Verizon Business and Brown Jordan International Collaborate to Design, Implement Converged VoIP Solution

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. -- To advance its global business operations, Brown Jordan International has enlisted Verizon Business to help the global manufacturer of fine luxury furnishings transition to voice over Internet protocol (VoIP).

Under a new multiyear agreement announced Tuesday (March 6) at the VoiceCon Spring 2007 IP Telephony conference in Orlando, Fla., Verizon Business will help Brown Jordan International better serve the needs of its customers by connecting its 1,600 employees at its corporate office and 12 locations with a cutting-edge and highly efficient communications platform that will converge voice and data traffic onto a single network.

"As a rapidly growing company making the move to VoIP, we wanted to work with a strategic global solutions provider that could manage and support our IT needs, while controlling risk and providing cost savings opportunities," said Bill Snow, CIO of Brown Jordan International.  "By making the decision to deploy Verizon Business' IP services, we are working as a team to design a comprehensive and customized VoIP strategy that will drive operating and cost efficiencies, while also helping to improve communications with our customers and partners."

Under terms of the agreement, Verizon Business is providing Hosted IP Centrex, IP Integrated Access, Private IP (Layer 3 MPLS VPN), video, voice and Web conferencing solutions, Internet Dedicated Access, Secure Gateway firewall services and Class of Service (CoS) prioritization of voice, data and video traffic.

Brown Jordan International, based in St. Augustine, Fla., faced the dual challenge of replacing disparate legacy stand-alone TDM voice systems around the country and the need to obtain cost efficiencies.   Verizon Business' Private IP provides a platform to move to advanced VoIP services including Hosted IP Centrex and IP Integrated Access.  Together, these services offer Brown Jordan International key benefits, including simplified billing, low capital expenditures and business continuity – all necessities for an expanding global organization. 

In addition, Verizon Business' advanced conferencing services will enable Brown Jordan International designers and builders to regularly connect by video conference to collaborate on products and complete training programs – a practice that will help improve time to market, while enabling the company to realize savings on travel and freight costs.

"We are working with our customers to unleash the power of IP communications and revolutionize the way they do business," said Tony Recine, vice president of business solutions for Verizon Business.  "Our IP services team delivers a unique value proposition to our customers by collaborating to arrive at a strategic solution that leverages our network and extensive portfolio of products and services, with the goal of helping an enterprise streamline business practices and enhance their network investment."

Verizon Business employs an IP Services organization of 450 expert professionals dedicated to helping businesses effectively transition to IP.  This specialized team serves as an expert alternative to in-house company resources, delivering full life cycle project management, including pre-sales consulting, solution design, migration, financial planning, and technical implementation and support.  As a result, Verizon Business customers benefit from IP communications solutions, including VoIP and Contact Center Services, tailored to fit their enterprise-specific requirements.

VoIP Portfolio

Verizon Business' portfolio of VoIP services includes five product offerings:  IP Flexible T1, IP Integrated Access, IP Trunking, Hosted IP Centrex and Managed IP PBX.  These services leverage robust, flexible platforms that provide a high-quality voice experience, vast national and international footprint and rich feature set, all of which afford customers a smooth, flexible transition to VoIP on their own path and pace.  It also allows customers to utilize their existing infrastructure, enabling them to mix and match solutions, whether network or premises-based.

Verizon Business Private IP customers benefit from having their critical data safely delivered over a carrier-class global network backed by stringent service level agreements.  Private IP, Verizon Business' multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) – based virtual private network, is the company's fastest growing service.   Private IP is available in more than 116 countries.

In addition, Verizon Business offers Managed Network Services, managing more than 3,600 customer networks in 142 countries, overseeing more than 240,000 devices, 100,000 routers, and 50,000 LAN switches.

Verizon Business is a recognized leader in delivering advanced communications and information technology (IT) services for large-business customers around the world.  The company was recently recognized by Forrester Research for leading the competition on VoIP strategy by providing in-depth roadmaps with the specialized resources to help customers transition to VoIP at their own path and pace.  The study, "Forrester Wave™: US Enterprise-Class VoIP Services, Q1 2007," found that "Verizon Business is best in class on overall voice- over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) strategy, leading others on technology strategy, planned performance and customer service enhancements, and price."

In addition, Frost & Sullivan awarded the company an Innovation award in 2006 for its VoIP services, and also recognized Verizon Business as a leading Web conferencing reseller services provider.  In 2006, Internet Telephony magazine awarded Verizon Business' Hosted IP Centrex with an Excellence award.

About Brown Jordan International
Brown Jordan International is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of quality home furnishings and contract furnishings, selling a full range of products through a network of sales representatives, specialty dealers and mass merchandisers.  Brown Jordan products include indoor and outdoor chairs, tables, sofas, and love seats for home and commercial use.  Major brands include Brown Jordan, Winston, Casual Living, Loewenstein, INDX, Charter, Lodging by Liberty, Wabash, Texacraft and Tropic Craft. 
 
The corporate office of Brown Jordan International is located in St. Augustine, Florida.   Brown Jordan International is vertically integrated with numerous manufacturing facilities and sales offices located both domestically and internationally.

About Verizon Business
Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a leading provider of advanced communications and information technology (IT) solutions to large business and government customers worldwide.  Combining unsurpassed global network reach with advanced technology and professional service capabilities, Verizon Business delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  For more information, visit www.verizonbusiness.com.

####