Case Study, VoIP implementation for Barbour

1. CASE STUDY
CREATIVE • PROACTIVE • DEPENDABLE
Benefits of IP telephony realised
UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS
AND VOIP
“I am absolutely delighted with the new VoIP telephone
SECURE AND RESILIENT
system. Rolling out the communications system has
INFRASTRUCTURE
resulted in significant cost and efficiency savings for
Barbour, reducing phone charges for calls between sites.”
Brenda Readman-Bell, Finance Director, J. Barbour & Sons
CUSTOMER PROFILE identified as the optimal solution for Barbour,
THE CHALLENGE
meeting current requirements and providing a
J Barbour and Sons is a 4th generation Rather than relocating their current PABX to a
base for future expansion and future business
family owned company with a rich new office at significant cost, J Barbour and Sons
needs.
heritage of over 100 years, An made the decision to take advantage of an IP
authentic British brand, Barbour has Waterstons upgraded Barbour’s existing WAN
(Internet Protocol) based telephone solution to
an unparalleled understanding of and LAN infrastructure in order to guarantee
meet current and future business needs.
clothing that is truly fit for today’s quality of service between sites and to provide
Barbour had 3 separate telephone systems, one
active lifestyle. With a wardrobe of failover and resiliency. Virtual LAN technologies
at each of their 3 sites, which had the following
clothes, both classic and contemporary, provide a segregated LAN with Quality of
disadvantages:
for sporting pursuits, country and Service (QoS) to separate the voice and data
city living, Barbour remains true to traffic and maintain voice quality. All voice calls
• Support costs were very high – these included
the core values for which the brand are encrypted via the Mitel 3300 ICP to ensure
BT support costs and the cost of a dedicated
is renowned - quality, durability, security.
internal person to support the phone systems.
fitness for purpose and attention to
• It was time-consuming to perform a desk-
detail. As well as jackets and coats, the
POTENTIAL REALISED
to-desk move and for a new starter to be
Barbour collection includes trousers,
provided with a handset.
shirts, socks, midlayers, knitwear and • The new VoIP system has lead to an 80%
accessories. reduction in support costs per annum. A
• There were separate telephone directories
dedicated internal person is no longer required
so cross-site communication was time-
With headquarters in South Shields,
to support the phone systems, so this resource
consuming.
Barbour is now sold in 29 countries
has been utilised in other areas of the business.
worldwide including the United States,
Germany, France Italy and Japan. The • Moves can now be carried out immediately
IMPLEMENTATION
brand was recently tipped as one and new starters can be provided with a
to watch as younger style conscious Barbour selected Waterstons, a Mitel Select telephone straightaway, leading to increased
consumers discover the unique benefits Partner, to design and implement the new IP productivity and workforce flexibility.
of Barbour. system. Waterstons identified 3 projects that
• Telephone call charges have been substantially
would maximise Barbour’s benefit from the
reduced, because Barbour personnel can make
project:
secure site to site calls over their existing wide
• Provide a replacement telephone system for area network (WAN) for no charge.
210 users across 3 sites.
• The new system has enabled Barbour to
• Redesign and upgrade the existing Wide Area standardise their telephone system, handsets
Network (WAN). and voicemail solution. There is a single
electronic telephone directory on each phone
• Redesign and upgrade the existing Local Area
which holds numbers for staff on all 3 sites, so
Network (LAN).
communication between sites is quicker and
easier.
A Mitel 3300 Integrated Communications
Platform (ICP) VoIP (Voice over IP) system was
• telephone: 0845 094 094 5 • website: www.waterstons.com
e-mail: info@waterstons.com

2. CREATIVE • PROACTIVE • DEPENDABLE
More Information
“The integration of the VoIP telephony solution
real time between colleagues, so a query,
FUTURE PLANS
with Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and
issue or problem can be resolved very quickly.
Barbour are planning to roll out VoIP globally Microsoft Live Communications Server will help
Presence information enables staff to instantly
to sites in the US, France and Germany. Global us improve efficiency as well as promoting
see whether their colleagues are available, on
collaboration amongst employees, regardless of
site to site calls will then be able to be made for
holiday, on the telephone or in a meeting.
their location.”
no charge.
Collaboration tools allow employees to share
and work on a document concurrently and Brenda Readman-Bell, Finance Director,
The IP telephone solution chosen, together
J. Barbour & Sons
provide peer-to-peer video and audio.
with Waterstons’ expertise in IT applications
and Microsoft Gold Partner status, enables
Implementation of Microsoft Exchange Server
further applications to be added which extend
will enable Barbour’s mobile workforce to
the commercial benefits gained from the
utilise Microsoft’s push technology, providing
system. A planned next step is to implement
them with access to voicemail, email, calendars
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and Microsoft
and presence information straight from their
Live Communications Server (LCS).
handheld mobile phones and PDAs.
LCS provides Instant Messaging, Presence
and Collaboration tools, all of which can lead
to great increases in productivity. Instant
Messaging enables messages to be sent in
Waterstons are a Mitel Select Partner and a Microsoft
Gold Certified Partner.
Microsoft Office Communicator allows users to view the presence of their contacts, and Microsoft The 5212 IP Phones installed at Barbour provide the user with
Exchange Server enables all types of messages (voicemail, e-mail, faxes) to be accessed through the a range of functions, including Handsfree Speakerphone,
Outlook mailbox. Speed Calling, Conference Call Set-up and much more.
• telephone: 0845 094 094 5 • website: www.waterstons.com
e-mail: info@waterstons.com