After successfully creating the third largest residential real estate firm in the U.S., Keller Williams also proves how 8x8's VoIP services provide them with a successful phone system. Find out more below in the complete press release: Keller Williams' Bay Area Growth Facilitated by 8x8 Virtual Office IP Phone Solution and IT Management Services From RightCliq.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jul 27, 2009 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- Keller Williams Realty has an operating model so unique and successful that it was the focus of a 28-page business case study written by Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. The 2007 study cited company culture -- including training, organizational structure and a rigid core belief system -- as an indicator of their current and future success. Today, Keller Williams is the third-largest residential real estate firm in the U.S. with over 650 locations nationwide.
Santa Clara-based VoIP phone service provider 8x8, Inc. (Nasdaq:EGHT) and managed IT service provider RightCliq have recently become part of Keller Williams' stringent formula for success, providing the phone systems and network support for the firm's Tri-Valley Realty offices serving Pleasanton, Dublin, and Livermore and home to over 170 Keller Williams agents.
"Each choice we make, from the realtors who join our family to the office systems we put in place to support them, are part of a larger set of values that we all ascribe to," says Rick Geha, owner and operating partner at Keller Williams Tri-Valley Realty. "That's how we're able to maintain such growth when so many others are simply hanging on."
8x8 provides Keller Williams Tri-Valley Realty offices (referred to as "Market Centers" in Keller Williams speak) and agents with a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) hosted PBX phone solution called 8x8 Virtual Office. The 8x8 Virtual Office solution enables small and medium-sized enterprises to secure distributed, corporate class telecommunications capabilities for a fraction of the cost of wireline business services from traditional phone companies. RightCliq, the other part of this equation, ensures that Keller Williams Tri-Valley Realty's network environment is optimized to make the most use out of the technologies they depend on to succeed, like Virtual Office. With the assistance of these service providers, each Market Center is able to employ a phone system with the sophistication of a corporate PBX, but for a price that fits within the guidelines defined by a parent company whose mantra is to lead with revenue and keep expenses low.
For Keller Williams Tri-Valley Realty agents, this sophistication means calling features that allow their clients and associates to reach them by dialing one number instead of trying the office, then the cell, and for some, even their home. It also gives agents-on-the-go additional versatility that allows them to more easily capitalize on real estate opportunities -- like phone calls that can be read as emails and forwarded in the same manner. For Market Center administrators who bear the burden of keeping the office operational and on budget, it means more intuitive billing and less time spent picking apart statements to ensure that agent business costs are being correctly assigned. Another budgeting plus of the 8x8 Virtual Office solution is that the individual offices pay an unlimited flat rate for local and long distance calls so they are better able to predict monthly costs and don't have to penalize agents with burdensome long-distance fees that can really add up.
But, the cost savings and operational efficiencies that the Keller Williams Tri-Valley Realty team enjoys today with the 8x8 Virtual Office solution may not have been possible without the aid of Fremont-based RightCliq.
Keller Williams Tri-Valley Realty made the switch to 8x8, Inc. from a previous VoIP provider that they became unhappy with due to outages, dropped calls and poor call quality. With its highly competitive pricing and longevity in the market, 8x8 Virtual Office seemed to be the clear choice to replace the incumbent service provider. But, when network issues at the Keller Williams sites began to impact 8x8 Virtual Office call quality, the Market Center had to quickly take proactive steps to correct the design and operation of the network.
"That's the part where we came in," says Tom Kozas, president of RightCliq. "We knew the problem didn't lie with 8x8's service. The network Keller Williams Tri-Valley Realty had in place wasn't designed to scale with their growth. To illustrate that point to their management, within only days, and not weeks or months, we were able to identify elusive network problems and help them quickly produce results for their agents."
The solution was RightCliq's VoIP Advantage (RVA), a network monitoring appliance and service which provided minute-by-minute monitoring of their VoIP network. RightCliq sifted through Keller Williams Tri-Valley Realty's voice traffic for clues to quickly pinpoint the source of the voice issues the offices were experiencing. In one case, the RVA discovered excessive bandwidth consumption at various times during the day was the main cause. RightCliq then fixed the problem by optimizing the network to give priority to phone data.
Says Geha of Keller Williams Tri-Valley Realty, "We're forging ahead in a market that hasn't been as kind to many other realty franchises due, in large part, to the bar we have set for ourselves. Companies like 8x8 and RightCliq are making sure that we have the right technology at the right price for our near and long-term business goals. We want growth -- and we want to make the money we are spending work for us."
The relationship forged by 8x8 and RightCliq to serve Keller Williams Tri-Valley Realty falls succinctly into the real estate giant's own vision of culture -- a vision which includes the word "Teamwork" and the statement "Together everyone achieves more."
About 8x8, Inc.
8x8, Inc. (Nasdaq:EGHT) offers voice, video and mobile communications solutions for business and residential customers. These solutions leverage existing broadband Internet connections and cellular networks to deliver advanced features and digital quality phone service at a fraction of the cost of legacy, copper wire alternatives. Businesses of any size, configuration or geographic location can benefit from the cost, performance and operational advantages of VoIP technology. All 8x8 communications solutions carry little or no upfront investment, no maintenance or upgrade fees and no change in user behavior. For additional information, visit www.8x8.com.
About RightCliq Headquartered in Fremont, California, RightCliq offers enterprise-level managed IT solutions for small and medium size businesses (SMB) with flexible and practical mobile data and voice solutions that address business growth without operational complexity. RightCliq's comprehensive technology-leading solutions address a key challenge faced by most SMB today -- achieving breakthrough simplicity for applications such as push email, contacts, and calendar on any device without the high cost and maintenance -- hence providing RightCliq's clients a competitive edge by reliably keeping them in contact with their end-customers. For additional information, visit www.RightCliq.net.
This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com
SOURCE: 8x8 Inc.
