When your products are critical to hospital care and patient healing, communication is key. As a global manufacturer of medical supplies that include surgical accessories, DeRoyal Industries, Inc. (DRI) depends on the speed and reliability of their network and phone systems to deliver on their mission to improve the clinical quality and economic health of their customers. Knowing that their systems’ age and limitations could diminish employee efficiency and customer experience quality, the company turned to Windstream Enterprise for modernized solutions.
A communications inflection point
DRI operates in seven locations in the U.S. with hundreds of employees who rely on phone systems for consistent internal communications and on network connectivity for day-to-day applications such as email and applications for Marketing and Human Resources. Robust external communications are equally important to DRI’s customers, which include hospitals and third parties who provide devices and supplies to end user patients. Their call center serves as a lifeline to customers, ensuring real-time support and answers about 200 calls each day.
Over time, the effects of an aging contact center, end-of-life on-premises phone system, network bandwidth limitations and the associated downtime had put DRI at a turning point: Upgrade now or risk negative impacts on employee productivity and customer satisfaction.
Better connections, greater productivity… same cost
To solve for bandwidth issues and their previous provider’s discontinuation of Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) network services, Windstream Enterprise implemented a Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) at all seven locations, with High Availability deployed at four critical locations to enable an active/active configuration. This provided the bandwidth and resiliency they needed to support critical Internet connectivity for employees, since many of their apps are cloud-based.
The results were immediately clear: Bandwidth increased three times over the previous network—at no additional cost—and network outages are now a very rare occurrence.
Next, Windstream Enterprise replaced the on-premises, end-of-life PBX phone system, which had limited features and functionality and was complex to maintain and repair. SD-WAN enabled the installation of a 100% cloud-based Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) at all locations. UCaaS ensures ease-of-use for administrators and increased productivity for their many workers by offering valuable features that include chat, search, short digit dialing, call routing, missed calls, status settings and soft phone.
The new UCaaS solution also resulted in significant cost savings by eliminating many PRI and POTS lines. And thanks to the new, high-reliability system, DRI was no longer burdened with complex disaster recovery or break-fix issues from an on-premises PBX.
Customer experience excellence is a cornerstone of DRI’s mission, but the unreliability and limitations of outdated systems had put their customer-first approach at risk. The contact center technology needed upgrades to enable the customer service and customer support call center teams to succeed. Windstream Enterprise replaced the on-premises service with Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) at all three contact centers, supporting 20-25 agents a day. This feature-rich solution increases employee productivity and efficiency, in turn enhancing the experience for customers placing orders or seeking answers and help.
With more DRI employees working remotely, collaboration matters more than ever before. The previous voice service was difficult for administrators to use and created a barrier to teamwork. That’s why Windstream Enterprise implemented OfficeSuite HD Meeting across the company for secure, reliable and friction-free collaboration. The platform is highly praised by the 150+ members of multiple departments who use it daily.
“We chose Windstream Enterprise as our network and voice partner because they provide integrated support for both network and voice services including managing the multiple access vendors.”
- Raymond Sanders, IT Operations Manager
An extension of the IT team
Another effect of DRI’s prevailing systems was the toll on their IT team. Site surveys were required to inventory existing phones and access across all locations, a time-consuming and expensive responsibility. Windstream Enterprise Professional Services offered a remedy, helping to conduct all UCaaS site surveys, including remote sites. This saved the company time, money and resources while further bundling all their solutions under one provider.
Raymond Sanders, IT Operations Manager for DeRoyal Industries, Inc., says he and his team instantly saw the benefits of Windstream Enterprise’s expertise and results-driven solutions. They are avid users of the SD-WAN management portal in WE Connect, using it daily to check on network status, circuit utilization and performance. They use reporting functions when queried about web traffic and application usage and for ticketing and invoice payments.
Focusing on what matters most
Downtime from outages, time spent troubleshooting and problem-solving—it all adds up and eats into productivity across teams. Sanders says that having Windstream Enterprise manage their networking and collaboration solutions helps them to be proactive instead of reactive. Now they can spend more time monitoring security and improving documentation, processes and automation throughout the business.
Delivering on a promise
After operating on outdated systems, DRI has found that making Windstream Enterprise their single managed provider has powered their ability to deliver on their promise to their customers—a promise that’s kept when hospitals have the medical supplies they need on time, every time, and when customers can quickly get support, answers and help whenever they need it.
“Windstream Enterprise is a trusted partner and true advocate for our business. They are always available and quick to respond to urgent requests.”
- Raymond Sanders, IT Operations Manager
About the Author
Visit Website More Content by Windstream Enterprise
