Table of Contents
Problems Solved
Communication System Limitations
Remote Work Transition
Enhanced Customer Experience
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Project
Microsoft Teams Phone-based
telephony solution
Customer Challenge: Overcoming Communication System Limitations
Founded in 1914, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is located in Toronto, Ontario and is one of the largest museums in North America. The ROM is committed to engaging visitors of all ages through exhibitions, research, and educational programming.
The ROM was facing several business challenges related to their communication system. The main line had limitations in terms of call queuing and operator/switchboard functionality. Additionally, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ROM's contact center operations transitioned to remote work, introducing challenges related to remote calling, call forwarding, and restricted voicemail capacity on mobile devices. The necessity for some agents to use their personal devices for call acceptance also limited operations. These challenges impacted the ROM's ability to handle increased call volumes and provide optimal customer service.
The Solution: Migrating to Microsoft Teams Voice for Unified Communications
ProServeIT worked with the ROM to develop a solution for potentially replacing their Lucent Definity PBX solution with a cloud-based Unified Communications (UC) and voice over internet protocol (VoIP) solution.
The engagement involved working closely with the ROM team to understand their existing environment, including special use cases and requirements from specific line-of-business owners. The result of this collaboration was a recommendation for a Microsoft Teams Phone-based telephony solution, rooted in reference architecture provided by the UC solution provider and industry best practices. This solution was designed to meet the ROM's unique needs and requirements while improving their communication system.
Following the success of the contact center implementation, the ROM partnered with ProServeIT once again to conduct a Teams Voice assessment for the larger organization. This evaluation paved the way for an organization-wide expanded Teams Voice implementation.
The assessment identified the need for tailored configurations for executives, knowledge workers, and reception functions. Therefore, ProServeIT designed various rooms within the facility to serve specific purposes and incorporated essential features such as voicemail, call recording, call reporting statistics, caller ID, and call parking into the design.
The Impact: Improved Customer Experience and Streamlined Communication with Remote Calling Capabilities
The deployment of Teams Phone has had a significant impact on the Royal Ontario Museum's telephony system. The ability to receive calls remotely without forwarding to personal mobile numbers or ROM-issued mobile devices has greatly increased the accessibility of the contact center.
The implementation of enhanced calling functionality, such as voicemail and call queuing has improved the overall customer experience. Additionally, the ability to have multiple agents answering calls received at a single number has increased the capacity to handle call volume during peak periods. The inclusion of pre-recorded messages has allowed callers to receive basic information before reaching the operator, improving contact center efficiency.
Moreover, with the expanded Teams Voice implementation, the ability to access Microsoft Teams Voice on devices operating on Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, or iOS and on web clients allowed employees to easily access their work phone when they are working remotely or travelling. In addition, the ROM achieved better utilization of licenses, improved management of systems, and integration with their Microsoft 365 tenant.
Overall, the adoption of Teams Phone has resulted in a more effective, streamlined, and reliable communication system for the Royal Ontario Museum.
ProServeIT also provided a Microsoft-funded Security Workshop along with an Azure Sentinel Add-on to help identify gaps in the ROM’s existing environment. This led to several modernization projects, including security hardening and the deployment of Microsoft Intune. The ROM now has over 6,600 monthly active users across the Microsoft suite of products.
