La Sainte Union was founded in 1861 and is a voluntary aided Catholic comprehensive school for girls aged 11-19 and boys in the Sixth Form.

Requirement

La Sainte Union School had an outdated phone system with very limited functionality and basic handsets. School staff were unable to transfer calls between departments, the handsets could only make or receive calls and there were very few voice mailboxes. This made communication across a large spread out campus very challenging and often time-consuming for the 150 teachers and staff.  In addition to the communication issues, the system was difficult to expand to accommodate the growing school, expensive to maintain and support and call charges were very high.

The Solution

Arrow supplied La Sainte Union with Horizon, a cloud based telephony solution. Arrow recommended Horizon because the school wanted a hosted solution to give them scalability and to future proof their investment. Prior to the full deployment Arrow was also able to provide La Sainte with Horizon as an interim disaster recovery solution for their reception  staff when the old system failed and the parts became obsolete.  This was installed within 48 hours.

A more professional image for parents

Included in the Horizon solution is an auto attendant for key contact points so parents can quickly and easily get through to the right department, even during busy times. Staff now manage their own calls with access to their own extensions and voicemail. They can also twin a mobile phone with an extension enabling both phones to ring at the same time and negating the need to manually divert a phone when off-site or away from their desks. As Horizon is a cloud based system, calls are made via the IP network over a dedicated data line replacing the school’s existing analogue ISDN lines. Call costs have significantly reduced and their telephony is now futureproofed with the impending phasing out of ISDN services. The online management portal means that staff can make their own changes and costly upgrades are no longer required to access new features.

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Mukesh Kerai, ICT Systems Manager at La Sainte Union says, “Horizon has enabled us to bring our phone system into the 21st Century. Thanks to Arrow’s flexibility, we installed the new system during school holidays to keep disruption to a minimum”.

Business in the Community (BITC) is part of the HRH The Prince of Wales’ Responsible Business Network. BITC is a business-led charity with more than 30 years’ experience and currently employs around 400 staff working in offices across the UK and Northern Ireland.

The Challenge

BITC was seeking to reduce the cost of its business mobiles and looking for a way to effectively manage the different usage requirements of its employees. Data usage had increased greatly and the company was also about to implement Office 365 as part of an initiative to improve productivity. This project included replacing BlackBerry devices with Microsoft Nokia Lumia smartphones.

The Solution

After a comprehensive review of BITC’s mobile usage, Arrow recommended its new Flex tariffing which can be designed and built to match each customers’ unique requirements. BITC now has a tariff which includes a pool of data used by all connections so low data users balance the high users. The tariff also provides BITC with four times more data but at a much lower cost.

Flex tariffs remove the burden of adding and removing bolt-ons and means that it is much easier to budget expenditure. The tariff also includes a certain amount of flexibility allowing minutes to be increased and decreased within agreed limits to suit usage. Arrow and BITC monitor the calls and data usage each month to ensure the tariff is working hard and within their usage needs, and where necessary we agree and adjust the minutes and data allowance accordingly.

Transition Support

Kellie Lord, Group Facilities Manager at BITC said, “With 250 users in multiple locations, carrying out the swap from BlackBerry to Nokia smartphones would have been a logistical nightmare were it not for Arrow’s excellent mobile implementation team”.

Arrow arranged for new SIMs and devices to be shipped to various locations across UK and sent a welcome email to each user explaining the transfer process and informing them of the day and time of their SIM transfer. These time slots were scheduled in with the training sessions so users were able to swap their SIM, collect their new device and attend a training session provided by Microsoft about their new phones. The Arrow implementation team spent 3 days on site in London and Manchester and organised a remote session to ensure that the transition was seamless and to answer any questions that users might have.

Furthermore, Arrow created user guides on how to set up emails on their new devices, transfer their data and tips on using the Nokia Lumia 365 devices.  Kellie continues, “Arrow has been our mobile supplier for many years now and we have always been impressed with the customer service we receive. We are very happy with the new tariff because it has reduced the mobile phone bill significantly and requires less admin time to manage. The implementation roadshows were a great success, dramatically reducing the burden of work on our staff.”

4MS Network Solutions is an IP Communications and network services business. Established in 2007, the company has a proven track record for full lifecycle IP communications project services and operational support services.

The Challenge

4MS were looking to form a partnership with a company capable of helping deliver connectivity services to its growing corporate client base of multi-national energy companies.

They were looking for a partner capable of a collaborative approach, with expert industry knowledge and a sound understanding of 4MS, as well as Cisco products and services. In addition, it was key that the partner had extensive experience of the UK carrier market and the associated connectivity products.

