Sparkplug has announced a pack of hosted communications services, including voice, Microsoft (News - Alert) Exchange e-mail, and related unified communications applications across all its U.S. regions.

 

Sparkplug has stated that these services are now provided on behalf of customer request. Users are now viewing them as a provider of core Web-based communication services.

 

Sparkplug’s new services were launched on the basis of experience it got by acquiring the Las Vegas-based Verde Communications. The company entered the voice business through a close partnership with Las Vegas-based CommPartners Connect. Also in 2007, Sparkplug joined forces with Seattle-based Chinook Hosting to offer hosted Microsoft Exchange services and related communication applications.

 

Sparkplug is a fixed wireless broadband service provider currently operating networks across five states, including the metropolitan markets of Chicago, Nashville, Des Moines, Phoenix and Las Vegas. CommPartners is an IP-based network operator providing wholesale VoIP and enhanced IP applications to carriers and strategic partners.

 

Chinook is software as a service (SaaS (News - Alert)) applications hosting company that works with service providers such as Sparkplug to offer a full range of hosted Microsoft applications.

 

“Since we run these new services over our own broadband network with a single point of control, customers are assured of optimum performance and reliability,” said Jason Mendenhall, vice president of product and customer operations at Sparkplug. “A fully integrated suite of services like what we’re offering makes life easier for customers saving them both time and money. CommPartners and Chinook give us the ability to deliver high quality applications with the confidence that they share our values and our commitment to long-term customer satisfaction."

 

Burke and Associates, a leading Las Vegas general contractor, is a good example of the power of flexible business broadband combined with other services. Burke has remote project sites throughout the Las Vegas Valley and the corporate office needs to be in constant communication with project teams, owners, and sub-contractors.

 

“Sparkplug offers the flexibility of setup and services that I cannot find anywhere else,” said Rick Coblentz, IT specialist of Burke and Associates. “We are able to get business-class broadband with voice service to all our locations. And when new sites come up, Sparkplug can get them installed and running in a matter of days. Voice services are integrated with our main office. This all means lower costs and valuable time savings. Sparkplug is an easy and satisfying choice for our company.”

 

The company says that their partnerships with CommPartners and Chinook have enabled them to help customers to look for just one single vendor for a suite of core, mission-critical business applications and they have also realized that true business-class broadband is often the crucial link in the success of voice and related services.

 

Sparkplug has also experience strong demand for other applications in addition to voice; particularly e-mail and related services. Chinook Hosting supplies its Microsoft-based services on a wholesales basis to a wide range of service providers and so it understands the challenges and opportunities in the marketplace.

 

“Sparkplug is the ideal profile for the kind of company we like to work with,” said Greg Williams, CEO of Chinook Hosting. “The company’s broadband offering provides the exact kind of flexibility, capacity, and reliability needed to deliver business-class applications like those from Chinook.”