Recently, Comcast and Inc. co-sponsored the Productivity@Work contest, in which the winners received a custom technology audit and a suite of Comcast Business Class solutions valued at approximately $40,000, including Comcast services, equipment upgrades, software, training and consulting services, all geared to improving productivity and growth.

Here's what Callanan & Klein Communications co-founder Erin Callanan had to say about her new Comcast Business Class service:

You know that saying "you never know what you don't know?" That's a good way to describe the technology infrastructure at Callanan & Klein Communications a year ago.

As a small business, we didn't have the time or resources to focus on the new technologies that could make us more productive. We didn't even know what technologies existed. We focused day-to-day on creating strong public relations programs for our clients. We did this with computers and software that while outdated, seemed adequate for the work we were doing. Of course, there was the occasional stress point when things seemed to be moving slowly...which always seemed to happen when we were up against a deadline.

One of our biggest challenges was the lack of infrastructure to facilitate collaboration. When I needed a document previously created by a colleague, I had to send an email, walk over and ask for it or holler from office to office. We spent valuable time recreating the wheel, starting from scratch instead of building on to what was already done.

When we entered the Comcast/INC. Magazine contest, it was purely on a whim. I happened to be in the office on a Saturday afternoon, cleaning up after a long week. I saw an email about the contest and frankly, was intrigued by the idea of possibly getting new computers. Little did I realize just how much more was involved and what a difference it would make to our company.

The implementation of the technologies from Comcast and Microsoft have completely changed the way we work. First, the bandwidth speed has increased dramatically. Emails arrive almost instantaneously. Large graphic files can be sent without any problems.

More importantly, we've been introduced to Microsoft Exchange and Sharepoint through the Comcast Business Class Portal. Emails, contacts, and appointments now synch between platforms, allowing for up-to-date information through a smart phone, iPad, or another device without having to wonder if you remembered to sync up your phone. We can now create documents that reside in a central location and version control is automatic. If I am looking for a presentation that was created two months ago, I know where to find it. I can also ask a colleague to review it -- and I'll automatically receive an alert as soon as the changes are made.

There is still functionality that we haven't yet explored. That's for us to discover in 2011. But right now, the changes that have already been implemented are allowing us more time to do what we do best -- deliver great results for our clients.

You can read more about all of our Productivity@Work contest winners here.