8x8 Virtual Office Pro Simplifies Global Communications for ECO2 Forests
8x8 Virtual Office Pro Simplifies Global Communications for ECO2 Forests ECO2 Forests President Martin Tindall didn t start out as an environmentalist. But as his work for international companies had him heading around the globe, what he saw was one damaged environment after another, he began to realize there was a straightforward solution: create new forests. A Global Solution to a Global Problem In 2006, this insight led Tindall and his business partners to found ECO2 Forests, a progressive international forestation company focused on reforestation of previously damaged and deforested land, and saving existing threatened forests. Using the company s Global Forestry Plan, the company has implemented an innovative business model built on longterm sustainability. The key to the company s business model is the Kiri Tree. A rapidly growing, high carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) sequestering tree, Kiri forests can be safely harvested for lumber every seven years without damaging the environment. Even more remarkably, the trees then automatically regenerate themselves from the stump, producing another harvestable forest in seven years. This steady supply of lumber helps protect old-growth forests which remain untouched, while each Kiri Tree eliminates 2.5 tons of C0 2 from the atmosphere. It also provides ECO2 Forests with two significant revenue streams: one from lumber and the other from carbon credits both of which can be traded internationally. 2
8x8 Virtual Office Pro not only provides a very strong suite of communication services, it also supports a number of add-on applications including one for the iphone, notes Tindall. The pricing for these rich features was also very competitive. It was clear to me that using 8x8 Virtual Office Pro would deliver the most value for us. ECO2 Forests President Martin Tindall Indigenous to China and Japan, the Kiri Tree can be grown worldwide. ECO2 Forests has already secured land to plant 29,000 acres in Australia, Vanuatu and the United States, and plans to cultivate more than a million and a half acres globally. Problems like deforestation and rising CO 2 levels are global concerns that require global solutions, notes Tindall. Whether you live in the US, Europe, Australia, or the developing world, we all have to breathe the same air. 8x8 Virtual Office Pro Enables Mission-Critical Mobility Establishing global operations presents business challenges as well. Tindall began spending much of his time traveling between the company s offices in Queensland, Australia and Sacramento, California, in addition to scouting numerous other international locations for possible cultivation. ECO2 Forests other geographically dispersed employees had to rely on disparate, regional service providers for voice communications and Internet access. The resulting fragmentation and lack of business-class features made it difficult and expensive for the company s global team to stay in touch. Tindall began looking for a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solution that would provide standardized, enterprise-quality communications for all employees. What he found, however, was that most VoIP solutions offered only limited features and lacked the mobile functionality he and the other ECO2 Forests employees needed for their iphones. These needs were the primary drivers behind his decision to install 8x8 Virtual Office Pro. 8x8 Virtual Office Pro not only provides a very strong suite of communication services, it also supports a number of add-on applications including one for the iphone, notes Tindall. The pricing for these rich features was also very competitive. It was clear to me that using 8x8 Virtual Office Pro would deliver the most value for us. Unified Access Streamlines Communications and Cuts Costs 8x8 Virtual Office Pro provides a complete communications solution for ECO2 Forests, including phone service, online faxing, web conferencing, call recording and other webbased productivity tools. 3
An employee in Florida can call a colleague in Australia or transfer a call to a coworker in Sacramento just by dialing their 4-digit extension. It completely eliminates the complexity of long-distance or international calling ECO2 Forests President Martin Tindall The Virtual Office Mobile application included in the Virtual Office Pro bundle provides the company with significant cost savings as well as allowing employees to place local and international calls on their iphones using their Virtual Office calling plans instead of their cellular calling plans. Employees can get the same savings outside the US by using the Virtual Office Mobile application in Wi-Fi zones to avoid any international data roaming charges associated with their cellular plans. With 8x8, we now have the freedom to use our iphones as much as we need to, without constantly worrying about cost constraints, says Tindall. As we continue to expand our operations, we ll be able to deploy a highly productive global workforce to support our Global Forestry Plan. Having one unified global phone system has also simplified internal calling for ECO2 Forests by allowing employees to place and transfer calls using 4-digit dialing. An employee in Florida can call a colleague in Australia or transfer a call to a coworker in Sacramento just by dialing their 4-digit extension. It completely eliminates the complexity of longdistance or international calling, and lets geographically distant employees reach each other as easily as if they shared the same office space, explains Tindall. Easy Expansion Keeps the Focus on Business As he contemplates ECO2 Forests plans to expand into 20 more countries, Tindall is confident that 8x8 Virtual Office Pro will continue to keep pace and deliver value. Our first phones were live within hours of arriving, and installation just keeps getting faster and easier. All we have to do is open a new office, connect it to the web, and activate our 8x8 Virtual Office extensions. This is important as it means we can spend less time setting up our communications system and more time focusing on our business. Paperless Faxing and Billing Minimizing the use of paper is also an elementary requirement for a company like ECO2 Forests. Luckily the Virtual Office Pro solution includes both Internet faxing and online billing, which eliminate wasted paper and the CO 2 burden of sending bills through the postal system. We strongly believe in conserving forestry resources as well as replenishing them, says Tindall. Virtual Office Pro saves paper, which ultimately saves trees, and that is central to our corporate mission. 4
CASE STUDY Greener Meetings Tindall also expects ECO2 Forests to use the Virtual Meeting web conferencing capabilities included in Virtual Office Pro even more frequently as more company offices open. Virtual Meeting enables audio-, web- and videoconferencing, and desktop content sharing, for meeting participants worldwide. Virtual meetings that eliminate employee travel help reduce our company s own carbon footprint and that s certainly in line with our vision to make ECO2 Forests an ethical contributor to the environment, concludes Tindall. Virtual Office Pro: Save Time, Money and the Environment With 8x8 Virtual Office Pro, any business can now enjoy the advantage of a hosted VoIP solution that provides enterprise-quality phone, fax, and web conferencing for every user. This centralized, cost-effective solution saves businesses time and money, and as ECO2 Forests experience shows, even helps save the environment. For more information about 8x8 Virtual Office Pro, please visit www.8x8.com. NASDAQ: EGHT www.8x8.com 2010. The 8x8, Inc. logo is a registered trademark of 8x8, Inc. 8x8, Inc. is a publicly traded company. CORP306/510