Business Issue:
Affiliated Computer Services faced the same problem other large IT outsourcing companies faced, comprehensive and accurate billing of resources to their customers. Today's IT environment is complex. You still have the large IBM Mainframes, however they are joined with UNIX, AS400, Linux, Microsoft and several other operating environment. There are also Internet services, communications, print, fulfillment, personnel cost and other resources that need to be accounted for. A convergent solution was needed to track these dispersed resources and present them on a single monthly bill to their customers.

Billing methodologies also varied due to resource type and usage. Fixed rates, allocation and overages,tiered structures and miscellaneous charges must all be manageable and combined into a single invoice.

Technology Solution:
IPC and Affiliated Computer Services worked under a co-development agreement to produce a system that fulfilled their needs. The system design allowed for unlimited resources that could be billed using one of many different billing methodologies (ex. data communication costs could be billed by dedicated line, bytes, kilobytes and use either a flat structure per unit or a tiered structure that decreased the price at defined usage levels).

Automation was the key to success. Interfaces to multiple IT platforms were developed and automated to run when data was available. This dramatically decreased the time it took to perform resource accounting and produce an invoice to the customer, from weeks to days.

The solution also provided ACS with a means to burn CD-ROMS to present their customers details of what was billed and how. ACS customers' can run reports or use spreadsheets to review their bill and also to trend their usage.

DP-RAMS does over $80 million per month in billing for ACS's commercial outsourcing clients.

The system was developed using Microsoft technology, thus insuring an integrated technology infrastructure that is easily enhanced using standard Microsoft Office products. DP-RAMS is a proprietary product of IPC and is effective for both billing and charge back environments.

Business Issue:
Appliance Warehouse is in a niche industry of leasing large appliances to apartment complexes, individual residents and corporate services companies. They needed an integrated solution that would provide them a technology infrastructure that could grow with their business.

Standard "off-the-shelf" solutions did not meet their requirements. These solutions left data integration nightmares and did not meet their dynamic growth demands. Their current system was under supported and did not allow them to easily expand to add additional features.

Technology Solution:
IPC and Appliance Warehouse worked together to design a system that would meet their needs today and in the future. A design was developed to integrate their operations into an infrastructure that would enable them to continue to grow at the rapid pace they had been experiencing. The solution integrates their Call Center, Warehouse Operations, Accounting, Billing, Inventory and a customer Extranet.

This custom system also provides remote operations to their 20+ warehouses in the United States, over the Internet. These warehouse locations perform appliance deliveries and inventory management. The use of Symbol PPT2800 handhelds allows the warehouses to scan equipment on routes and to conduct inventory audits. This technology increased accuracy and made drastic time improvements.

Recently IPC enhanced the system to support a Fleet Optimization Application using Blackberry Smartphones and Sprint Mobile service. This allows the drivers to receive updates while in the field and to close orders. The solution employs scanning and GPS technologies.

The system was developed using Microsoft technology, thus insuring an integrated technology infrastructure that is easily enhanced using standard Microsoft Office products.

Symbol PPT2860 using Microsoft Pocket PC Operating System. 802.11b WLAN connection and scanner

Motorola i58 Phones using Nextel service and Vettro's Fleet Optimization Application

Business Issue:
BMC Advertising provides their customers with media spots in television and radio. Their customers are ministries that have a presence in the United States and several foreign countries. BMC Advertising had the same problem that most speciality service corporations have, a system that did not meet their needs and it was too complex to operate efficiently with in house staff.

BMC's previous system did not provide them with the media management functions they need to not only service their customers, but become a market leader in their services. The Unix environment could not be maintained onsite and support was slow and expensive from the initial vendor.

BMC could not find a system that met their business needs and demands for integration, providing their customers with value and ongoing support.

Technology Solution:
IPC and BMC sat down together and analyzed their business and direction and then designed a system that would have a long life, provide the features and functions BMC and their customers need, integrate their entire operations and enhance their service to their customers.

IPC chose an Accounting system that would provide an easy integration from the custom software. One that was also Microsoft SQL Server based so the entire operations of BMC could be integrated to provide real-time information to employees and clients. The integration of media management, accounting and billing provided BMC with a system that allowed all departments to work together in services their clients.

The system was developed using Microsoft technology, thus insuring an integrated technology infrastructure that is easily enhanced using standard Microsoft Office products.

Business Issue:
Clotheshorse Anonymous is an upscale consignment store in Dallas Texas. Their current "off-the-shelf" system could not handle the number of registers they needed or support the PC's necessary to operate their large and growing business. They also had support problems, both software and network, related to the Unix based solution. The vendor could not keep up with their needs as a large scale consignment store, and support was extremely expensive.

