LanDynamix has implemented a voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) solution for Bigen Group’s Bloemfontein office, which is expected to reduce telephone costs by up to 50%.
However, according to Mark Oakes, IT Manager at Bigen, cost savings cannot come at the expense of quality.
“Bigen believes strongly in the continuing power of personal communication when dealing with clients and suppliers,” he said.
“For us, a high-quality voice communication platform is part of the overall customer experience and a key success factor. Early forays into cellular least-cost routing and VoIP were very disappointing – so much so that we chose to forgo the savings and fall back to the Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) delivered by Telkom.”
Bigen Group provides innovative infrastructure solutions across Africa, offering a broad spectrum of development advisory and impact, financial, technical, environmental and institutional services in the agriculture, water, real estate, transportation, energy and health sectors. It sees business within the context of driving socio-economic development.
Oakes says that advances in VoIP technology convinced Bigen that the time was now right to make the switch. When its current PBX supplier was unable to offer a competitive bid, Bigen turned to LanDynamix, which had been supplying security services to the company for six years.
“Bigen’s brief was simple but non-negotiable – transfer the current system to a virtual PBX with all features currently used with no interruption either to users or callers,” said Ethan Searle, Technology Advisor at LanDynamix.
“They also wanted to see a 50% cost reduction within the first month. Based on our skill set and our good working relationship with the Bigen team, we were confident that we could implement a solution that leveraged VoIP technology to deliver the desired cost savings but without compromising the quality of this important communications channel.”
One of the key factors in Bigen’s decision was the fact that the solution would be hosted on LanDynamix’s infrastructure, and delivered as a fully managed service. LanDynamix was already delivering security components like the managed firewall in the same way, so Bigen understood the benefits of receiving a critical capability as a service, with one partner taking full responsibility for support and maintenance.
“Personal communication using voice channels remains important to us even in today’s Data Age because we believe strongly that business is primarily about people,” added Oakes.
“Our previous experience told us that LanDynamix shared that view – they combine the highest standards of technological expertise with a real personal touch. For both companies, this ethos of high-performance delivery within a human context is a critical driver of success, as this implementation shows.”
Once the concept is proved, the managed VoIP PBX solution will be rolled out to Bigen’s other offices.
