Jeweller W. Bruford Installs a Gem of a Unified Communications Solution

Challenges Faced

W. Bruford’s legacy in-store server and Panasonic phone system was over six years old and had limited functionality, with nothing more sophisticated than an on-hold button. They were conscious of the age of the phones and wanted more flexibility and scalability to take their business into the digital age.

Despite their consistent growth and expansion, W. Bruford had noticed a shift in the retail environment over the last ten years, with more and more transactions taking place online. W. Bruford not only needed a more sophisticated telephone system, they also required reliable wireless connectivity in their three branches.

Identifying Their Needs

W. Bruford has been a client of M-Tech Systems, a well-known cloud service provider, for many years. Their first project in 2012 was an IT-related server refresh. In 2016, W. Bruford approached M-Tech Systems to carry out a thorough audit of their IT and telephony requirements. M-Tech Systems felt that the best approach, given the age of the legacy technology, was to upgrade the server and telephony solution in one go, for maximum integration and compatibility. Rather than buying new servers upfront, a rental model seemed preferable. M-Tech Systems have built out a private cloud offering, using server infrastructure in highly available co-located data centres. Cloud-based systems are very scalable; as the client’s needs change, the solution can easily scale with them. Individual users can simply be added or removed as required and additional services added without large capital expenditure for the client.

They recommended Avaya’s Powered by IP Office solution to help W. Bruford streamline operations. This allows W. Bruford to take full advantage of the Avaya IP Office platform but pay via a monthly rental model rather than the traditional capital expenditure associated with a new system. This fitted perfectly with the cloud Citrix environment which was implemented as part of their refresh. There is a fixed monthly fee per user, giving W. Bruford clear visibility of their IT costs without any hidden extras. As this is hosted by M-Tech Systems this allows centralised management and reduces the total cost of ownership over a converged network.

Seamless Implementation Experience

W. Bruford has three sites in Eastbourne and required a technology refresh at each site. M-Tech Systems integrated the cloud-based Citrix server with Avaya’s technology, deploying an Avaya telephony solution alongside the legacy system in June 2016. They then ported numbers from ISDN to the new SIP trunks in a phased migration. Along with the benefits of SIP, the phone system sits on highly available cloud infrastructure and there is the added resilience factor because it is all hosted in a secure data centre.

The Avaya 9608 IP Deskphone is an 8-line phone ideally suited for everyday users who consider the phone to be one of many useful communication tools and who rely on common functions like directory and speed dial to enhance productivity and collaboration. It has a lot of functionality and has the capability to scale as the business grows.

The switchover only took about an hour, over one lunchtime. Prior to the deployment, M-Tech Systems tested the new technology alongside the existing system and made multiple calls with a few handsets to test the call routing and auto attendant to ensure that they had captured everything that W. Bruford had requested.

Yealink W52P HD IP DECT cordless handsets were added on the shop floor for retail staff. They can benefit from freedom of movement and multi-tasking convenience, with professional features like call holding, intercom, transfer, call forward and three-way conferencing.

W. Bruford also have a recorded advertising voiceover when calls are on hold, which is an ideal way to promote their products and services.

M-Tech Systems provided onsite training to W. Bruford on the Avaya phone system. They are experienced at installing Avaya phones, and produced a user-friendly guide for the Avaya 9608 handsets, tailored for simplicity.

Excellent Results

W. Bruford were impressed with the minimal downtime and seamless migration. Now that calls can be transferred over the cloud between sites, communications are much easier and quicker.

There has been a dramatic cost-saving too: with VoIP calls, W. Bruford no longer have to pay line rental or call charges, which is saving them over £250 per month.

Their telecoms requirements have now been future-proofed with a hosted phone system, so it is straightforward to add more handsets as and when required. With the old ISDN and analogue lines, they were restricted by location. The legacy Panasonic phones had very basic buttons, but the Avaya phones have paperless buttons with self-labelling keys to keep the phones up-to-date. The Avaya handsets are performing well, and are definitely robust enough to withstand the demands of a retail environment. In terms of call quality, the Avaya phones deliver high definition audio that can increase productivity. There is noticeably less crackling on the line compared to the old system.

M-Tech Systems support the Avaya phone system for W. Bruford. Remote Moves, Adds and Changes are managed simply and easily as M-Tech Systems have remote access, with no cabling to worry about.

Moving with the Times

Ashley Pugh, Managing Director for W. Bruford, said: “Avaya’s technology has helped us make the digital transformation that was badly needed. This is reflected in the cloud-based server, Office 365 and a telephony upgrade. W. Bruford are definitely ahead of the retail sector competition in terms of technology.”

Steven Hayes, Head of Technology, M-Tech Systems, commented: “Unified communications can provide so much capability, allowing businesses to be fully connected, scalable and flexible. The Avaya Powered by IP Office has optimised communications for W. Bruford through a flexible architecture that leverages existing investments and accommodates their changing business needs.”

Ashley Pugh added: “There has definitely been a shift in retail towards a more technology-intensive model, with online transactions needing to be simpler and faster. Avaya’s IP telephony system is helping W. Bruford respond to industry trends, as it is more user and customer friendly, enabling us to communicate more efficiently between sites.”

Why Avaya?

M-Tech Systems suggested a simultaneous telephony and server upgrade and, since W. Bruford wanted one single contact, Avaya’s IP Office was the obvious proposition. W. Bruford trusted M-Tech Systems to recommend the most appropriate solution, and Avaya fit the bill.

Avaya is a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, providing unified communications, contact centres, networking and related services companies of all sizes worldwide.

Ashley Pugh concluded: “At W. Bruford, we take pride in being recognised as jewellers of distinction. Our business has been around for 130 years, and we have built our reputation by doing things in our own unique way. Our expectations of the Avaya technology have been met and we look forward to further exploring the multiple benefits that a cloud telephony solution can offer.”