Since 1959 Imperial Home Products (IHP) has been one of the leading door-to-door house ware sales companies in the island. With a mission of providing healthy and long lasting solutions to a family’s essential needs, IHP focuses on addressing nutrition, water, air and environmental health in the homes.
More than 50 years ago, the company introduced Lifetime cookware and tools in the Puerto Rican market. Then, after a meticulous study and product review, the company added water and air purification systems, followed by sophisticated cleaning solutions, including ambiance and laundry products that complete the company’s portfolio. All products meet IHP’s high quality standards, which are: high efficiency, state of the art technology and outstanding durability. Most of the products have been tested by hospitals, laboratories, hotels and the US Department of Defense and have been approved by FDA and/or certified by regulatory agencies and expert quality control associations. IHP is located in Metro Office Park, Guaynabo, and has regional offices in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico and Orlando, Florida.
An existing WorldNet’s client, IHP contacts us to help them relocate all equipment (telecommunications, computers, routers, Ethernet and internet connections, servers, etc.) to a new office in short period of time, which required very detailed planning to guarantee cost effectiveness to the company and the minimum service interruption possible. While at this move, IHP decided to upgrade its equipment looking to optimize efficiencies and reduce telecommunication expenses.
NEEDS
At the time of the relocation, IHP had a switchboard with two PRI andT1 analog and digital trunks and nine IBM Xseries servers. WorldNet experts approached IHP President Andrew Berti Foti and Project Lead Alfonso Lang C (IT Consultant) and presented options to upgrade their current platform to a cloud based one, looking to optimize performance and increase savings. IHP agreed to the proposal and we were able to deliver an upgraded solution that generates short and long term results for IHP. With door-to-door sales companies relying more and more on alternate means of reaching out their target audiences these days, it was critical for IHP to be able to continue business as usual during the relocation and platform transition so as to minimize impact in revenues and client service.
SOLUTIONS
This project was implemented in two short phases: on phase one, we installed a Cloud PBX. SIP to PRI system in two days, with a continuous follow up for two weeks. The Cloud PBX provides IHP with an easy to use and upgradable phone service without the investment and responsibility of maintaining and repairing equipment. It also increases productivity and collaboration through enhanced functionalities in a centralized platform, which enables scalability for growing their business. As an added bonus, it represented a reduction in capital expenses as well as in communication costs.
Then, on phase 2, we installed the Cloud Server. With this infrastructure in place, IHP conserves space through equipment consolidation and redundancy – with no additional hardware required. Sales representative and other staff on the move can now have remote access from any laptop, smartphone or tablet, a feature that is particularly important for them. And last but not least, the integrated business continuity feature along with the recovery tools of the virtual server provide added security – and peace of mind, because IHP’s data is protected and the possible downtime due to outages is minimal. This installation took a week to be complete.
RESULTS
With a 40% reduction in telecommunications expenses, along with savings in server maintenance and technological resources costs, IHP experienced almost immediate results with the installation of the new, upgraded cloud-based platform. The company also informs that typical voltage sags / power service outages are no longer affecting the business continuity, since the virtual servers continue operating normally.
On the long term, thanks to the scalability feature of the cloud servers installed, IHP no longer has to worry about the capital investment and space that would require a service expansion – all they need to do is add a virtual server. Migration and upgrades will also be a lot easier and faster.
IHP describes the transition as a ‘technological quantum leap’ and reports multiple benefits in terms of cost efficiencies, time management and business continuity. “What started as a request for relocation ended up being an opportunity to upgrade and optimize our telecommunications in a way we weren’t expecting WorldNet telecommunications and Cloud solutions create and deliver business value for IHP by performing business more efficiently and effectively and creating new business models for delivery our current services.
WorldNet’s experts made the process easy and put their knowledge to work during a seamless transition, with virtually no downtime. We continued business as usual, even during the move.
As providers of connecting networks, WorldNet has a unique advantage over other players in the Cloud marketplace and can play a key role in value creation,” affirmed Andrew Berti Foti, President of IHP.