Harcourts signs up for Gen-i’s new mobility

Media release

Harcourts signs up for Gen-i’s new mobility solutions

Migration of New Zealand’s largest real estate group to new XT Mobile Network will enable Harcourts to improve business efficiency and productivity, and increase customer responsiveness

Auckland, 29 May 2009 – Harcourts, Gen-i’s largest mobile client, has started to migrate its 3,800 mobile users to Gen-i mobile solutions based on Telecom’s new XT Mobile Network.  

The move will allow the Harcourts team to improve its responsiveness and service to clients and increase productivity, by giving the team access to the information and applications they need, wherever they are and faster than before.

Harcourts New Zealand CEO, Bryan Thomson, says the move is an exciting step for Harcourts.

“Moving to the new XT Mobile Network is fantastic for us and our clients.  We’re absolutely committed to providing exceptional personal service to our clients, and being able to extend our existing business applications out to mobile devices will help us achieve our business goals.”

“Harcourts’ sales consultants spend most of their time out of the office and rely heavily on Harcourts’ own mobile solution, called Mobile Agent, which provides sales consultants with secure access to central databases of property and customer information via PDA devices.  

“Moving to the new XT platform will give us even faster access to this key information, improving the efficiency of our people and helping us to provide exceptional customer service.”

The improved roaming capability, with faster data speeds in more countries, is also a major upside for the business, Mr Thomson says. 

“We live and work in a world where time zones are irrelevant.  Being able to travel and work seamlessly overseas is hugely important to us and it’s great that the new network delivers faster mobile data to more countries, making it simple for us to do business abroad.”

Being able to offer its people the latest mobile device selection will also help Harcourts to attract and retain the best consultants, according to Mr Thomson.

“We pride ourselves on being a technology leader and know it’s important to equip our people with the best tools to do the job.  Being able to give them access to the latest mobile technologies and handsets is an additional benefit of moving to XT.”

Harcourts is New Zealand’s largest real estate group and the fastest growing in Australia.  The company has offices in nine countries and is experiencing strong overseas growth. 

Gen-i provides Harcourts with mobile, One Office, voice and data services across New Zealand, and Gen-i also hosts Harcourts’ web servers in both Australia and New Zealand.

Mr Thomson says it was important for Harcourts to partner with an ICT supplier that shared its values and could deliver innovative solutions to give the company a competitive edge.

“We build relationships based on knowledge, expertise, honesty and integrity and our relationship with Gen-i is based on these core values.  We are confident that we have selected a partner that has future-proofed its own technology which will, in turn, allow us to leverage future innovations in mobile technology.”  

With around 180 branches spanning the entire country, Harcourts also wanted local support as well as an ICT provider that was responsive to its needs, Mr Thomson says.  

“Gen-i not only has a nationwide presence, it has made it easy for us to connect by providing us with a dedicated support desk.  We find Gen-i easy to engage with and consistently able to deliver the right outcomes that enable us to better focus on our core business,” said Mr Thomson.

Chris Quin, Gen-i’s Chief Executive Officer, says Harcourts and Gen-i have established a strong partnership.

“Relationships are important to Harcourts.  Gen-i has taken the time to understand Harcourts’ business and develop a strong working relationship to deliver innovative solutions that help them get the best results.

“The new XT Mobile Network enhances our ability to deliver converged communications solutions that combine mobile with fixed line, broadband and IT to give clients like Harcourts a competitive edge,” he says.

Ends

© Scoop Media