CLIENT: A Legal services company
SECTOR: Legal
This particular company is a legal advisory firm based in Dublin, with satellite offices spread across the UK. Known for its expertise in corporate law, they have seen considerable growth over the years. That growth, coupled with an increase in hybrid working exposed weaknesses in the firm’s telephony. Its on-premise system was out of step with the changing business landscape.
Challenge
TROUBLE CONNECTING
Their Dublin HQ enjoyed fairly decent telephony services, but staff based at other locations or those working from home had a very different experience. Their connections were unreliable. Remote staff had no other choice but to use VPN and physical handsets for making or receiving calls. It was cumbersome, outdated and expensive. Often staff gave up and used their personal mobiles.
That added extra cost to the firm’s operations and brought a whole host of security risks.
THE (EXPENSIVE) STICKING PLASTER SUGGESTIONS
They began looking for a solution. They found traditional telephony providers who suggested they invest in more equipment and install software on users’ devices. Another provider promised to replace everything. The costs were high, with new hardware required across the operation.
Neither option was suitable. they would simply outgrow its new hardware, and when it did it would be facing the same problems, patching up, making do and trying to connect.
Solution
TELEPHONY FIT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
We had just won the competitive tender process to provide IT services to the firm and the issues with the telephone system soon became
apparent.
It was obvious to us that sticking a plaster over an inadequate system wasn’t going to work. The company’s growth, reach and working patterns needed a solution fit for the 21st Century.
Our suggestion was a cloud-hosted telephone system that would reuse the existing handsets and automatically deploy softphones to the end users. The result was a completely integrated system that worked for staff at the HQ, those in remote offices, and those on the road or working from home.
They selected a package based on a fixed fee for all calls made from any device to any location worldwide, and they’ve seen significant cost savings. They’re also enjoying the convenience of being able to make changes to their system remotely.
Outcomes
REAPING THE BENEFITS
Even if you’re not familiar with the terminology of modern telecoms, it’s easy to recognise the benefits that they are now enjoying. Calls can be made by clicking a button on any device. The security risks of using personal mobiles for work have gone – along with the added costs – and centralised cloud management has made on-site visits for telephony adjustments a thing of the past.
Nobody needs to go to the Dublin office to make changes to an antiquated switchboard. Their Legal Advisor told us that the ease of communication has been “nothing short of transformative,” enabling him and his team to focus more on client needs and less on
operational hiccups.