Overview
Multi-tenant residential property managers, their board members, and management companies face unique challenges concerning the oversight of their properties. Most have neither the time nor the inclination to be heavily involved in technology system issues. Yet, they seek a trouble-free environment that will provide superior service and deliver the most value.
One of CTS's clients, a twin-tower condominium in Midtown Atlanta, was searching for a new relationship with a partner that focuses exclusively on the technology challenges faced by residential communities. Previous vendor relationships with IT service providers offered one-size-fits-all technology solutions that were poorly adapted to their specific needs.
The Challenge
Our client's goal was to identify and deploy a new telecommunications solution that could deliver improved functionality and safety compared to their existing system, while lowering costs at the same time. An updated system would provide much-needed new capability and automation, and would free up our client to attend to the myriad other issues that require attention daily.
CTS's initial facility assessment revealed an environment configured with two front desks (one in each tower), a primary management office, and a VOIP-based telephone system that provided service for the staff as well as the life safety (fire) system, designed to protect and evacuate the building population in emergencies. The existing phone service relied on functional Internet connectivity and would fail whenever their connection was down. Management staff did not know which phone number was assigned to which device, which prevented them from making changes to their system. The current setup resulted in residents' calls to their respective concierge being delivered on occasion to the wrong front desk.
The equipment in place was outdated, and mobile capabilities were non-existent (management was not able to access telecommunication services when off-premise). This combination resulted in time-consuming service interruptions, as well as unplanned and high-priced maintenance expenditures.
It was clear that the system needed to be updated yet simplified and retain the functionality required to serve their purposes while keeping costs low.
Implementation
CTS began the project by assessing and documenting their current telecommunications environment, including all necessary wire tracing and phone number discovery. They met with management and staff to understand their pain-points with daily tasks, discussed different options with the Board of Directors, and proposed a solution that exceeded their initial request. CTS managed the transition of phone numbers, physical phone replacement, and installation. We worked closely with management to ensure they were in alignment with the new agreements from phone service, elevator maintenance, and life safety monitoring providers. Our client was especially appreciative that they experienced no downtime, and the transition to an upgraded system was smooth.
The CTS Solution
Our client required a robust solution that allowed for greater functionality, reduced cost, and greater reliability - especially for life safety and elevator emergency phone service.
CTS delivered:
Assessment of and documentation of the client's current telecommunications environment, including all necessary wire tracing and phone number discovery.
Implementation of a line-sharing system for each elevator bank (three elevators per tower), reducing the number of emergency lines from six to two.
Assignment of emergency lines for all elevators to new POTS (land) lines for improved reliability and elimination of dependency on sporadic Internet service.
Deployment of a Cloud-based auto-attendant VOIP solution allowing calls to be routed to the correct destination without human intervention.
Configuration of call rollover functionality for both front desks, so that if a tower concierge doesn't answer the phone, the call forwards automatically to the other tower concierge for resolution.
Deployment of a mobile VOIP application on each cell phone so that a concierge can answer a call when away from the desk assisting a resident or in the event of an emergency.
Installation of Cloud-based VOIP functionality, allowing a concierge to auto-dial a resident's phone number from their computer (a task performed many, many times per day), replacing a manual lookup/dial procedure.
Procurement of new agreements with land-line, cellular, and VOIP providers to reduce monthly telecommunications costs.
The Result
An out-of-date telecommunications system was holding back the property manager's ability to communicate more effectively and serve residents, and they were spending too much time and money maintaining their old system. Migrating to a business communications system with the latest productivity-enhancing features was far less expensive than our client realized and far more straightforward, too. By using CTS's migration services, a transition to an updated communication solution was smooth and efficient.
CTS designed and deployed a custom telecommunications solution that included POTS, Cloud-based VOIP services, and line-sharing safety equipment for the elevators to improve system functionality & reliability, and was able to reduce costs by 20% per month.
Upgraded business communications took our client to the next level, with:
Increased Property Manager Productivity
Improved Customer/Resident Service
Increased Communications Speed
Incorporation for Remote Access
Simplified Collaboration
Scalable, Economic Growth
Simplified Management
Reduced Expenses
Our client is now enjoying a more high-performance and cost-effective system, appreciates being more responsive to residents, maintaining better control of their property and costs, and has reliable support from a technology partner they can trust.