CP),the whole hybrid IP / data system, including a full suite ofbusiness applications on the Mitel Applications Suite(MAS), came in a diminutive package that takes upvirtually no space in their server room.

The Eden Prairie, Minnesota–based company hadoutgrown their decade-old Avaya analog system by 2009.The old switch lacked even basic features of a 21st centuryphone system, such as call forwarding and caller-on-holdreminders. Not only were these shortcomings a bane totheir staff and customers, they were expensive too.Mike Sangrene, System Administrator with PackagingIncorporated, explains that the lack of built-in voiceconferencing was costing them $800 – 900 per monthfor a hosted service. “Voice conferencing is an essentialtool for business today,” said Sangrene. “The Mitel 5000CP lets us take control of that.”

Better. Smaller. Cost effective.Sangrene turned to Integra Telecom, a MitelauthorizedPARTNER he had worked with previously.Integra emphasizes integration solutions and a uniqueapproach to each customer’s needs. They quicklyrecognized that the 5000 CP was the perfect fit forPackaging Incorporated’s needs. Although they hadalso looked at newer Avaya switches, the small size,rich application set (including conferencing), and, mostimportantly, the price all helped tip them in favor of the5000 CP. “Cost was important for us,” recalls Sangrene.“With Avaya, we’d continue to pay over $2,000 permonth in leasing and maintenance costs. At $700 permonth for the 5000, Mitel was the clear winner.” Evenbetter, Mitel offered a buyout option at the end of theirlease, an option they’ve never had with Avaya.

Having a hybrid design was also important sothat Packaging Incorporated could take advantage ofproductivity features without having to overhaul theirexisting network. As Sangrene explains, their infrastructuredoes not support Power over Ethernet (PoE), so a pure IPsolution would have required expensive and disruptiveupgrades throughout the office.

Simply meetingThe built-in voice conferencing support, a part of MitelAudio & Web Conferencing (AWC) software on MAS forinstant messaging, file sharing, and other collaborationbenefits, has been a big boon for Packaging Incorporated.With sales representatives throughout the Midwest,weekly sales calls are critical to their business. The 5000CP makes arranging calls a breeze. Users particularly likethe fact that recurring meetings can be automated – andthey can even reuse a fixed access key. “Our sales peopleused to scramble to join conferences with a new keyevery week,” explains Sangrene. “Now, with therecurring key, there’s no hassle convening calls onthe Mitel audio bridge.”

And they also noticed a marked improvement in soundquality during calls – an important feature when themajority of participants are calling in from noisy cellconnections. Even better, AWC lets them see, in real time,the levels of background noise for each line. Whether it’schatter, traffic, or a barking dog, participants can mutethat connection to eliminate distractions.

For years, Packaging Incorporated has lived withthe anxiety of losing customers in their phone system.Since the Avaya switch did not support caller-on-holdreminders, it was unfortunate that callers wereoccasionally forgotten in the system until they lostpatience and hung up. The 5000 CP has changed that.With a touch of configuration, they’ve implemented30-second on-hold reminders. When staff place a calleron hold, they are automatically reminded if the personthey are trying to reach has not picked up, allowing themto intervene and provide the caller with other options.Now, customers are never forgotten – or lost – whilewaiting to speak to staff.

Another feature that staff had been craving for a longtime is real-time presence information. Now, with MitelUnified Communicator® (UC) Express, anyone can seeat a glance if a co-worker is on the phone, in a meeting,otherwise busy, or available. Sangrene explains thebenefits: “Having presence information at our fingertipsmeans fewer false starts for staff trying to reach eachother. Communications flows around road-blocks.”

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PACKAGING INCORPORATED 3

WHY MITEL? CUSTOMER HIGHLIGHT SERIES

Administration refinedGood experiences tend to start well. As much of animprovement as the 5000 CP has been for users, clients,and cost-conscious executives, it has also been a delightfor Sangrene to administer. From the day he took the unitfrom its packaging, administering the system has been ahuge improvement over the old Avaya switch. To begin, thedeployment and cutover were seamless. Sangrene recalls,“the only reason users knew something had changed wasbecause it got so much better.” And the platform continuesto please him. The user-friendly administration toolssimplify both the initial setup and everyday tasks. Andsince Mitel NuPoint Unified Messaging™ (UM) on MAS,which gives users unified access to voice mail, email,fax, and other communications channels, allows usersto customize voice mail passwords and settings options,he is freed from monotonous, repetitive tasks. Thatmeans being able to focus on projects that add valueto the business. Sangrene explains: “As the only systemadministrator, I appreciate technologies that free mytime for projects. The 5000 does that.”

Other niceties of the 5000 CP include the smaller footprintin their server room and the lower electrical consumption,refinements that they had not even hoped for – butappreciate having.

For now, Packaging Incorporated’s warehouse staffcontinue to communicate primarily by email, using thepublic phone system for long-distance calls. But with the5000 CP in place, Sangrene has the comfort of knowingthat they can support innovative workflows. They caneasily upgrade existing warehouse phones with MitelTelephones as they need replacing, and have them appearseamlessly as extensions on their switch. And if they everneed more flexibility, they can add interconnected5000 CPs to each location. One way or another,when the future calls, they’ll be ready.

COMPANYA 50-person packaging and fastener supply company with locationsin three states.

CHALLENGETo reduce conferencing and telephony equipment costs of ownershipwhile improving overall voice efficiency.

CHOICE• Mitel 5000 CP

• Mitel 8520 and 8560 Telephones

• Mitel Applications Suite (MAS) for the 5000 CP – Mitel AWC– Mitel NuPoint Advanced UM

• Mitel UC Express

WHY MITEL?• Reduced leasing costs for phone system. The Mitel solution is

approximately one-third the cost of their old Avaya switch.

• Higher quality audio conferencing at a significantly lower cost.Bringing conferencing in-house has delivered lower costs andbetter quality than their old hosted solution.

• Presence awareness. Graphical displays tell them whereco-workers are, whether they are available, and how best tocontact them.

• Ease of use. Their communications technology fits the needs andworking styles of the people using it, so they can focus on justgetting the job done.

• Flexible options for the support of remote locations.

“Voice conferencing is an essential tool for business

today. The Mitel 5000 CP lets us take control of that.”

“Cost was important for us. With Avaya, we’d continue

to pay over $2,000 per month in leasing and maintenance

costs, so at $700 per month for the 5000, Mitel was

the clear winner.”

– Mike Sangrene, System Administrator,Packaging Incorporated

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About Packaging IncorporatedBased in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, PackagingIncorporated provides packaging and fastening productsto manufacturing, industrial, packaging, printing, andconstruction companies to keep them supplied and todevelop innovative solutions.

www.packagingincorporated.com

About Integra TelecomIntegra Telecom provides voice, data, and Internetcommunications to thousands of business and carriercustomers in 11 western states, including: Arizona,California, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana,Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.The company owns and operates a best-in-class fiber-optic network comprised of metropolitan accessnetworks, a nationally acclaimed tier-one Internet anddata network, and a 4,700-mile high-speed long haulnetwork. They have also earned some of the highestcustomer loyalty and customer satisfaction ratings in thetelecommunications industry.

www.integratelecom.com

www.mitel.comTHIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED TO YOU FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. The information furnished in this document, believed by Mitel to be accurate as of the dateof its publication, is subject to change without notice. Mitel assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions in this document and shall have no obligation to you as aresult of having made this document available to you or based upon the information it contains.

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© Copyright 2010, Mitel Networks Corporation. All Rights Reserved. GD 1162_6690 PN 51016353RA-EN

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