The customer is one of the UK’s longest-established institutes of education and research. Over the years, their efforts have led to research and advancements that have changed our way of life, with significant breakthroughs in medical care, measuring our impact on the environment, and many other areas.
The Business Challenge
The customer was using a legacy telephony infrastructure which relied on a series of controllers to direct and manage calls to staff. This was not cost-efficient, and each internal phone number was tied to a specific physical wire, making it cumbersome to reshuffle workspaces, or set up new desks.
To ensure they are constantly available to respond to their telephony needs across faculty, students, and research it was a high priority that the system should not experience any interruption to service. In the event of a malfunction, the previous infrastructure relied on hardware-based controllers. This meant they would need to stockpile spare controller hardware or risk having to wait for new orders of them to arrive.
The Solution
The customer reached out to Daisy Corporate Services, who was able to provide consultancy and identify the best way to simplify management of the controllers, reduce costs and provide contingency in the event of an outage.
To do this, Daisy installed new virtualised Mitel telephony controllers, with SIP trunks and non-geographic numbers.
The Results
The new virtual controllers have allowed the customer to replace its existing controller hardware and consolidate multiple systems into a simplified virtual platform. This allowed them to save money previously spent on repairing old hardware, or stocking spares as a backup.
The virtual controller system also provided peace of mind that they could be up and running again quickly in the event of an outage. The internal IT team is now empowered to easily create their own virtual controller to take over and resume business as usual operations.
The new SIP trunks also delivered cost savings. They allow the organisation to provide new internal phone numbers without the need to invest in new wiring throughout their sites every time they need to add a user. This flexibility gives management the freedom to quickly increase the number of internal phone lines available. Particularly useful if they want to provide extra resource to cover busy periods such as clearing, without having to invest in new wiring.
As an additional benefit, the SIP trunks have made it much easier for the customer’s staff to relocate their workspace. Previously, they would need to potentially rewire the building to keep their number, as it would be attributed to a physical wire. With the new solution, their number is tied to their handset, so they need only plug it in elsewhere.
The new system also includes non-geographical numbers. This allows the customer to provide freephone phone lines that are not tied to a specific local area code and can be directed to a number of staff lines that have been marked as relevant. The key benefit here is that all calls can be connected with the most relevant available staff member, rather than having to try each individual’s number until they find one who is free.
