Springboard North East, established in 1975, helps arrange experience and training for young people so that they can gain valuable life skills and experience that will help them into work.

Its work spans operations across the North East in Sunderland, East Durham, Hartlepool and South Tyneside. Skilled operatives are able to organise practical work experience for people of all ages, including voluntary work and apprenticeships, through developing and nurturing local connections and links with local employers.

The Challenge

A robust, reliable and cost effective new communications systems was required to connect and support an operation spanning several different sites across the North East.

Improved super-fast internet connectivity and high quality, crystal clear telephony were the key ingredients for the new system, which would enable people working in a busy organisation to share vital information quickly and securely between sites while delivering enhanced business efficiency.

The Solution

Advantex’s extensive telecoms experience led to the recommendation and installation of a new Mitel 3300 IP phone system installed across all of Springboard’s sites to deliver high quality and reliable calls both internally and externally.

On-going maintenance has been included as an integral part of a system package that delivers around the clock back-up and technical support.

The second part of the solution saw Advantex ensure all nine of the organisation’s sites benefit from secure network services. This is being achieved through the utilisation of advanced technology (Multiprotocol Label Switching) that enables easy multi-site connectivity with improved and rapid system management and control.

The Results

There’s no doubt Advantex’s solution has met the requirement for a more efficient and secure telecoms service to enable Springboard to move forward in the future with confidence and surety.

A high speed voice network is just one of the advantages now available to the charity, which is also able to tap into an IT infrastructure that is more efficient and delivers the flexibility to accommodate the integration of any services the company will want to add at a later date.

As well as improving the efficiency of the communications, this solution will also deliver long term cost savings for Springboard on its call costs – internal calls can be made between sites free over the internet.

OHS 18001 accredited Sirius Group provides a range of specialist environmental engineers, consultants and contractors who offer site development services for brownfield and contaminated land developers across the UK.

Operating from two strategic offices in the North East (Durham) and Yorkshire (Leeds), the firm also has satellite operations covering the North West of England, Wales, Midlands and South East regions. The company employs more than 50 people working in frontline and support services spanning administration, finance, IT and HR among others.

The Challenge

In common with many other operators in the environmental sector, Sirius has seen significant and rapid expansion over the last 10 years as legislation, regulations and government policy have driven growth and demand for its services.

However, the firm’s telecommunications technology, notably in the form of an ageing phone system, was struggling to keep pace with the demands placed on it by expansion, and had reached its full capacity.

Furthermore, the demand for new functions and user services together with lower operator costs provided by modern superfast broadband-based technologies such as VoIP was beyond the capability of the existing phones – the need for a new, more flexibility and future proof system was pressing.

The Solution

Advantex upgraded the existing telecoms infrastructure with dedicated new switch technology. This enables the VoIP telephone system to perform effectively via a dedicated voice network, avoiding the potential for any network crossover issues as well as providing a failsafe capability in case the main network fails.

The previous phones have also been replaced with 95 new Mitel 5300 handsets at the Durham and Leeds offices, which are supported by a Mitel Phone Manager. This offers the capability to enable individual users to take advantage of the features of the MiVoice Office 250 straight from their PC desktops and laptops.

Furthermore, benefits now available as part of the solution include free calling for better communications between offices, while easy-to-use and convenient voicemail and conference calling facilities are set to be in introduced in the near future to provide improved collaboration around the country as the business continues to grow.

The Results

The switch to new VoIP technology meets Sirius’s existing and longer-term needs, delivering an advanced, low cost and reliable telecoms solution that will undoubtedly provide a demonstrable return on investment through call savings and other costs. Capacity can easily be boosted as new employees join while providing the requisite peace-of-mind when calling/receiving calls from customers.

In-built scalability is a key feature in a tailor-made solution that delivers versatility and flexibility – it will enable the phone system to be quickly, easily and cost effectively upgraded and expanded as the firm’s communications change or adapt in future, evolving to meet the ever changing needs of both employees and Sirius’s customers.

This is all backed-up by a 24/7 maintenance package from Advantex that delivers further assurance that the telecommunications infrastructure is fully supported.

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