Toy Store's VoIP Solution Is 'All Business'

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 to modern parents that were 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 by Sheri's store- and parenting-related blog called Spilling the Beans, so they opened additional Magic Beans outlets in Hingham, Mass. and Wellesley, Mass. They also have a Dedham, Mass. location set for 2009.



Now, as in then, the Gurocks are all over the place, shuttling between three retail locations, a warehouse, and home (they are new parents). 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's IP Office to meet their rapidly expanding infrastructure needs.

The Gurocks worked with a solution provider, All Business Communications, Waltham, Mass., geared specifically to small and midsize businesses and an exclusive reseller of Avaya products.

"We had a regular telephone system from Verizon when we opened," Sheri Gurock 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 Ely were both in their mid-twenties when Magic Beans opened, and just getting started. 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. "It's been a very adaptable, very cost effective and very scalable [solution]."

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 reported seeing very few challenges in getting the VoIP system to meet new requirements.



"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."

Avaya's IP Office is geared for small business in the under-250 space. Part of the "new Avaya," as Raj Sonty, new vice president of solutions, SMB, told Everything Channel last month, is a focus on SMB sales and services and how Avaya's channel partners can reap the benefits. Magic Beans and its needs were right in the Avaya SMB team's wheel house, according to executives.



"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."

"My business is 100 percent channel so it's my lifeblood," said Geoffrey Baird, Vice President and General Manager, Small and Medium Business Solutions, Avaya (pictured). "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 has definitely noticed a change in how Avaya approaches SMB and its channel partners.



"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."