How a 45-year-old manufacturer future-proofed its communications ahead of the switch-off.

// 01The business

Aqualona are market leaders in manufacturing bathroom accessories, firmly established for over 45 years. With multiple product ranges spanning hundreds of individual products, the business has continued to grow its consumer offering.

A strong US partnership formed back in 2008 helped the company grow exponentially, broadening its product range and capabilities along the way. As Aqualona grew, so did the demand for strong, effective communication across their two primary sites in New York and London, and a real need for high-performance connectivity to handle the increase in operations.

// 02The problem

Aqualona came to us with an outdated phone system that was not up to modern standards, along with poor broadband connectivity across their main sites that was slowing both operations and internal communications. With the PSTN/ISDN switch-off deadline fast approaching, it was clear their existing communications system was unsustainable.

The team were brought in to provide an efficient, scalable telecommunications solution that could grow with the client, and future-proof them against the impending switch-off of their existing telecoms system.

// 03The solution

The first stage of the project saw our telecoms team build a completely new phone system to the customer's requirements. A VOIP phone system was implemented across both sites through a testing environment, allowing members of their team to trial the solution and confirm it met the necessary requirements. By not putting it straight into a live environment, the client could give feedback and request alterations before we proceeded with their bespoke project.

We also implemented new broadband lines to improve connectivity across their locations, migrating the client from a traditional ADSL line to the far more modern SOGEA broadband connection, offering greater overall speeds and performance across their internal network.

Once both sites had their new phone systems and broadband in place, the numbers were ported from their old provider to us. This allowed for a seamless transfer to the new system, with the new phones ringing the moment the old ones stopped, ensuring minimal disruption to business operations during the project.

// 04The result

• Future-proofed. Switching to a new telecoms system protected the client against the PSTN switch-off, giving them a clear competitive edge.
• Built to scale. The bespoke solution lets the client add an unlimited number of extensions, so as they grow and take on new staff, their communications network scales with them.
• Easier collaboration. A modern system with an easy-to-use web-based interface makes both telephone and video meetings far simpler to set up and run, supported by the improved broadband so online meetings stay smooth and the team stays productive.
• Lower call costs. Moving to a high-performance VOIP system removed the cost associated with business calls, which over the long term delivers a significant return on investment.
• Resilient by design. With new broadband lines in place, if one line goes down at head office the network automatically fails over to the second line, significantly minimising any business disruption.

// 05In their words

"They have always gone above and beyond the call of duty for Aqualona. Overall, I have worked with several IT companies and none of them come close. Not only do they resolve the issues that are requested, they are also working in the background to make sure we have as little problems as possible. The first thing I said when I spoke to them was that I don't want to have to ever worry about our computers, phones, or broadband again, and I can say with confidence that since we have had them onboard, they have honoured that request."

Zachary Brin, Business & Sales Executive, Aqualona