The Garlands of Barrington Creates Revenue Stream using NEC Software Based Communications

Luxury Retirement Community in Illinois Utilizes NEC’s UNIVERGE® Sphericall to Connect Residents with Hospitality and Medical Staff, as Well as the Outside World

IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NEC Unified Solutions, Inc. (NEC), a leading provider of enterprise business communications solutions, today announced that The Garlands of Barrington (The Garlands), a luxury retirement community in suburban Chicago, has established excellent customer service and created a revenue stream for its business using NEC’s UNIVERGE Sphericall communications solution.

“The Garlands is a prime example of the power of Sphericall in a hospitality setting”

Sphericall provides the residents with a gateway to all services at The Garlands, from medical assistance to booking reservations, accessing amenities and high-end services. Customer service throughout the retirement community is dependent on The Garlands resident’s ability to effortlessly schedule appointments and stay connected to their family and friends. With the support of authorized NEC dealer NE Communications, The Garlands provides residential phone service and voicemail to its customers and is able to bill for communications services as part of its overall monthly invoice.

Residents at The Garlands use Sphericall to access a multitude of activities, such as theme parties, fitness and spa, games, crafting or computer classes and book club. Member services including valet parking and concierge assistance as well as dog walking, dry cleaning and help carrying in groceries also are available. From independent living residences, to skilled nursing and dementia care facilities, the communications solution connects employees and residents. Additionally, Sphericall provides service to the 12 hospitality suites reserved for the residents’ friends and family, and the healthcare facility staff have portable phones so nurses can receive calls and maintain contact with their patients when away.

“Providing a comfortable and secure environment with excellent residential services and benefits is a top priority at The Garlands. The Sphericall solution exceeds our expectations. It has and will continue to grow with us, easily expanding to help protect our technology investment,” said Bruce Berlin, executive director, The Garlands of Barrington. “We believe NEC’s software-based solution and NE Communications’ service provide efficiency for our employees by eliminating the need to coordinate with multiple vendors to maintain individual phone systems for residents. From a business perspective, the solution has given us the ability to generate revenue from communications rather than treating it as a liability.”

“The Garlands is a prime example of the power of Sphericall in a hospitality setting,” said Larry Levenberg, vice president and general manager, National Channel for NEC Unified Solutions. “With this solution, The Garlands cannot only provide excellent customer service but can also create a regular revenue source by running its own communications business.”

In March, NEC launched UNIVERGE Sphericall for Hospitality, a 100-percent software-based solution built on the Sphericall enterprise softswitch platform and offering substantial ownership cost savings and productivity benefits. The solution allows for the integration of advanced features seldom made available in an economical and cost-effective communications solution for small- and medium-sized hotels.

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NEC and UNIVERGE are registered trademarks of NEC Corporation.

For more information about The Garlands of Barrington, visit www.thegarlands.com.

For more information about NE Communications, visit www.necommunications.com.