Quick glance summary.

Challenges.

• The existing on-premise phone system was dated and approaching end of life.  
• Any compatible handsets were also outdated and becoming hard to source.     
• The replacement phone system needed to support present and future business growth and performance, including the transition to a hybrid working model. 
• The client had a restricted budget and needed to find a solution that did not require any substantial initial investment, in addition to predictable monthly costs moving forward  

Solutions.

• Retire the existing on-premises phone system and replace it with a future proof 3CX cloud telephony solution that unifies communication between the office and the remote staff.
• Replace all the existing desk phones in the office with modern Yealink handsets.  
• Supply and configure Yealink handsets and headsets to homeworkers (where requested).  
• Setup the 3CX mobile app for remote workers that wish to use their office extension on the move.  
• Implement a detailed call reporting system to monitor staff usage and performance (including remote employees)   

Outcome.

• The company has a fully integrated feature-rich cloud telephony solution that acts as an internal phone system between the office staff and remote workers. 
• This fully scalable solution will facilitate future business grow and expansion of the organisations hybrid workforce, making it easy to setup new user accounts, extensions and handsets within minutes. 
• The company has made significant financial savings by switching to a cost-effective call plan that includes all national calls, with no charges for internal calls for a fixed monthly fee.
• Other than a one-time cost for us to setup 3CX,  no other upfront financial costs were incurred.  
• Day-to-day support for the new phone system is provided by our in-house helpdesk team, which means the client has one less supplier to deal with.   
• Internal communications have also been greatly improved thanks to the added functionality that comes with 3CX at no extra charge, including instant messaging and video conferencing.
• The operations manager can monitor staff performance and generate weekly performance reports from the user-friendly 3CX dashboard.

Continue reading the full case study below…

The Challenges.

The existing phone system was outdated.  

The company had been using the same traditional office landline phone system for many years. It had served them well, but it was starting to become unreliable, especially when they were making and receiving concurrent calls at peak times.  

It was also hindering business growth.  

In addition, the company had also recently expanded and because of this, more handsets were needed. However, finding compatible handsets was starting to become difficult (even second-hand ones), which made it even more challenging to integrate new employees into the business. 

In addition. 

The existing phone system was also delaying the company’s plans for making a switch to hybrid working because it was essential for everyone to be using the same internal phone setup, no matter where they were working from. This was only possible with a cloud-based phone solution.  

Monitoring and reporting tools were essential. 

With a transition to hybrid working imminent, the company Operations manager was keen to track staff performance figures wherever possible, including the number of calls made and received by each staff member. These statistics would also need to be presented in a weekly report to the business owner.  

Cost was also a concern.  

The owners had already invested significantly in the recent business expansion and because of this, they needed a solution that didn’t require any substantial upfront financial expenditure.  

Our solution.

Switch to a cloud telephony solution.

We had been asking the business owners to make the switch to a cloud-based phone system for some time because we knew how much they would benefit from the many new features and benefits. We also know it was an essential requirement if they were to take hybrid working seriously.  

After many presentation meetings between our designated project manager, the business owner and other key staff members, the company agreed to sign off our proposed project plan, which included a breakdown of costs and a timeline to project completion.  

What telephony solution did we choose?  

Our cloud telephony solution of choice for this project was 3CX Unified Communications. 3Cx is the perfect solution for a business of this size because it is feature rich, easy to maintain and highly cost effective. It’s also perfect for hybrid workforces because it can be used directly from a computer via a desktop application, a desk phone or headset connected to the internet, or through a smartphone app.  

Other features.  

3CX also incorporates other integrated features that are perfect for unifying business communications. These include instant text messaging and video conferencing services that are accessible within a click from the 3CX desktop and smartphone apps. Businesses with remote working teams find these features particularly helpful.  

Service uptime.  

The 3CX platform is replicated across two cloud servers to ensure that any downtime is minimised in the rare occurrence of a service outage. If the primary service fails, then the mirrored service will simply take over.  

What tasks did we complete throughout the project?  

• Agree on a cost-effective call plan with the client – 3CX provides several call plans that can be tailored to the needs of every business. Our client decided on a plan that included 8000 inclusive monthly minutes for landline 01, 02 and 03 numbers and to 07 mobile numbers, with free internal calls. 
• Port the existing phone numbers – Once we setup the company 3CX account, our first task was to arrange the porting of the clients existing phone numbers to the new cloud telephony system.   
• Setup and configure 3CX – Once the number porting process was underway, we then setup and configured the cloud-based 3CX system. This process included setting up all the user extensions (replicating the existing numbers) and then configuring the call queue permissions. 
• Replace the existing office handsets – Once the setup of 3CX was completed and tested, we then attended the client’s office to replace their existing handsets with modern Yealink VoIP desk phones. We then setup the 3CX app on each user’s PC, which is synchronised with their desk phone, allowing them to see the call status of everyone at the company (including remote workers). The 3CX app also allows you to see your incoming and outgoing call history. This work was completed and tested over a weekend to avoid any disruption to daytime business operations.  
• Rollout 3CX to the remote workforce – Our final task was to connect to each remote user’s machine to setup and configure the 3CX app. Once this was completed, we then guided each user through setting up the smartphone app so they can also make and receive calls on their mobile devices if they prefer. For the staff that preferred to use desk phones or headsets, we arranged for the devices to be sent to their home address and then completed the setup remotely once the devices were connected to the internet.   
• Go live! – The entire system was tested and ready to use on the Monday morning. As standard practice, our project manager attended site on the Monday to deal with any post project snagging issues. 

The outcome.

The entire project was completed over a weekend, with zero disruption to business activities.

• Our client is now enjoying all the benefits of a modern cloud telephony solution that acts as an internal system between the office staff and remote workers.  
• Communications between the staff and internal departments is much improved thanks to the instant messaging and video calls/conferencing services included with 3CX (all included in the cost at no extra charge)  
• The client has significantly reduced their monthly telephony costs by moving to a hosted service that incorporates national calls, mobile numbers, and internal calls, all for a fixed monthly fee. The only initial expenditure needed from the client was the cost for us to deliver the project.  
• 3CX will facilitate future business growth, including the planned expansion of their hybrid workforce because it is incredibly easy to add new users to the system within minutes. In addition, plug and desk phones and headsets can also be setup very quickly. 
• Day-to-day support for the phone system has been taken over by our helpdesk team, which means that our client has one less supplier to deal with!  
• Everyone within the business is MUCH happier now they are communicating better!