Full service management and billing

Arrow (formerly Orca Telecom) was positioned as the perfect partner to 4MS, providing a full service management and billing solution. This enabled 4MS to deliver network services seamlessly to their clients, and incorporate connectivity as part of specific projects.

A close working relationship developed rapidly, and 4MS was able to leverage Arrow’s network of relationships to save significant time and money during the initial start-up phase of the service offering partnership. In short, they were able to get to market quickly and with a high quality service from day one.

The nature of Arrow’s business has also seen a number of Cisco opportunities develop with our customers and we have worked closely with 4MS to design and deliver these.

A very successful partnership

The partnership is considered a resounding success, with both companies hailing it mutually beneficial. It has enabled them to deliver connectivity, both voice and data, to a number of large corporate clients, and projects.

Orca was acquired by Arrow in 2015 and the original team is still in place, providing local support to 4MS for integrated telecom solutions. They serve as an extension to the 4MS team, actively managing every aspect of 4MS’ client communications and they have so far delivered landline, data and mobile services to thousands of users on 4MS’ behalf.

The acquisition has also meant that 4MS’ customers can benefit from Arrow’s wealth of resources and expertise with enhanced support and access to a broader range of services.

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Hugh Mackay, Director at 4MS says, “Our partnership with Arrow has allowed 4MS Networks to broaden our solutions portfolio and grow even closer to our customers. Their commitment to first class service matches well with ours and we have found the team to be technically knowledgeable, very personable and above all, completely dependable. Our brand and reputation in a competitive market is paramount, so it is critical for us that any partnerships maintain and enhance that, which we feel Arrow does, and it works the same in reverse when we deliver Cisco solutions on their behalf.”

Steeped in history, the Strand Palace Hotel opened it’s doors in 1909. Situated in the heart of the West End, running parallel to the Thames and connecting Westminster to the City, it has been a focus for political and financial power for centuries.

The Challenge

The Hotel had a legacy Nortel system serving the hotel’s 785 guest bedrooms, 145 administration extensions and a second Nortel system used for the contact centre. Arrow had been maintaining one of the systems for over 10 years and was familiar with their systems, cabling and general operating constraints that come with managing a busy, large hotel in a listed building.

Hotel guests demand personalised service and fast response times so hotel staff need tools to help them meet these high expectations. IP telephony overcomes these challenges by providing features such as unified messaging and single number to contact, both of which Strand Palace wanted to implement. The hotel faced significant infrastructure challenges when it came to installing the new system due to legacy cabling, the age of the building and its listed status. They needed a transition from digital admin extensions to IP extensions, retain the existing guest bedroom handsets, introduce Unified Communications and SIP trunking for their incoming and outgoing calls.

Despite considering various vendors and telephony solutions, Strand Palace chose to continue their relationship with Arrow.

The Solution

Arrow replaced both systems with a single Mitel MiVoice Business system and MiContact Centre Business plus a Red Box call recording solution. Not only does the Mitel system integrate fully with Strand Palace’s Opera Front of House Platform, Arrow also installed and integrated some of Mitel’s Connected Guest Hospitality Suite Applications.

Superior Arrow Services

“Our guests have high expectations and it was essential that we meet those expectations,” explains Benjamin Chapman, Director Of Revenue at Strand Palace. “We have found Arrow to be very flexible. During the installation of the Mitel telephony solution Arrow’s engineers reacted quickly to any issues and solved them without delay, hence keeping the business disruption to a minimum during system changeover.”

Strand Palace was also impressed with Mitel’s 30 plus years of hospitality-specific communications solutions and with its Hospitality Specialist Program for channel partners. By following rigorous requirements, and demonstrating technical expertise and a commitment to deploying Mitel hospitality communications solutions, Arrow, a Mitel Hospitality Partner, has become an expert in delivering communications solutions for the hospitality industry.

Benjamin Chapman also emphasises the need for hospitality-specific knowledge. “One of the core benefits of adopting the Mitel Hospitality Solution through Arrow is that we can actually plug it into our networks and have the confidence that Mitel already knows what the hospitality marketplace needs. The installation was not straight-forward and there were a number of special requirements within our hotel. Arrow had the knowledge and expertise to deliver.”

A smart call-routing solution from Arrow helps The Children’s Society make the most of its precious resources.

