A system crash in 1995 forced Itasca County to make a decision to upgrade their communications system because of difficulty getting replacement parts for their current system. At the time, the County went through the bid process to search for a vendor to provide them with a new system.

Itasca County chose Marco to replace their outdated voice system with a Mitel Voice Network. Since the installation in 1995, Bob Olson, Itasca County Coordinator, has been pleased with the performance of the system. “We are ecstatic with the way the system has worked over the past ten years,” said Bob. “The system has met and exceeded our expectations. We have not had any major problems with our system. We were the lucky winners in the end.”

Bob has enjoyed the relationship he has established with Marco's Voice Communications Specialist, Glenn Pence, over the past ten years. He explained, “I was impressed from the very beginning. I never experienced a salesperson that came in and worked as hard as the installers.” Bob went on, “Glenn was here during the entire installation, the system cut over, and throughout the follow-up. The man deserves an award. I've never seen anyone who continues to work on a customer relationship like Glenn does.”  

That relationship led to the County's decision to count on Marco when they were ready to start making the transition to voice Over IP. Bob explained, “Our Land Department moved about 1-1/2 miles away from our Courthouse, which gave us the opportunity to look at other voice options. We thought this was a good opportunity to give VoIP a try.”

In February 2005, Marco upgraded Itasca County's Mitel Voice Network with Voice Over IP at two of their locations—the Courthouse and the Land Department.

“We're extremely pleased with the way things are working,” said Bob. “Our experience with all of Marco's people has been excellent. They were here during and after installation and for system training. We looked at this as an opportunity and we will eventually totally switch over to VoIP.”

When asked if they would recommend Marco to other customers, Bob replied, “Without question! And I've done it! You just can't ask for a better service experience.”

Itasca County is located in North Central Minnesota and has a population of approximately 43,000. The goal of Itasca County Offices' 400 employees is to preserve and enhance the quality of life, the environment, and the economic well-being within the community.