Introduction
How a new cloud telephony system enabled remote working at Tayntons Solicitors
The Client
Established in 1857, Tayntons Solicitors is one of the oldest law firms in Gloucester, offering a range of services for businesses and individuals, including dispute resolution, family law, debt recovery, and employment law.
Their lawyers deliver practical, efficient solutions to clients in Gloucestershire and beyond, and are dedicated to providing a high level of service. They are also fully engaged in the local community, hosting their regular (and highly regarded) Curry Club and ‘Leading Ladies in Gloucestershire’ events.
The Challenge
Going into the pandemic, Tayntons’ communications with clients relied on a phone system that was powered by on-premise hardware and SIP trunks. Its performance was acceptable for office-based workers who used a physical desk phone, but the system had limited Unified Communications (UC) capabilities. This meant that it struggled to function using softphones or mobile apps if employees were working outside of the office. The system also had poor integration features, meaning that they couldn’t properly integrate it with their Line of Business software.
When the pandemic hit, all of the issues were exacerbated – employees were unable to effectively communicate from home due to the limited UC functions. Tayntons knew that, for the safety of their employees during the pandemic, and the experience for their clients, they had to migrate to a cloud-based telephony system that was accessible without using a desk phone.
On top of this, their old on-premise phone system, 3CX, had a complicated model for billing calls and had poor reporting functionality.
The Solution
We designed a new, fully cloud-hosted phone system based on market-leading Broadsoft technology. We began the process with a consultation with a team of key stakeholders to fully understand Tayntons’ business requirements, and how a telephony system would best support them. We audited Tayntons’ on-site telecoms infrastructure, analysed their existing phone system, and discussed what worked well about it versus what needed improving, before exploring the features of the new system with them to see which ones they felt were most relevant for them.
Once we had completed the exploration stage, we designed and agreed the call flow, provisioned the licenses, then began to build and test the new system. Physical handsets were deployed, softphones were installed on PCs and mobile phones, and a switchover date was agreed with the client. Users were given training on how to use the new softphones and handsets, and were provided with supporting documentation.
On the go-live date, an engineer was available on-site to assist users during the changeover process. After a ‘comfort period’ of adjusting to/using the new system, we confirmed the number porting with the client. This comfort period was crucial, and it ensured that any teething issues were remedied before the point of no return was reached with the number porting.
"Our new phone system has brought great flexibility to our business. Emerge Digital took the time to understand our challenges, requirements, and aspirations, then implemented a solution which ticks all of the boxes. Our employees can now provide outstanding service to our customers no matter where they’re working from, and the business benefits from simple call charge billing and enhanced reporting capabilities."
Andrew Ollerenshaw, Managing Partner - Tayntons Solicitors
The Outcome
For a business that relies on robust connectivity to generate revenue, they need a telephony platform that is convenient, highly professional, and integrated. The client-facing front end of the new system is Cisco Webex. Webex is universally accessible via desktop application, web browser, a Microsoft Teams app, and iOS/Android apps, and has helped to transform the UC capabilities of Tayntons. Thanks to an application which the new platform supports called Go Integrator, the system is integrated into their Citrix environment, providing call control and click-to-dial capabilities from within the environment.
With the telephony system now fully location and device independent, Tayntons can offer their employees greater flexibility on where they work, with the system making phone calls outside of the office not just easier, but seamless.
This migration has given them a strong return on investment. The change has been cost neutral, but the value of the new system to the business is high. There’s more flexibility around adding and removing users, better call reporting features, and monthly user-based licensing rather than an annual subscription to the old platform – and the SIP trunks which came with it. They also don’t have to worry about call volume anymore – with the limited capacity that SIP trunks provided, Tayntons had to estimate the amount of inbound and outbound calls to ensure that their phone lines didn’t get overloaded. With this new cloud-based system, call volume is no issue whatsoever.
We’re now working with Tayntons to help them get the most out of the reporting features that the system provides, including reports on a user and departmental level showing data such as call volume, average wait times, commonly called numbers, and average call duration.
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