Case study

Choosing a new telephone system can be less complicated than you think, as Total customer Hydro International UK Ltd (Hydro) found out once they had considered their options.

Hydro offer innovative products for the cost effective control of stormwater and treatment of wastewater. With multiple sites across the UK, Ireland and the US, they have successfully developed a range of economical technologies designed to control the quantity and quality of water globally.

As a company, Hydro have expanded since their previous system was installed in 2000 and they have found that it now offers little in the way of flexibility or the capability they need. Added to that, the voicemail facility is very limited and maintenance costs incurred due to configuration complexities have been extensive.

Catherine Moodie, Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer and Administration Manager at Hydro explains: "We were looking for a user friendly system that would support our growth, be flexible and offer tools which would enhance our current office telephony. In addition, we needed a supplier who would work alongside our business and consistently monitor the system whilst providing us with support and regular updates regarding new services and technology."

As Total were already familiar with Hydro’s growth and business, having administered their landline and mobile provision for the past three years, Catherine believes once Total’s System Team were invited to discuss the solutions available they demonstrated a sound knowledge of the current market, answered all queries and identified value added benefits to Hydro.

The Avaya system offered by Total proved its flexibility and offered an in-house maintenance structure, phone manager software to enhance usability and basic user friendly functionality with greater capability. The system could also work alongside Hydro’s current CRM system, thus keeping a history of calls.

Catherine adds: “Telephony is an important business tool, so it is crucial we all make good use of our system and it proves to be a worthwhile investment. The new install is already fulfilling this criteria, for example Desktop Phone Manager offers us call history and a directory service. The whole group can view the directory instead of needing to use individual ones.”

With regards to return on investment Hydro also wanted to ensure the new system would be future-proof. A requirement Glyn Evans, Systems Sales Manager at Total supports: "Avaya are renowned for their flexible offerings and as Hydro expand, they can be sure that their new system will be able to accommodate their needs, unifying their telecoms further still."

Catherine concludes: “We feel confident that we have not only chosen a system that suits our needs now but has the capacity to accommodate our requirements once we move on to investigate the latest built-in VOIP offerings.”

"In the meantime, the support offered by Total is always helpful and efficient and we are looking forward to working closely with them to learn more about the new system and its benefits to us."