A technical university in the south was looking to replace a state-sponsored Centrex system due to its maintenance costs and lack of flexibility. The university, a known leader in technology education, immediately recognized the opportunity to capitalize on the cost savings and ease of use VoIP technology provides.
The university opted for a phased approach, and the VoIP implementation allowed them to use existing analog phones, where appropriate. The university started with a 150-phone implementation that grew to 1,200 stations over the next 18 months.
The staff quickly adopted the new technology and now uses the call management functions and Outlook integration for dialing and contact browsing. The university also uses some of the workgroup functionality for call center areas such as the Financial Aid Office, Admissions Office, and Registrar’s Office.
The system also provides integrated messaging, such as directory dialing, contact center screen pop, caller ID, call waiting, and calendar integration. In addition, employees can configure the system so that people calling in can locate employees regardless of the employees’ location.
The university realized cost savings immediately. Deployment costs were completely offset in the first 12 months, and ongoing cost reductions are estimated to exceed $200,000 annually. Much of this reduction is due to the ease of administering the system (e.g., adding users and moving extensions). Such administrative activities are performed by university personnel, and users can control many of their own changes and call settings themselves.
The university credits the system’s enhanced call handling capabilities for allowing them to dispose of their automated call answering system and return to having staff answer the campus switchboard, which had previously been cost prohibitive. This change has greatly enhanced customer perception of the university.
