Reachable across an entire industrial site

A retail company was looking for a way to test new technologies risk-free. Using Cloud Foundations from Sunrise Business, the fashion retailer was able to find a new point-of-sale system that meets its specific needs for all its shops quickly and flexibly. The flexible cloud service gave the SME the ability to make informed decisions and laid the foundation for further growth.

Customer

RecyNova AG* is a regional provider of waste-recovery and recycling services in French-speaking Switzerland. The company has nine employees split between administration, the workshop and the field sales team. Recyclable materials are sorted and prepared in the workshop, while scheduling, communication with customers, business partners, accounting and operations management are all dealt with in the office.

The operating business requires close coordination – over short distances, but also via communication channels that work. At the same time, the company’s location on an industrial site places special demands on the infrastructure and network quality. This is why it is essential for RecyNova to have a state-of-the-art phone system that provides reliable accessibility – both internally and externally.

Background

Up until now, RecyNova had been using a simple third-party cloud calling solution with a low-performance Internet connection on a copper line, limited to 20 Mbit/s. The voice-transmission quality was inadequate, and calls were interrupted regularly. The lack of network coverage in the workshop area was particularly problematic: with the existing DECT devices signal dropouts were a daily occurrence – making continuous operations with a high level of occupational safety virtually impossible.

Customer calls often could not be received because there were not enough parallel voice channels available. This meant it was impossible to make group calls on several phones at the same time. In addition, the receptionist was not contactable reliably when working on parallel tasks – when out in the workshop, for example. Employees working in the field sales team sometimes had no access to the business’s communication channels because there was neither app nor softphone integration available.

Furthermore, the administrative management had no access to a user-friendly interface to manage call transfers or user profiles independently. These limitations led to growing frustration within the team and a loss of operational efficiency.

Why SME Ready Office from Sunrise Business?

SME Ready Office from Sunrise Business offers an integrated, comprehensive solution tailored precisely to the needs of small companies with distributed infrastructure. For RecyNova, it was crucial that both the Internet and calls were provided on a unified platform – including mobile usage, desktop integration and simple user management.

The company now has access to a powerful, cloud-based phone system that offers all users individual profiles and the ability to work with different devices – whether it is via DECT, IP desk phones, softphones on PC and Mac or mobile apps on smartphone and tablet for iOS and Android. The flat rate included for national and international calls makes it much easier to control costs.

Thanks to the tiered licence model with 4, 8 or 12 users, RecyNova can adapt the solution at any time without requiring any complex migrations for additional lines or for changes to participating users. The central, cloud-based administration platform enables the management independently to add more users, assign any roles or make configurations – without the company requiring specific expertise or its own IT department.

Solution and collaboration

Sunrise Business implemented RecyNova’s switch to SME Ready Office very quickly. Following an analysis of the requirements and an on-site inspection by certified partners, the existing devices (e.g., DECT base stations) were adopted – wherever possible – and supplemented with additional components.

The Internet connection is now significantly more powerful, thanks to a fibre-optic line offering speeds ranging from 1G right up to 10 Gbit/s. The entire infrastructure – including the cloud phone system – was configured centrally and activated remotely by Sunrise.

The team was trained on the new cloud calling system at the same time as the switchover took place, ensuring that there was no disruption to operations.

Result

Today, RecyNova AG has a robust, operationally mature communication solution that has delivered a lasting improvement to both the operating business and customer service.

The improvement in internal communication is especially noticeable because calls can now be transferred seamlessly or answered in real time via the app or softphone – even when staff are on the move. Employees working in the field can be contacted, and any internal queries are dealt with straight away. Thanks to a display that shows who is busy, it’s immediately clear who is able to deal with a call – and drag-and-drop can be used to transfer that call to the right person with a single click.

Communication with partner companies – such as logistics service providers or public authorities – is now much more efficient thanks to the more stable connection and clearer call quality.

In addition, IT spending has been reduced to a minimum, with updates, maintenance and security provided automatically by Sunrise Business. The company’s management can itself make changes to the configuration, add new users or manage flat rates.

For the SME, this means a noticeable increase in efficiency while at the same time its administrative processes are much simpler. RecyNova is not just more contactable – it is also more flexible and fit for the future.

Advantages

• Stable Internet at up to 10 Gbit/s at the company premises (HFC, fibre optics or copper)

• Cloud phone system (PBX) for mobile and stationary devices

• Group calls and call forwarding for full accessibility

• Easy to expand thanks to flexible licence models

• Future-oriented with premium licences for smartphones (iOS/Android) and softphones (PC/Mac)

• Transparent costs thanks to automated usage-based billing

• Compatible with existing DECT and IP hardware

• Simple administration without IT involvement

• Quick set-up and personal support

*The RecyNova AG example has been anonymised, but is based on a real customer case. The experiences and solutions outlined have been tried and tested in practice – and are appropriate for very many SMEs.