Who We Are
Communications That Can Keep Up
Do you need a new voice solution that keeps you connected in the office and on the go? Are you looking to add video conferencing technology that won’t cause all your meetings to start 10 minutes late? Or maybe your network is bogged down by new team members or an outdated system. Whatever your needs are, we can improve your communication and collaboration experience while providing professional support beyond installation.
Leadership Team
ALAN BURDINE – PRESIDENT, COO
Alan has been a member of the CRI family for more than 3 decades. He became president of the company in 2010. Alan has worked in the business communication industry since 1986, working as a telephone technician before joining the CRI team in 1990.
Alan continues to thrive on the ever-challenging changes in communications technology and helping his team navigate, learn, and grow throughout each change. The solutions CRI provides have changed drastically sine 1990, but CRI’s commitment to each and every customer has not. ‘The most rewarding part of this job is watching our employees function as a team built on the spirit of family. They take care of each other and treat each customer as if every request were the most important thing in the day. Having a team like this makes coming to work a pleasure.
[email protected] | 423-855-3850
PHIL BURKETT - CHAIRMAN, CEO
Phil started CRI on April 1, 1980 with a vision about a company that would provide the best communications solutions and support in the region by simply doing the right thing, every time. The right thing in how it took care of its customers, its employees and in the highly ethical way it took care of its business. Phil made that vision clear and has never strayed from it, infusing his passion for it in all of the employees that would support it going forward.
Because of that vision, a team of outstanding employees and customers that continually provide us with the opportunity to serve them, CRI has grown into a company that serves customers both nationally and inter-nationally, and we are blessed to be in business for over 4 decades. Today, Phil functions as Chairman and CEO of CRI and although not active daily in the business, he maintains an advisory relationship with all of his employees and still carries the CRI torch in everything he does.
[email protected] | 423-855-3801
DOUG BRYANT – EXECUTIVE VP, CTO
With over 30 years of professional experience in Communications, Doug began his career managing both inbound and outbound call centers. During that period of time, he began working with the technical programming and analysis portions of Contact Center management. In 1994, Doug became Communications Manager for a flooring company in Dalton, Georgia. Here he continued his Contact Center and Telecommunications management career until 1999, when he joined the CRI team as Chattanooga Operations Manager. In 2017, Doug began managing all technical aspects of CRI’s operation as Director of Technical Operations. In 2019, Doug was promoted to Executive VP, Chief Technical Officer, adding his experience and passion to the leadership team that would continue to guide CRI forward.
Doug has extensive experience in engineering, designing, implementing, and managing complex contact centers, voice and data networks, WAN, and WLAN networks. He most enjoys leveraging this experience while working with our customers and engineers to build strong relationships, strategies, and systems that facilitate their continued success.
[email protected] | 423-855-3815
RHONDA AKINS – VP, CFO
Rhonda came to work with CRI in 2012, after working in public accounting at a local firm for 4 years.
Rhonda’s first assignment was as an accounting assistant and during her first year, she obtained her certification as a Certified Public Accountant. As Rhonda gained more and more knowledge about CRI’s business processes and the need for them to continually adapt to changing technologies, she became very strategic to ensuring our overall success while maintaining the high standards of accounting that CRI was known for. In 2019, Rhonda was promoted to VP of Finance, Chief Financial Officer where she serves on our leadership team and oversees all our Accounting and HR functions.
[email protected] | 423-855-3817
Our History
Technology Has Changed. Our Commitment to Customers Hasn’t.
When we started CRI 30 years ago, if you told us you wanted your data to live in the cloud we’d assume you were going to throw all your paper files up at the sky.
In early 1980, Northern Telecom decided to transition their business to a distributorship model. Phil Burkett, then Northern Telecom Branch Manager for Chattanooga, saw an opportunity to become the first Nortel distributor. Along with two business partners, Burkett purchased the East Tennessee operation from Northern Telecom and CRI was formed on April 1, 1980.
In subsequent years, Phil bought out his partners and became the sole owner. He placed an emphasis on providing the best equipment and service in town. This focus allowed CRI to grow our business and continually attain new customers throughout the Southeastern United States.
Today, CRI has grown to more than 50 employees through and we now have direct sales and service offices in Knoxville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Huntsville and Chattanooga. Thanks to technology, we are now selling, installing and maintaining systems nationwide.
Although the industry and the technology have changed, CRI’s attention to detail and customer satisfaction have not. We still offer the best equipment and service in town. After three decades in the industry and supporting more than 100,000 desktops nationwide, CRI remains your trusted business communications partner.
Reviews From Our Clients
Testimonials
“CRI and ShoreTel provided features we did not have, the lowest cost of ownership over five years, and the new system was manageable by our own IT staff. In the past, moves, adds and changes were not only costly but also time consuming. And more importantly, the solution CRI proposed saved us over $150,000.”
“CRI has become a great partner for Blood Assurance. The CRI staff was able to get our system up and running quickly and reliably. They have responded quickly and professionally to our questions and our trouble calls. The partnership with CRI will greatly benefit Blood Assurance in the future in the ever-changing world of communications technology.”
“CRI has supported Hamilton County Government’s telecommunications systems for several years. During this time they have always been there for us. We appreciate the consistency and longevity of their support and partnership with Hamilton County Government.”
“We chose CRI for our ShoreTel installation because they had provided such excellent service with our old system. Our conversion was seamless. CRI deployed more than adequate resources at each of our locations, and the conversion took less than an hour. I can recommend them without hesitation.”