Clotheshorse needed a reliable, easy to operate and manage solution that provided all the features and functions necessary to operate their business. They also needed a partner that would support their system for the future so they could worry about consignment, not technology.

Technology Solution:

IPC and Clotheshorse Anonymous worked under a co-development agreement to produce a system that fulfilled their needs. Together IPC and Clothershorse Ownership and managers designed a system, since named Carma, that provided them with the features and functionality that they needed, plus, an operations and network environment that would promote, not restrict, their growth.

The complete integration of the retail sales and consignment management allows Clothershorse to easily and accurately track both their consignors and their customers. Batch capture using a Percon handhelds provides quick and accurate inventory. Clotheshorse personnel can go to the inventory versus having the inventory brought to the computer.

IPC has stayed on to manage the IT issues and provide software enhancement support for the solution since. Currently IPC and Clotheshorse are enhancing the system to take advantage of new technology, hardware, and network upgrades.

The system was developed using Microsoft technology, thus insuring an integrated technology infrastructure that is easily enhanced using standard Microsoft Office products. Carma is available for your company too.

Business Issue:
PHNS Inc. is in the highly competitive IT Services industry. They provide outsourcing for the Medical Industry. PHNS was looking for a solution to manage their contracts from multiple locations, while maintaining them centrally from their offices in Dallas, Texas. They also wanted to provide these services to their customers.

Standard "off-the-shelf" solutions did not meet their requirements. These solutions did not address the "anyplace, anytime" requirement for contract management nor would they interface into their exisiting systems. These systems were also cost prohibitive for their needs as a service provider.

Technology Solution:

IPC and PHNS worked together to design a system that would meet their needs. Together the team designed a system that is Internet/Intranet based, allows scanning through a browser, provides aggressive alerts on contract actions and provides the indexing and search capabilities to locate documents.

IPC designed the system for linear expandability to handle a multi-organizational shared environment. OCR was also implemented in a centralized configuration to automate the process.

The indexing and search capabilities provide the user with the ability to search for words or phrases across the entire library of documents, thus returning a list of documents with the page numbers where the word or phrase is found. This enables the user to search for all contracts that have "HIPAA regulations" and receive the entire list of contracts with that phrase.

Internet/Intranet based scanning using Microsoft Internet Explorer expands the reach of the system to their many locations. They scan and index contracts from remote offices, customer sites and the occasional hotel room. Access to documents are also expanded to anywhere the user has access to an Internet connection.

The system was developed using Microsoft technology, thus insuring an integrated technology infrastructure that is easily enhanced using standard Microsoft Office products.

Business Issue:
Coinmach has grown into the largest Laundry Service Company in the United States. To accomplish this, Coinmach has maintained a local presence in all of the geographic markets they serve. By utilizing local customs, people, designs and cultures, Coinmach ensures the satisfaction of management and residents alike. Coinmach believes that laundry facilities are as individual as the communities they serve. That's why every Coinmach laundry room is tailored to meet the space, environmental, and economic criteria set by the customer. While the structure of every laundry room may be different, the commitment to quality and service that Coinmach puts into each one is always the same. The end result is an efficient, dependable laundry facility, backed by the best service team in the business.

With all of these locations, each with their own phone system, Coinmach found it difficult and expensive to manage. There was little ability to leverage their overal size and they could not find an integrated solution. Most systems, in their dozens of locations, were at the end of life cycle and many locations were experiencing problems. Coinmach could not have a single point of failure but demanded an integrated phone solution for extension to extension dialing from New York to California and all points in between.

Technology Solution:

IPC implemented our Asterisk based SecurePBX solution in all major locations, with small locations configured to the nearest PBX. Every location is interconnected to the other so Coinmach has a single National Directory, extension to extension dialing (no telephone costs, free over the Internet), no single point of failure, Presence and their call center is on SecurePBX also.

IPC was able to pool Coinmach and its other customers into better rates for interstate, intrastate and 800 service. Coinmach received an average of 50% off of intrastate and interstate calls, and even more on inbound 800 service. IPC also provides point of service for their clients with redundent outbound paths using Bandwidth.com and Bandtel.

IPC provided complete integration services: migration, on-site installs, working with outside phone companies for migration and termination, training, support and custom development.

IPC also provides backup and DR solutions for the network as well as ongoing support via help desk and email to the users nationwide.

Cisco 7940G, Cisco 7960G, Aastra 57i, Astra 57iCT, Counterpath eyeBeam soft phone