Cost savings that really do make a difference

For many businesses, managing costs is a central factor in ensuring sustainable profitability. For The Children’s Society, cost control is mission critical in achieving maximum efficiency.  The UK charity concentrates every possible resource on tackling the root causes of the problems children and young people face such as bullying, homelessness and crime, particularly in deprived communities.  Building on previous mobile and web-billing initiatives with Arrow, the Society wanted to identify any further cost savings that could be made through its fixed-line system.  Arrow carried out a full audit of the Society’s existing phone lines and services which resulted in a phased transfer of service for 400 lines across 100 sites.

The implementation took just two months and was achieved without any change to phone numbers, lines, equipment or hardware.  Phone usages policies provided by Arrow identify the most cost effective way of using additional services such as directory enquiries and the web-based billing reduces the flow of paper and provides instant access to invoice information.  “It is essential that we stretch every penny as far as it will go. We rely on Arrow to guide us and keep us informed on new cost cutting approaches”, says Terry Leahy, Assistant Director, Facilities and Procurement.  “Arrow’s solution was painless, efficient, and effective, with savings totalling £10,000 per annum for the charity. You just can’t underestimate the benefits of good advice and project management.”

The Challenge

The transfer of lines needed to be completed without causing any disruption to existing phone lines and essential services, and the solution had to deliver timely, accurate and fully-costed, project-coded invoices.

Call routing efficiencies achieved at every site

A comprehensive audit of the charity’s 400 lines, spread around 100 sites across the UK, gave Arrow the information it needed to assess the existing assets and processes, and identify areas that could benefit from a new approach. Subsequently, a mix of Carrier Pre-Selection (CPS) and Indirect Access (IDA) solutions were recommended and implemented by Arrow across the majority of the Society’s fixed lines to increase call-routing efficiency in the most effective way for each individual site.  Behind the scenes, Arrow consultants managed the roll out, liaising with existing fixed-line suppliers and providing facilities/office managers across all sites with regular status reports and advice as the implementation progressed.

“Our Calls and Lines solution gave the Society the cost savings they anticipated in the long term, without the headaches often associated with significant change,” says Arrow Product Manager, Rebecca Sethi.

Tried and tested disaster recovery

The flexibility of Arrow’s customer services and experience in disaster recovery planning was put to the test when the main BT cable for the Society’s head office was cut disconnecting the main switchboard number. This occurred at 4pm and by 9am the next day all calls had been  re-routed to our call centre with all calls being answered as ‘The Children’s Society’. In total over 175 calls were taken across a 2 hour period until the fault was repaired, the average call wait time was 3 seconds and messages were relayed by email to the Society’s employees.

Gravesend Grammar School is a thriving secondary school with a sixth form in Kent with a well deserved reputation for academic success.

Requirements

Gravesend Grammar School needed to replace their end-of-life telephone system which was full to capacity.  They were looking for a simplistic IP based telephone system that could carry out all the existing functionalities they used and more. They also needed voicemail for all users and due to school holidays their timescales were tight.

 Solution

Arrow supplied Gravesend Grammar with a MiVoice Office 250 system, 49 IP handsets, voicemail and maintenance cover. The flexibility of an IP based system (any existing data point could, in theory, become a phone location), and the voicemail to email service were also two contributing factors to their choice of system.

The MiVoice Office 250 is the ideal platform for organisations interested in the latest technology and application capability and allows Gravesend Grammar to blend their voice system with the data network, creating an efficient, cost-effective communications platform that they can easily adapt and grow over time at their own pace.

 Timescales

It was important that the installation had to take place during the summer break and not during school time. A decision was made by late July and implementation was complete by the end August.

Birkett Long is the leading firm of solicitors in Essex and employs 180 staff, spread over three offices in Colchester, Chelmsford and Basildon.

The Challenge

Telephone operators, based in Chelmsford, take calls for the whole group and then transfer these calls to each of the three offices. The operators sometimes need to check the status of the staff before they put the call through to the individual staff members.  Birkett Long had a very old digital system, which was at the end of its life and a more modern solution was required, which would help ensure business continuity and reduce costs.  They wanted to move part of their incoming ISDN to SIP to reduce costs and provide better resiliency. Some staff also needed to hot desk between sites.

Proposed Solution and Benefits

After a number of meetings and consultations with Arrow, it was jointly decided to provide a Mitel 3300 IP telephony solution.  This platform provided a solution which enabled all of the users to be connected within the same system and for the operators to view the status of individuals via Microsoft Outlook integration with Mitel.  Some of the users who wanted to hot desk between sites could also do this seamlessly and new users could be added to the system very quickly and easily.  All the sites needed to have the calls logged centrally for billing purposes and a virtualised voicemail solution was also provided.

