When the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce & Industry contacted Bluecube about the proposed move of their new headquarters in the city of Lincoln, the objectives were clear: a smooth transfer with minimum disruption or downtime.
The Chamber was also keen to utilise new technology to increase efficiency within the organisation and ultimately deliver an even better service to members.
The Challenge
A smooth transfer to the organisation’s new HQ whilst upgrading to newer and smarter communications technology.
The Solution
High-speed fibre to the cabinet internet connectivity with Bluecube’s Silverline cloud-voice solution.
The Result
A next-generation voice solution which gives each department real-time user visibility and an internet solution with superfast bandwidth.
Replacing legacy systems
When Bluecube carried out the initial survey, The Chamber’s existing phone system was an onsite PBX. The phone system then connected to multiple ISDN30 lines which delivered the number of channels they required.
The requirement for call volumes and features after the move, and the complications in moving the ISDN lines whilst preventing downtime, resulted in Bluecube recommending a hosted voice solution. The organisation also wanted to increase bandwidth availability within the new building.
Checks were made for fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) availability and when availability has confirmed an increase in bandwidth was agreed through additional circuits.
Silverline and FTTC
It was agreed that a dedicated internet service for voice and dedicated internet service for data, over two carriers, would be implemented and would act as backup for each other in the event of a carrier failure. Further cloud disaster recovery (DR) measures via automatic call diversion to an emergency number were also set up by Bluecube.
With the internet hosting both voice and data services for the entire organisation, a comprehensive DR and business continuity plan was a focus point for Bluecube.
The Chamber also hosts several business tenants within their HQ building and migrating to a phone system that could apply different features and rules to each business was a key point. Bluecube’s Silverline hosted voice system offered all the functionality that the Chamber and its tenants needed and more.
Each business applied its own rules and features with its own unique out of office times and messages. Some businesses required remote or home working facilities which the system also caters for.
The option to access billing tools and reports to allow the chamber to invoice tenants accurately was also a critical tool within the Silverline system.
Efficiency and future proofing the organisation
Simon Beardsley is the CEO at Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry and he was impressed with the hands-on approach that Bluecube applied to the installation of and migration to the new cloud-based system.
“Before joining Bluecube we seemed to spend so much time administering our service providers that it nearly became a role in it’s own right, with this we commissioned Bluecube to enable a smooth transition to our new Headquarters in Commerce House in Lincoln, incorporating the upgrade to newer and smarter communications technology.
It was, and still is, so refreshing to work with the Bluecube team which now feels like it works with us as opposed to holding us back. From proactive suggestions on specific pieces of kit to improve our process flow or to simply answers questions and get to the bottom of issues, it has been a pleasure to work with Paul and the team.”
The Final Word
Bluecube have seen a huge shift in hosted/cloud-based voice services and feel this is largely down to the availability of superfast internet services.
Openreach has announced their intention to switch off the ISDN (digital) and PSTN networks by 2025, meaning that businesses using ISDN2 and ISDN30 services are will need to look at next-generation comms for the future.
Silverline from Bluecube is the perfect solution for any small, medium or large enterprise looking for a safe and expansive solution.
