VoIP And The Beanstalk

When Sheri and Eli Gurock opened the first branch of Magic Beans in Brookline, Mass., in 2004, they had modest hopes for their store: an outlet for high-end toys and baby gear targeted at modern parents willing to spend a bit more for the good stuff.

Sheri and Eli saw explosive growth in their first two years—fueled by a palpable buzz in the Boston area and Sheri's companion blog, Spilling the Beans—and they opened additional Magic Beans outlets in Hingham, Mass., and Wellesley, Mass. A Dedham, Mass., location is set for 2009.

Now, as then, the Gurocks are all over the place, shuttling between three retail locations, a warehouse and home with their newborn. Needing to be in constant contact with each store—and be available for important calls as if they were physically at any location at any time—Sheri and Eli chose Avaya Inc.'s IP Office to meet their rapidly expanding infrastructure needs.

The Gurocks worked with solution provider All Business Communications Inc., Waltham, Mass., which specifically deals with SMBs and is an exclusive reseller of Avaya products.

"We had a regular telephone system from Verizon when we opened," Sheri recalled. "[But] there was a tremendous number of challenges because we were so frequently in different places."

"One thing we saw immediately was that they didn't have one big space where they could have all their products—that doesn't make sense for their retail environment," said Andy DeAngelis, vice president of sales at All Business. "We knew they were young and we knew we had to provide a cost-effective solution that could accommodate a small company, but also a company that's thinking big with lots of different locations and people working remotely."

Sheri and Eli were in their mid-20s when Magic Beans opened. They had considered a Cisco solution, Sheri said, but needed a financing option that Cisco wasn't able to provide. "All Business was able to line up the financing [from Avaya], which is sometimes very difficult to do for a business like ours," Sheri said.

One of the key features in Avaya IP Office is its mobile twinning, which allows Sheri and Eli to send incoming office calls to their mobile devices when they're out of the office. DeAngelis recognized the system's adaptability, and as the Magic Beans portfolio has expanded, Sheri reports seeing very few challenges.

"When you're talking up these VoIP systems, they're so feature-rich that you have to be in constant touch with your customer," DeAngelis explained. "We have remote access to their system, and I think to see that we have total control of the scenario—and that we can change things—is big for them. They liked the level of project management we were willing to provide."

Part of the new Avaya, as vice president of solutions, SMB, Raj Sonty, told Everything Channel last month, is a focus on SMB sales and services and how Avaya's partners can reap the benefits.

"We like to think of it as an enterprise-class solution for a small business," said Geoffrey Baird, Avaya's VP and general manager, SMB Solutions. "Magic Beans is multiple sites, all requiring network access, and IP Office is managing all of that for you, plus the added value of mobility. Magic Beans is a small company, but one that operates fully in the environment of today—far more sophisticated than a small business was 10 years ago."

It's success stories like Magic Beans' that have led observers to believe that Avaya, Basking Ridge, N.J., has turned the corner on what before was seen as a flagging SMB channel relationship.

"My business is 100 percent channel, so it's my lifeblood," Baird said. "I was ex-3Com, and when I came out to Avaya, there was quite a lot we had to do with the channel. There's still a lot more work we need to do—I don't think we're the best at it yet—but we're very focused from a partner perspective."

DeAngelis said he definitely has noticed a change.

"With the new core within Avaya—the leadership teams—I think there's more of a personal touch, whereas before, yeah, there were challenges in communicating," he said. "I definitely can sense the real push for SMB, where before it was a very big push into enterprise and SMB was just sort of the nice little other side of the house. It's been great so far."