The business continuity requirement was fulfilled, in that, if Chelmsford or Colchester had a failure of equipment, the other site would immediately take over.  Arrow provided SIP telephone lines in addition to the existing ISDN telephone lines, which not only reduced the cost for Birkett Long, but also enabled the company to be connected to the outside world if there was a network failure on either SIP or ISDN.  The ISDN2 lines at Basildon were replaced with SIP telephone lines and the numbers were routed through the Colchester office. The call charges were also reduced as part of the exercise. This provided Birkett Long with a modern, future proofed solution with reduced operating costs.

Gladstone Health and Leisure is the leading supplier of Leisure Management Systems to the UK Leisure Industry. Gladstone provides software solutions for membership, bookings, point of sale, energy management, contact management and access control.

The Challenge

Gladstone required a new telephone system for their growing organisation which consists of 75 users based in their Head Office in Oxford, Glasgow, Pakistan and Australia.

The Solution

The Mitel 5000 telephone system allows Gladstone to link all their sites and homeworkers together. The system was installed in Gladstone’s head office in Oxford and supports 15 homeworkers using soft phones, the international offices which use IP handsets and a 10 seat call centre.

The system also includes embedded voicemail and an Auto Attendant which is time-based, automatically playing messages to suit the time of day.

Seamless Transfer

Implementation took just one week and was completed with only 1 hour of downtime as the ISDN lines were switched over. Arrow installed the telephone system outside of business hours to minimise disruption and included training for all users.

The IP phones were pre-configured so the remote offices could simply ‘plug-and-play’ and the software for the homeworkers was rolled out via Gladstone’s internal IT network.

One Stop Hire is the largest independent hirer of Power Tools, Access Systems & Small Plant in the North West of England. Arrow have enjoyed a strong working relationship with the Ainscough Group for over 5 years and have been the preferred and trusted IT advisor for the Ainscough Group of firms from their investments through to start-up businesses.

Strategy

Arrow formulated a strategy to start the process of change as the lease agreements reached their term end date.  All IT services would be centralised to their HQ and a Terminal server would be configured to provide a desktop and apps for their other smaller depots.  Exchange 2010 and SQL 2008 provide the email and database platform for the business.  Arrow provided a managed offsite backup solution to secure the business critical data in their UK data centre.

IT Services

Arrow provided a cost effective and scalable solution that One Stop could build upon as growth improved throughout the business.

Refugee Action is an independent charity that supports refugees and asylum seekers to resettle and build new lives in the UK.  Refugee Action has been a customer for four years and Arrow provides the charity with hosted telephony and mobile services for their 220 employees across eight offices.  Following a strategy change, Arrow proposed the migration of Refugee Action’s hosted telephony solution to the Gamma Horizon system.

New features and lower costs

Arrow undertook a full GAP evaluation between the old and new platforms to ensure that all existing functionality could be mirrored. The migration to Gamma Horizon also meant that Refugee Action would benefit from additional functionality not previously available to them such as call reporting, self-management via the web portal, and enhanced platform reliability and stability.  A further advantage of moving to the Gamma Horizon was that Arrow was able to demonstrate savings of 30% thanks to considerable call savings on the new platform.

Consultative Approach

Arrow liaised with Gamma to ensure that Refugee Action could retain their existing hardware including handsets and switches as part of the transition so the need for additional capital expenditure was prevented.  There was a very tight deadline to migrate all eight offices so that cost savings could be implemented as quickly as possible and to ensure that the amount of time that sites were operating on different platforms was minimised.  The migration project took place over eight weeks with the change of location for the Birmingham office adding to the complexity of the project.

Arrow’s Project Manager worked closely with all sites and the various Arrow internal teams to ensure these deadlines were met and communications were clear and frequent.  Installations were carried out during evenings and weekends where required so that there was no interruption of service to Refugee Action’s customers or the daily running of their offices.  Arrow’s dedicated Horizon trainer also ensured all sites were up to speed on both the portal and the handsets with on-site visits for the larger sites and training sessions conducted via webinars for the smaller ones.

Roadchef, owned by Antin Infrastructure Partners Limited, operates 30 motorway service areas (MSA) and is the third largest motorway service area operator within the UK and is the  only MSA operator to achieve Gold Status as Investors of People.

The Challenge

By the nature of the business some of the key personnel working within the motorway service areas spend much of their time mobile in and around the various premises. Using the existing communications platforms it was difficult for customers, suppliers and colleagues to reach the right people within an acceptable time frame.   Roadchef was relying on BT to support many of its older systems and in some instances equipment had broken and not been replaced leaving sites with less than satisfactory communications.

