Callis finds telecom role in green buildings

“We do have power surges quite often on Gulf Coast,” Geiger said. “We have a lot of customers that can’t have us go down, so we have to have backup power generators at our office to always keep us running. With this system, there is no need for battery backups of every phone at every desk. When the power goes out, there’s one UPS [universal power supply] for the whole phone system.”

And the new approach to powering the phones eliminates risks from lightning strikes, Parker said.

“We see this as a complete win-win for our customers because they don’t pay any more for our service, and they are able to lower their electrical bills,” Parker said. Other customers are signing on to this new feature for the cost savings, he said.

White-Spunner built in other environmentally friendly features into its new headquarters, which it has occupied since May, including automated lighting and temperature controls and a white roof, Geiger said. Because the company has construction facilities spread all over the country, and its communications needs are constantly changing as some projects are finished and others started, using a hosted communications provider such as Callis helps keep overall costs down.

“We can add a line anywhere, anytime, and we are always adding construction trailers – at any one time, we have 40 projects lasting 8 to 9 months each,” Geiger said. “We are always adding phone lines and taking out phone lines. Communications is important -- everyone has a Blackberry, all of our construction trailers do high-speed systems. Our VoIP system connects the voice and data all in one package. All of our superintendents whether they are in Texas or Georgia or North Carolina have the same local phone number. And we have high-speed connections that let us communicate with owners and architects, sending huge plans over email.”