THE CHALLENGE
The existing Cisco®* PBX was not meeting the demanding needs of a growing digital learning environment. The necessity to connect staff across the site, even if they do not have a traditional desk to work from, was growing. Added to that, enabling home working was a must-have especially considering a global pandemic.
As a school, safeguarding is always of paramount consideration, and therefore call recording was needed. To get the existing PBX up to scratch, a large financial outlay would be required.
Day-to-day changes and updates on the existing system were becoming problematic as these requests need to be made via the 3rd party support company. This incurred additional costs and lead times before the changes were made.
The school had 75+ handsets that needed to be replaced over a 70,000m2 site, including some remote locations, so rolling out a new system could likely be very labor-intensive.
THE SOLUTION
A cloud server and 3CX installation were quickly set up, and a fully working unified communications system was implemented in under 24 hours. They were able to get the call flow they wanted up and running in no time at all, safe in the knowledge that it can be adapted and improved if needed.
As there were 75+ handsets to replace, the school looked at various IP phone manufacturers and settled on Fanvil due to the build quality and affordability. As 3CX fully supports Fanvil handsets, it was a very simple process to connect the two. The built-in provisioning templates in 3CX enabled quick deployment with minimal input from the IT team.
Of particular importance, the administrators can use 3CX to push out updates and configuration changes to all the phones without having to physically go around the site, visiting every office.
MIGRATING TO 3CX ALLOWS US TO IMPROVE THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION:
The new 3CX system has allowed much more control over every aspect of the communications system. The simple and intuitive admin portal has meant that the in-house IT admin team can do everything that they need to keep the system running day-to-day, without the regular calls to support as experienced with the previous system.
The flexible digital receptionist and call queues have improved the school’s call flow and reduced the time callers spend waiting. A wide range of in-built reports is utilized to regularly monitor calls that go unanswered and identify areas for improvement. Call recording has been implemented as it is included with 3CX at no additional cost, to ensure safeguarding standards.
As 3CX supports unlimited extensions, the Web Client and mobile applications have allowed every member of staff to be provided with an extension for free. This has resulted in staff who aren’t based in an office, being reachable no matter their location on, or offsite.
Being able to search for people by name removed the need for printed phone lists to be constantly updated or extension numbers to be remembered. Receptionists and everyone else who has embraced the web app in tandem with the Fanvil phones have found making calls and accessing voicemail much simpler than with the previous system. College staff also have commented on the excellent call quality of the Fanvil handsets, and their ease of use.
