Accord Housing Association has recently gone live with a Cisco-based, IP-telephony system from Network Defence.
The new unified communications systems, comprising a Cisco call manager phone system and Cisco contact centre, is expected to improve customer service and comply with the Audit Commission’s regulatory standards. Network Defence started the project in February 2009 and the system went live two months later.
A major communications failure at one of its sites prompted Accord to find a more robust data network and voice service. The new IP telephony system now supports a more resilient call centre where customers can call the 0300 number and be immediately directed to the appropriate department. Accord also now has access to more advanced communications features such as call-quality monitoring, call response monitoring and centralised data management.
Ian Tinsley, information systems manager, Accord Housing, said, “As it was over 10 years’ old, our previous telephony system was nearing capacity and had limited call-centre functionality. Additionally, due to the growth of the business, getting an upgrade for additional telephony services would have been extremely costly. We needed a system that would reduce our long-term costs, simplify administration and enhance customer service.
“Network Defence provided us with a system that has helped to do all this and streamlined our whole telecoms system, saving callers from being passed around. We now have a multitude of communication tools which our staff find easy to use, and importantly, the newly integrated system has enabled us to comply with the Audit Commission’s recommendations of a more unified system.”
