8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT), a provider of cloud communications and
collaboration solutions, today announced that it is providing integrated business
VoIP telephony, video, group paging and mobile services for
Learn4Life’s rapidly growing network of public charter schools. These
advanced services are being subsidized through the federal government’s
E-rate program, which supports telecommunications modernization and
upgrades at qualifying educational institutions.
Founded 13 years ago, Learn4Life
began in Lancaster, California, as a new education resource for
disadvantaged children who cannot attend traditional full-time schools.
Typically these kids have dropped out—or are at risk for dropping
out—because they must work to support their families, have experienced
teen pregnancy, are in foster care, or lack transportation. Learn4Life
addresses these barriers by giving each student a personal learning plan
that allows them to do most of their schoolwork at home. Phone, Internet
and videoconferencing services enable them to connect with teachers
remotely.
Now with more than 70 sites in Southern California and plans to expand
to Texas, Ohio and Northern California over the next two years,
Learn4Life needed highly reliable unified communications that could
support both its rapid expansion and its distance learning model. When
the company’s previous VoIP provider could not deliver the required
uptime or scalability, Learn4Life turned to cloud-based provider 8x8.
“We need a service provider who can keep up with us,” said Skip Hansen,
senior vice president of Learn4Life. “Unless we can roll out reliable
communications quickly, we have to delay the opening of new sites—and
that’s not in line with our mission. Our goal isn’t just to teach kids;
we’re trying to save their lives. Time to market is key for us.”
Participation in the federal E-rate program was also part of Hansen’s
selection criteria. He estimates that Learn4Life recoups 85–95% of its
actual communication costs through the program, making 8x8’s
participation in E-rate “essential” to his organization’s success and
growth.
More than 50 Learn4Life sites are already using 8x8 unified
communications. 8x8’s bandwidth-efficient cloud infrastructure supports
videoconferences between teachers and students without degrading phone,
Internet or other IP-based services. Group paging enables staff at all
sites to hear company announcements using the intercom feature on their
desk phones. 8x8’s mobile app for iOS and Android devices allows users
to access 8x8 features through their smartphones and tablets no matter
where they are.
“8x8’s cloud-based communication services are ideal for geographically
dispersed, high-growth organizations like Learn4Life because they unify
existing sites and support rapid deployment of new locations,” said 8x8
CEO Vik Verma. “Learn4Life is pioneering an educational concept that
offers personalized learning for disadvantaged students who might
otherwise never acquire the skills they need to survive. 8x8 is honored
to help Learn4Life fulfill its mission by providing advanced solutions
that enable at-risk kids to learn effectively at home, and enable
employees to collaborate effectively across multiple locations.”
About 8x8, Inc.
8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT) is a provider of unified communications and
collaboration, or UCC, services in the cloud to small and medium
businesses, or SMBs, and mid-market and distributed enterprises. The
company delivers a broad suite of UCC services to in-office and mobile
devices spanning cloud business
VoIP, virtual meeting, call center software and virtual desktop
through our proprietary unified software as a service, or SaaS,
platform. For additional information, visit www.8x8.com,
or connect with 8x8 on Google+,
Facebook, LinkedIn
and Twitter.
About Learn4Life
Learn4Life is a growing network of public charter schools. Our mission
is to connect students to one of our partnered resource centers located
throughout California, and each student receives a personalized learning
plan to help them reach their goals. Students who
attend Learn4Life schools are all taught individually in a one-on-one
setting, on a personalized track to graduation. With thousands of
success stories already and many more to come, Learn4Life schools are on
the cutting edge of education reform.
Copyright Business Wire 2014