Some of the systems no longer suited current requirements leading to poor and inefficient communication within the sites and frustration amongst the staff. Furthermore, some of the sites simply did not have enough handsets left for the systems to work effectively.  Roadchef had a mix of telephone systems across its estate meaning different skill sets and equipment were required to support each site and due to the diverse nature and age of the equipment installed it was impossible to network the systems.

Solution

Arrow used the integrated DECT facilities within the Panasonic platform to provide the relevant personnel in the business with mobile DECT handsets allowing users to make and receive calls from wherever they need to work. The handsets are fully integrated, which means they have access to the same system features that a desk user may have, with the added benefit of mobility.

Motorway service areas do not employ dedicated receptionists and the staff tasked with taking calls have other  responsibilities within the business. As a result calls were not always answered in an appropriate amount of time. Equally taking calls and tracking down the required people disrupted workflow.

Arrow configured the auto attendant, integral to the Panasonic platform, to route calls directly to the required staff, whether they were desk or DECT phone users. This dramatically cut down answer times and reduced workload on admin staff.  The voice mail facilities allowed external callers and colleagues to reliably leave messages for staff. The Unified Messaging capabilities enabled Roadchef to link the voice mail system with its email platform allowing users to access messages in their preferred manner and in a way that suited their working practices.

Multi-site functionality

The incumbent platforms had no multi-site capability and Roadchef was in the process of upgrading its WAN technologies and was looking for a platform that could make use of the inter-site connectivity when required.  The Panasonic platforms are fully networkable, enabling Roadchef to route calls between sites free of charge, while taking advantage of the many centralised telephony features the platform offers.

The majority of sites had entirely new structured cabling, however in some instances sites had legacy wiring still in place. In terms of ongoing management it was important a single platform was employed across all sites and as such the solution needed to interface with both infrastructures.

The Panasonic system sits comfortably across both the latest and legacy infrastructures making it the ideal solution for companies with complex network environments. In the case of Roadchef, it facilitated the adoption of the latest telephony technologies while allowing for the phased role out of new structured cabling systems.   Roadchef had in excess of 300 analogue lines, over 40 ISDN2 lines and 64 ISDN30 lines over its 30 sites. When taking over from BT, Arrow was engaged by Roadchef to undertake a full, multi-site audit of the line estate. The audit and the improved tariff that Arrow was able to provide resulted in substantial cost savings for Roadchef as well as improved productivity.

Roadchef could see the benefit of moving to SIP trunks over time, but in the short to medium term wanted to retain the existing analogue and ISDN lines. The Panasonic systems Arrow proposed and delivered support both traditional and IP trunks, allowing Roadchef to migrate at its own pace.

Solution Summary

The Panasonic platforms support a vast array of features and services. The multisite solution that Arrow provided met the immediate requirement to upgrade the aging legacy estate, improved service levels to both internal and external parties and provided a stable and flexible solution that allowed Roadchef to adopt new features at a pace that suited their business.

Arrow’s implementation team liaised between BT Openreach and Roadchef to ensure a smooth transition of lines. Nathan Sharkey, Head of IT for Roadchef comments, “We had a number of key projects running simultaneously and it was therefore vitally important that the telecoms solution went in smoothly and with minimum demand on our internal IT team. Arrow delivered the solution both on time and with little disruption to the business”.

Mayflower High School is a large secondary school and sixth form college with Academy status in Essex.

Requirement

Mayflower High School needed to upgrade their existing outdated telephone system and wanted to improve how they handled communications.  Flexibility, control and a single supplier that could look after all their  telecommunication needs were also important.

Solution

Arrow supplied Mayflower High School with a MiVoice Office 250 system and maintenance cover.  The Mitel system is easy to use, reliable and offers a capacity of 150 digital extensions to allow for future growth.  The online admin tool gives much greater flexibility in managing the system and the provision of Wi-Fi handsets means staff can make free calls wherever they are on the campus. Historical reporting is now available across the campus via the Call Management module and the Auto Attendant provides centralised voicemail and a multi-option Night Service.

Arrow’s Technology Fund

Customers choosing to take Arrow’s Technology Fund are allocated up to 75% of the first year’s maintenance cost which can be used to purchase any hardware across Arrow’s portfolio including mobiles, smartphones, tablets, PBX equipment, accessories as well as any up front charges for new services such as new line installation and routers.  Mayflower High School used their Technology Fund to purchase 14 Samsung mobile phones and an Apple iPhone which are used by maintenance staff and staff who are off the premises on school trips.

