COMPANY OVERVIEW
Benecom Technologies Inc. has been providing IT and computer services and support since their founding in 1991 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Today, Benecom is a full-service Network Support Provider offering everything from Managed Services that remotely monitor, manage, and secure customers’ networks, to Onsite Support for network peripherals and printers, to managing voice and data cabling and communications infrastructure. Their solutions are among the most comprehensive, flexible, and cost effective available in Louisiana, Mississippi, South Alabama and the Greater Memphis, Tennessee area.
THE CHALLENGE
Dave Benedic, President of Benecom, initially started out selling phone systems through a smaller provider with little to no name recognition in the marketplace. As time went on, he noticed that any time he spoke with potential customers for Benecom, no one seemed to use the solutions for the existing provider. The need for a partnership with a solutions provider who had much more name brand recognition, greater stability and a well-established customer base to tap into became clear. There was one name he kept coming back to: NEC.
“A lot of other companies just didn’t have the depth and the product lines and the commitment to ride out the changes in technology,” he says.
That depth of product lines has proven to be crucial for Benecom, with their growth coming from both on-premises and cloud-hosted solutions. The need to find a partner capable of providing and backing an extensive range of solutions tailored to diverse customer requirements would be crucial. Many providers could provide one or the other, but NEC was able to provide both paths to business communications, allowing Benecom to maximize their full market potential and the Power of Choice.
NEC being the company that they are and how long they’ve been in business and the reputation that’s preceded NEC, I couldn’t have hitched my wagon to a better company.
Dave Benedic,
President, Benecom
THE SOLUTION
Over the years, Benecom successfully acquired multiple businesses and brought them into the fold. Dave was wary of selling competing products from multiple providers and so the decision was ultimately made to exclusively sell NEC telecommunications products. He hasn’t looked back since.
“NEC being the company that they are and how long they’ve been in business and the reputation that’s preceded NEC, I couldn’t have hitched my wagon to a better company,” says Dave.
It wasn’t just about reputation and name recognition though. Benecom prides itself on providing outstanding support to its customers. Dave commits to a simple yet powerful promise: a person will always answer the phone at Benecom. Fortunately, partnering with NEC allowed him the choice to retain ownership of his business’ customers so that Benecom can continue to maintain their commitment to an outstanding customer experience. And according to Dave, NEC has provided the same in return.
“I’ve never worked with a vendor who’s made the commitment that NEC has made to us over the last couple years,” he says.
The Results
Benecom Technologies has seen substantial growth since partnering with NEC. In the first five years of the partnership, revenue grew 15% - and phone sales, specifically, increased by 500%.
Benecom’s partnership with NEC also produced a win in the form of a contract from the state of Louisiana that allows Benecom to sell directly to various local government agencies and organizations throughout the state. NEC’s government-dedicated sales team supported Benecom throughout the process and helped put them in a position to grow their business significantly for years to come.
Benecom is well positioned to provide on-premises communications platforms like UNIVERGE SV9100, SV9500 and SL2100 or cloud-hosted hybrid solutions like UNIVERGE BLUE CONNECT BRIDGE. Additionally, they are able to offer a cloud-hosted video monitoring solution UNIVERGE BLUE MONITOR to help customers migrate to the cloud and provide a multitude of services to meet their needs.
Beyond the Power of Choice afforded to them by partnering with NEC, Benecom is also actively growing their team. Employee head count is up 8% since the partnership formed, with several new hires in sales and marketing resources dedicated to the cloud-hosted side of its business. That’s in addition to the support that NEC’s own Marketing team provides in the form of website content, SEO, social media outreach, and email marketing campaigns.
Dave is excited about the future with NEC and UNIVERGE BLUE and looking forward to continued success in the coming years.
“I think it’s going to continue to be a growing relationship. Hopefully we’ll become a major partner for NEC and show that we’re committed to selling their products and services. I don’t see it changing – only growing.”
