Altura Communication Solutions Offers One-Stop Shop

By Nicole Zaro Stahl, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Technology advances have spawned an incredible array of telecommunications capabilities, completely transforming the industry landscape. From equipment manufacturers to software vendors to service providers, there is now a plethora of options when it comes to building the critical piece of organizational infrastructure known as the communications network.

The change in business models means that instead of interfacing with just one entity, it is now necessary to coordinate services from multiple sources. Hacienda tenant Altura Communications Solutions, however, streamlines the process so customers can get as close to the former single-source provider model as possible.

Formerly the service and support divisions of GTE Business Systems/Fujitsu Business Communication Systems, Altura is one of the nation's largest providers of Avaya end-to-end communications solutions and managed network services. "We provide just about everything but the actual dial tone - the hardware, software, installation, training, and on-going support," according to Altura major accounts manager Bill Anderson, whose territory spans northern California. "With Altura, instead of renting, customers own and manage the equipment, so they see a rapid return on their investment, and they get many more modern features with the Avaya solution."

Headquartered in Fullerton, the company has more than 26 sales and service offices throughout North America. Its 300 plus professionals tend to the needs of more than 6,000 customers in government, education, healthcare, and financial markets.

Among Altura's unified communications offerings are VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) phone systems; data transmission; unified messaging systems that play voice mail via the Internet; mobility tools; and audio-, video-, and web-conferencing, complete with collaboration tools.

Its systems are especially appropriate for enterprises that have a large number of users, making them very popular in the municipal and university sectors. For example, Altura customer UC Berkeley has close to 12,000 phones, many of which are in a call center staffed by 270 agents. The system accommodates incoming calls relating to such diverse subjects as financial aid and basketball tickets. Altura call center technology not only places the calls into the right queue, but it also generates reports on call volume loads that help customers plan staffing levels, thus serving as an HR tool.

Campus systems have a special safety feature for 911 calls that enables the campus police to pinpoint the originating location of an incoming call, whether via landline or cell phone, "right down to the cubicle level," Anderson remarks.

He also highlights several advantages that give Altura's value proposition high appeal among enterprise clients. For example, the company only sells phone systems from one manufacturer, Avaya. The benefit is that Altura service technicians - always company employees, not subcontractors - are trained experts on this equipment, instead of having to deal with multiple brands. "Our focus and commitment mean that our technicians don't have to dilute their talent," Anderson comments. At the same time, Altura's stature as a large national company gives it the heft to negotiate deep discounts with the manufacturer, leading to value pricing that smaller competitors are unable to match, he says.

For more information, visit www.alturacs.com.

Photo: Altura's product offerings include everything from state- of-the-art video conferencing systems to the latest unified communications systems using VOIP. (Photo courtesy of Altura Communication Solutions.)