One supplier, one invoice

Mayflower High School now has the advantage of liaising with only one supplier for all their communication needs. The school has a dedicated Arrow Account Manager and support contact to manage their communications strategy and their day to day needs. Arrow provides Mayflower High School with a single monthly invoice for all their services as well as visibility to usage and historical cost reporting via an online portal.

The Challenge

With the help of Arrow Business Communications, QHotels decided to embark on a group-wide upgrade of their existing Mitel telephony system to a new IP based Mitel solution. As part of this initiative QHotels decided to review all aspects of its communications infrastructure.

One of major problems that they had been dealing with was an old DECT system. The old DECT system had poor coverage and was expensive to maintain due to the constant churn in broken handsets. QHotels turned to Arrow, its long standing telecoms partner, to see what new and innovative alternatives there might be.

Solution

After some initial discussions around Wi-Fi and IP-DECT, Arrow brought QHotels to the attention of a new solution, a Private Mobile Network. The Private Mobile Network uses picocells instead of Wi-Fi Access Points or DECT base stations and uses standard unlocked GSM mobile handsets, as extensions off the PBX instead of dedicated DECT or Wi-Fi handsets. Private Mobile promised better coverage and the use of standard, low cost GSM handsets vastly reduced the cost of future handset repairs or replacements.

By employing a Private Mobile solution QHotels could take advantage of all the benefits of a dedicated, on-site GSM network. In addition they could also utilise the flexibility of GSM technology but with no mobile contracts and with no voice, text or data charges.

Amir Malik, Arrow’s Telephone System Product Manager comments, ”The implementation of picocells in this architecture was the first of its kind in the UK. We worked closely with Dan Kelly’s team and the Mitel experts to ensure the implementation went smoothly with minimal disruption to the running of the hotel.”

Benefits

The first site to upgrade to Mitel IP and Private Mobile was Ashford International in Kent. This hotel was able to replace 18 DECT base stations with just six picocells, which improved coverage.

Staff now benefit from full coverage wherever they are in the hotel using mobile devices of their choice. The more robust mobile handsets have a far longer battery life than the old DECT devices and provide staff with the added benefit of the standard handset features such as CLI, text messaging, cameras and even a torch at no extra cost. Dual SIM handsets have also been deployed so that staff can call over the Private or Public Mobile Networks.  QHotels plans to roll out Private Mobile across another six sites across the UK, including the Midland Hotel in Manchester.

“I think one of the keys benefits for us is the simplicity of using a mobile phone as an extension of our PBX,” says Daniel Kelly. “Everyone knows how to use one, they are easily available and cost effective”.  He adds “it makes maintaining and using our mobile communications much more cost effective, efficient and user friendly.”

Seamless transfer of services

“Installation was delivered with the highest level of professionalism“, says Daniel Kelly, IT Group Manager of QHotels. “Working with Arrow has allowed QHotels, to focus on their primary activity of providing an efficient service to its valuable guests. The staff at each hotel now have easier use of the IP phones with all its enriching features, helping them to work more efficiently”.

Associated British Ports is the UK’s leading ports operator with a network of 21 ports employing over 2,200 staff.

The Vision

ABP wanted to migrate its existing Mitel 3300 estate to the cloud so that they could operate one single UK wide phone system, as well as consolidating their multi provider fixed line estate into a single platform for cost savings.

The Solution

Arrow recommended the MiCloud Enterprise platform with MiCollab for companywide collaboration and MiContact Centre Business to support the Cruise Car Park booking line and IT helpdesk. The MiCloud platform was designed to be resilient with Mitel’s Tier 3 data centres in London and Manchester.

Challenges

Consolidation of the PSTN estate – the existing fixed line estate was spread across multiple providers so Arrow moved all services to a single 250 Active / Standby SIP trunk connection with Gamma.  Design of a 4 digit number range across the whole estate whilst matching extension numbers with the last 4 digits of the DDI’s.  Extension numbers were matched with the 1800 DDI’s that ABP owned.

Optimising Existing Investment with Mitel

ABP was able to leverage its investment in the Mitel handsets that they had previously purchased, saving thousands of pounds in handset costs. ABP also took advantage of Mitel’s “Move to Cloud” campaign which meant they could use the licences they had already purchased for their on-premise hardware to get a lower price for Standard UCC licences over the term of the contract.

