“THT has merged with a number of different sexual health charities over the years and therefore we ended up with different phone systems throughout our regional offices. We had multiple telephony providers and phone bills which were costly and difficult to manage. As our services are increasingly delivered over the telephone it was critical that we move to a single, robust and reliable phone system, so we sought help from our existing managed service provider, Worksmart Technology,” said IT and Programme Management Director, Phil Williamson.
Worksmart Technology recommended Mitel Multi-Instance Communications Director (MICD) - a hosted telephony solution that Worksmart Technology host in their private cloud. As a result, THT’s phone systems have been seamlessly migrated to the MICD, therefore saving the organisation the cost of having to rip them out and start again.
With a multitude of phone systems through different providers, THT had difficulty keeping track of how much they were spending on telephony and who they were spending it with. Worksmart Technology conducted an audit across its nationwide operation and consolidated any services that they didn’t need, such as terminating unused lines. This streamlining means that THT can now identify exactly how much is being spent on telephony and where, making business planning simpler.
All of THT’s sites are now being migrated over to the MICD, with the objective of having one phone network across the UK to reduce both rental and service costs. Savings have also been made through reduced travel; previously a member of Phil’s team would have to visit regional offices to fix minor issues, but problems can now be fixed through the central online portal from THT’s head office or via Worksmart Technology.
However, the cost saving element is only part of the equation and simplicity is another benefit of why customers are adopting hosted solutions. Joel Bramwell, Sales Director, Worksmart Technology explains, “Simplicity is a major factor why customers select a hosted solution as it enables them to avoid upfront capital expenditure. It also provides them with a monthly bill and all the telephony services that can either be managed off-site through the managed service provider or via a hybrid model where the customer can manage their telephony through an online portal. It provides customers with the freedom, flexibility and reassurance on what services they are getting and paying for.”
Using a hosted solution, THT has the reassurance that its phone system is secure which augments the organisation’s business continuity strategy. Disaster recovery can also be enhanced with employees working from home.
“We are planning to look at more cost effective ways to provide the same services over the phone, and this could involve the increased use of volunteer workers who are based at home. By having a hosted communications platform, we will have the freedom and flexibility to use part-time home workers and provide the volunteers with a Mitel IP Handset which can be connected to any broadband service to become part of the THT network and take calls as if they are in one of our offices.”
The market is moving towards cloud computing and successful resellers will embrace this opportunity by offering customers the freedom of choice. Bramwell states that, “Worksmart Technology was one of the first resellers in the market to identify the change in the market and now has about 80% of its business through the hosted model solely with the Mitel MICD solution. Hosted telephony is perfect for multi-site and small companies and creates sticky customers plus it also offers a good opportunity to go back to the existing base and up sell the applications. It is a win-win scenario with up front payments and ongoing revenue, and in our view the demand for these services will increase.”