Century 21 Sunbelt Realty Implements Vertical TeleVantage – Sees Immediate Cost Savings

Voice Solution Improves Customer Responsiveness While Delivering Significant Savings in Administrative and Telecommunication Costs

NATIONAL ASSOC. OF REALTORS SHOW, SAN FRANCISCO (October 28, 2005) -- Vertical Communications (ASFT.OB), a leading provider of next-generation phone systems and voice applications that help businesses better serve their customers, today announced the implementation of Vertical TeleVantage IP-PBX phone system at Century 21 Sunbelt Realty, one of the firm’s top 25 real estate offices in the United States.

“We are thrilled with the immediate results made possible by the new Vertical solution. Our firm now has the ability to route calls directly to our agents wherever they are located, which allows us to answer more customer calls in real time,” said Barbara Watt, president and founder of Century 21 Sunbelt Realty. “TeleVantage offers us the best of both worlds. Our customers are more satisfied than ever, and our agents are more productive.”

According to Century 21 Sunbelt, in addition to overall improvements in customer service, the firm slashed administrative and operational costs, with a reduction in telephone line costs of almost $10K per year and half an administrative staff per person, per year, estimated at $25K per office. These savings quickly add up to allow the entire operation to realize a 12-month payback for the complete system.

“Century 21 Sunbelt Realty has remained a top producer, both within its national organization and its regional market because of a forward-thinking vision to leverage new technologies that deliver outstanding customer service,” said Bill Tauscher, Vertical’s chairman and CEO. “Therefore, it’s no surprise that this leading-edge firm chose to deploy a next-generation voice solution such as TeleVantage to increase their competitive advantage.”

While each individual office has realized cost savings and productivity enhancements, according to the firm the overall operation also benefits from centralized call routing and features, as well as from the business continuity plan architected into the multi-site configuration. In partnership with solution integrator Selpan Interactive, Inc., TeleVantage was fully implemented – including staff training – across ten Century 21 Sunbelt Realty offices in less than 12 weeks.

“We always feel confident that Vertical customers will get the best service and implementation expertise when they are working with Selpan Interactive, Inc.,” said Robert Robbins, Southeast District Channel Manager at Vertical. “The firm has successfully completed more than 50 next-generation telecommunication solution projects, and has the exact same number of satisfied customers.”

About TeleVantage
TeleVantage is an open, IP-PBX phone system that combines hundreds of industry-leading voice and data management features with seamless connections to third-party telephony and back-office applications. Its feature set provides cost-effective operation and customization, enabling medium-sized businesses, branch offices and call centers to improve customer service and enhance productivity. Built on industry standards and Intel technologies, TeleVantage reduces a company’s dependence on proprietary telephony hardware, allowing the system to grow and evolve as business needs and communications technologies change.