Improving IT Service Desk Delivery

With Mitel’s MiContact Centre Business (MiCC) ABP has the ability to use full IVR functionality for the Cruise Car Park booking line and the IT Service Desk.  The IT team now has the ability to implement a ‘Message of the Day’ (MOTD) which is played when someone rings the IT service desk.  In the event of a major incident, the IT team is able to record the MOTD at a moment’s notice allowing them to concentrate on a fast resolution rather than being bombarded by duplicate calls for the same issue.

Results

• ABP has the ability to use full IVR functionality for the Cruise Car Park booking line and the IT Service Desk.
• The IT team now has the ability to implement a ‘Message of the Day’ (MOTD) which is played when someone rings the IT service desk.
• In the event of a major incident, the IT team is able to record the MOTD at a moment’s notice allowing them to concentrate on a fast resolution rather than being bombarded by duplicate calls for the same issue.
• A single telephony platform also means that the IT service desk now has a single point from which to manage all the programming.
• The ABP IT service desk received comprehensive training on the new system from Arrow and they are now able to make changes themselves at a moment’s notice resulting in improved SLA’s on their internal service desk and cost savings in the IT service desk budget.

Wickes is one of the UK’s favourite home improvement retailers. Having opened its first store in 1972 it now operates from over 200 across the UK.

The Challenge

Wickes was already using headsets throughout its stores and having seen the efficiencies and increase in service quality to store customers they wanted to fully realise the benefits that this technology could bring. The existing wireless headset system was not robust enough for store use resulting in large repair bills and also lacked some key functionality that Wickes wanted to introduce for their staff.

The Solution

Arrow recommended Vocovo wireless headsets due to their robust nature, wider store coverage and ease of use for Wickes’ colleagues. A typical installation consists of base stations to provide coverage throughout the store and yard areas and a number of headsets creating an all informed network with two way communications for all headset users.

Better for staff and better for service

The headsets have allowed staff to work more closely together.  Many of Wickes’ stores have a large shop floor plus storage and yard areas so it can be difficult for staff to locate and talk to each other. All headset users are now constantly in touch with their colleagues and can hold two-way conversations. Not only can questions be answered more quickly but staff now feel less isolated and more engaged with each other. Thanks to the Vocovo headsets customers’ questions are being answered much more quickly, massively improving the in-store experience for customers.

Reports make store management easier

The Vocovo solution provides system data and statistics which help to monitor customer service, optimise staffing levels and identify training requirements. In addition to the current features, Wickes is particularly keen to implement Call Points in all stores in the second phase of implementation. Call Points will be located in various areas around the store enabling customers to speak directly to a member of staff. These points are ideal for customers wanting to find out where a particular product is or asking for help in a particular aisle. Customers can have a two-way conversation with any headset user receiving help promptly and enhancing the customers’ store experience.

Quality, lightweight headsets

The Vocovo headsets are a lightweight yet robust solution. Spare parts are easily replaceable and the handsets and charging racks are specifically designed to be hard wearing, long lasting and easy to use.
Another massive advantage of these headsets is the length of time that the batteries last. The headsets last longer that the stores’ opening hours on a single charge.

Plexal collaborates with Arrow’s Audio Visual and Video Conferencing Solution for their Technology Innovation Space.

About Plexal:

Plexal is a world-class innovation destination for technology entrepreneurs and corporations located at Here East in Olympic Park, London, the 68,000 sq ft space offers technology start-ups and scale-ups a range of flexible working areas, from open studio membership to tailor-made private offices and feature spaces including a high street, leisure park, and main square. The space is designed as a mini city using principles of modern urban planning and technology cluster.

Project Briefing:

When Arrow first engaged with Plexal the project was very much still in a conceptual design phase. Having been there at the beginning it gave Arrow time to match the technology with the ideas and ethos of the space.

Having put forward various editions and numerous innovative ideas, Plexal chose Arrow to deliver an audio-visual solution for a 200 seat event space, 20 person meeting room, 10-person meeting room, two 8-person meeting rooms, four 6-person meeting rooms, five 4-person meeting room, signage solutions, communal audio solution, a six-screen visual totem wall and an interactive screen and software package for their wall of inspiration. Additionally, Plexal required signage, communal audio, interactive screens and software package for their Wall of Inspiration.

“Working with the Arrow team has been inspirational. The team are focused on providing an out-standing experience and certainly have gone above and beyond our expectations”
Steve Brown (IT and Technology Consultant, Plexal)

The Result:

AV & Conferencing:
Arrow, as part of the integrated solution, implemented its cloud video conferencing product Vidyo. Vidyo is a premium, software-centric, industry-leading solution. Giving Plexal the ability to support numerous room systems, invite guests anywhere.

