Case Study: Launceston Joins 21st Century With New Unified Communications Solution

Cornwall-based Launceston College was able to modernise and transform its outdated communications system after introducing a 3CX Phone System.

The 1409 established educational institution is a busy high school in Launceston housing 1300 students and 220 staff members.

Although the College strives to keep up with the latest technological changes, it was facing problems with an archaic communications system that did not allow for expansion or upgrade.

The Business Problem

Traditionally, Launceston College was using the Panasonic Analogue PBX/Digital Hybrid PBX, which was originally installed in 1994.

According to the organisation’s ICT Technician Gary Hockin, this system presented a number of issues, including its impossibility to scale, incredibly difficult to source and expensive replacement phone part and the discontinuation of the phone model itself meant complicated workarounds were required to locate replacements.

Huge expenses also arose when the school needed to remove or add extension because a third party was required to install dedicated telephone cabling.

“After many years of being frustrated with the support costs of our very aged Panasonic PBX system, we decided to investigate the costs of replacing the system,” claimed Hockin.

Solving The Problem

It soon became apparent to Launceston that a new phone system was required – something high-value and low cost that would allow the College to make use of unified communications features such as easy conference calling.

Hockin also wanted the chance to be able to install and manage the new system in-house to save on hiring PBX consultants.

This included management of all PBX elements – creating, removing and editing extensions, as well as the ability to set up forwarding rules.

After shortlisting three possible partners, the school opted for the 3CX phone system as it was much more cost effective than the other two options.

As required, 3CX Phone System allowed Launceston all the control it required – as well as being half the price of other considered communications solutions, it allows voicemail, call queuing, forwarding rules, conferencing and seeing the presence of colleagues at no additional cost.

Just a few mouse clicks allow in-house IT staff at the school to add or move extensions, no extra cabling is required and the system is “future proof” because there is room for expansion without the requirement of hiring extra help.

“Our key drivers were locating a system we could add to ourselves, the old system involved extra cabling and a lot of labour costs from our telco provider, the system must integrate with our computer system and use the same cabling and lower support fees,” claimed Hockin.

“We invited several companies to quote various different solutions but we liked 3CX because of its ease of use and the transparent ‘no hidden extras’ pricing structure,” he added.

The College opted to use 3CX Certified Partner TRI-LAN I.T for the installation of the new system.

The Results

“The installation was a breeze and we have never looked back,” claimed Hockin.

The ICT technicians claims Launceston College has seen numerous benefits since the installation of the 3CX phone system including no support costs and less time spent chasing up issues.

Hockin claimed to be particularly happy with the independence the new communicatiosn system gave the school, adding that it also provides much more flexibility and control.

“3CX Phone System achieves significant benefits in a low cost and effective way. It helps improve communication between departments and the outside world,” claimed TRI-LAN I.T’s managing director Chris Gosnay.

“It is easy to install and configure and is simple to manage. It reduces telephone maintenance and call costs. It is a flexible system which allows for cost effective, easy future expansion.

“When you consider that many organisations can replace their existing system at a cost that is below the first year’s revenue savings, it’s an easy, beneficial and safe decision to change,” he added.

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