Released on: August 12, 2008, 7:20 am

Press Release Author: Anne Ward

Industry: Telecommunications

Press Release Summary: Travel Management Company migrates 15 US locations to M5
Voice as a Service (VaaS) platform

Press Release Body: New York, NY-M5 Networks, a leading business to business VoIP
phone system provider for Protravel International, one of the nation's largest
retail travel companies, provides 15 US offices and remote locations with business
continuity and cutting edge technologies supporting growth. Protravel, a
Manhattan-based retail travel company with more than 650 phones, supporting a new
division Virtually Pro; allowing high-level corporate agents to work from home
keeping the same functionalities they would have in the office. The M5 solution
gives the company and employees access to highly reliable, scalable, and feature
rich network with greater responsiveness with predictable costs. Protravel is now
able to recruit high caliber talent with the new capability, and since
implementation have added 75 additional people to the firm.
"It became clear that Protravel really needed a strong and reliable telephony
infrastructure to scale to our rapid growth but also help us provide our clients
with an even higher level of customer service," said Lou Moran, Chief Technology
Officer of Protravel International. "We also wanted to continue to attract the best
people in the business and provide all our agents who work remotely with the best
tools to do their jobs and do it well. There was no other choice to help us tackle
these issues than M5. After evaluating 30 vendors over 18 months, M5 came out on
top."
M5 and Connected Workers
"M5 has helped Protravel unlock the power of the phone system in order to really
build an on-demand business, enhance existing client relationships, and continue to
a hire top-notch staff," said Dan Hoffman, president and chief executive officer, M5
Networks, Inc. "M5's Voice as a service platform can transform the way a midsized
business like Protravel operates. M5 is here to manage the hundreds of details, and
sort through thousands of features, so that Protravel can do what they do
best-service customers who want to travel to great places."
Committed to providing white glove service to its high profile clients at all times,
Protravel's 650 employees have 24-hour access to their phones. Using M5's service
Protravel employees can quickly access company information to ensure a higher level
of quality customer service and provide cutting-edge business telephony applications
whether they are located in a Protravel's headquarters, regional offices, or home
offices.
Disaster Recovery Planning
The California Wildfire Disaster occurring in fall of 2007 forced Protravel
International's San Diego branch office staff to evacuate office buildings. This
disruption caused businesses in the area to shut down business operations. Protravel
was able to avoid disaster thanks to the flexibility of its M5 Voice as a Service
platform, which allowed the 10 local employees to work remotely from home. M5
re-routed the regional office's telephone numbers within minutes to their branch
office in Palm Desert California, ensuring that call flow was not disrupted.
Employees from the San Diego office were able to resume normal businesses operations
immediately when they returned.
About M5 Networks
M5 Networks is the pioneer of \"Voice as a Service,\" a breakthrough solution for
business phone communications. Industry experts predict that in ten years no
business will have a phone system. Instead, they will require phone system
capabilities as an on-demand, managed service over an IP network optimized for voice
- in other words, Voice as a Service. Today M5 serves a rapidly growing base of
mid-sized businesses. Its solution is distinguished by the rich capabilities and
unmatched service that one would expect from an industry leader.
M5's Voice as a Service (VaaS) includes three major components: Active Service
Management, or proactive, transparent service from deployment through ongoing
management and maintenance; Embedded Continuity, or "baked-in" business continuity
that goes far beyond simple redundancy; and On-Demand Solutions, which provide
actionable business breakthroughs for marketing, call center, staffing and client
service functions. M5 Networks has received considerable recognition and was named
to the 2006 Inc. 500 (#272) and the 2007 Deloitte's Technology Fast 50. M5 was
recognized by CRN as one of the top 15 Key VoIP Players in 2007. Internet Telephony
magazine named M5 Networks an Excellence Award Winner of 2007 for their Call Center
solution and awarded 2007 Product of the Year recognition to M5's Sales Engine. M5
has also been included on the Pulver 100 list for six consecutive years in addition
to receiving numerous other accolades. To learn more about M5, please visit
www.m5net.com.
For more information contact:
Anne Ward
M5 Networks
646.747.1634
award@m5net.com



Web Site: http://http://www.m5net.com/press.php?page_id=733&

Contact Details: Anne Ward
award@m5net.com
M5 Networks, Inc.
245 West 17th Street
New York, NY 10011
tel: 646.230.5000
fax: 646.230.5001