Consistency:
The two larger rooms opened up new challenges. Arrow made the larger spaces operate like the high-end functionality rooms they were, whilst maintaining a consistent feel with the smaller rooms so that any member of the Plexal team or their tenants would feel comfortable walking in and using everything with ease.

Arrow solutions implemented at Plexal

Challenger bank Atom recently became UK’s first digital-only bank. It has no branches or vast call centres. All contact is via an app, through which customers are able to talk to what started as a 30-strong service team.Starting with a blank sheet when it came to choosing its communications. The bank had two offices in Durham and an office in London, between which seamless communications was essential in order to deliver the new app-only services.

The Arrow solutions chosen by the new bank included our cloud telephony service, our Mitel MiCollab collaboration suite, call analysis and call recording. Atom also chose our audio conferencing service and cloud-based video conferencing service, which can be used both on desktop PC’s and via dedicated room systems in each location.

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Atom Bank Chairman Anthony Thomson

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Video Consultation trial proves a success for England’s largest independent provider of NHS services.

Care UK recently launched its innovative Practice Assist service, which supports GP practice partners to run their surgeries more efficiently through a remote clinical hub, offering additional GP capacity and extended opening hours.

Care UK wanted to explore adding video capability as an option to its Practice Assist offering and worked with ClineCall Video Services to conduct a three-month trial.

Learn:

• How closure rates were increased to 89% for certain cohorts

• Why 88% of participating patients were under 40

• Which conditions were more successfully diagnosed using video consultations

• Key findings and recommendations from Care UK

Download the findings from Care UK who carried out a field trial on the Arrow ClineCall video consultation service as part of their Practice Assist service.

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Online fashion retailer, Beauty Bay offers over 10,000 products from the very best UK and international beauty brands. Based in Salford, Beauty Bay employs around 140 staff in their office and warehouse.

The company is expanding fast and needed a telephone system that would keep pace with their growth, be flexible to changing business requirements and provide a robust and secure communications service. Arrow has maintained Beauty Bay’s telephone system for many years but in 2016, it was decided that the legacy telephone system needed to be replaced and Arrow installed the Mitel MiVoice Office 250 solution.

Then in 2017, Beauty Bay made the strategic decision to move all services to the cloud including IT. Arrow recommended the Mitel MiCloud solution as it would allow Beauty Bay to leverage their existing investment in Mitel handsets and their existing network whilst bringing unprecedented flexibility in deployment and scalability to the growing company.

Scala provides a cost-effective way for Beauty Bay to expand their business and move to cloud based communications without the need to invest in expensive servers, network routers, switches, security mechanisms and other in-house data centre equipment. All the investment made on Mitel 53XX series handsets was protected as Scala is powered by Mitel’s Cloud platform.

Hosted in geo-resilient UK data centres, Scala provides the latest in all-in-one expansive virtual applications, easy provisioning and feature rich UCC technology. Scala is ideally suited for Beauty Bay as it delivers a full suite of Unified Communications capabilities for effective business communications with extensive features and flexible capacities.

Key benefits

Disaster Recovery – Scala provides high level system availability through multiple layers of technical and geographical resiliency and providing agnostic carrier connectivity.
Customer Care – Scala’s customer portal gives users more choices, faster responses, personalised interactions and self-service options that save them time.
Reliability – Uninterrupted communications thanks to Scala’s fully featured geo-redundant Mitel MiVoice for Business instances.
IT Resources – Once the system was fully deployed, Beauty Bay’s IT department no longer has to spend hours provisioning, maintaining and upgrading hardware and software.
Managed Service – Arrow maintains the data centre environment, provisions the extra capacity when needed and handles software upgrades.
Lower ongoing costs – No recurring maintenance charges, and free upgrade to latest software releases. Absolutely critical for a business that conducts itself purely online!

Dyfed Bowen, Service Delivery Manager at Beauty Bay, comments, “Beauty Bay has grown very quickly over the last few years and Arrow has supported us every step of the way. The transition to the cloud included transferring from ISDN to SIP services and Arrow project managed everything. “

The new system gives Beauty Bay more control as they can add and remove users via the portal whenever required. Not only that, but staff are benefitting from the raft of features in MiCollab including Dynamic Status, a Directory with presence information and Mobility.

Dyfed continues, “The flexibility of our new system has been a huge benefit to Beauty Bay and the fact that we are “always on” thanks to everything being hosted is a massive advantage to an online business like ours.”

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