MORRISTOWN UTILITY SYSTEMS SUCCESS STORY

ShoreTel Communications Powers up Morristown Utility Systems forNew Markets

CHALLENGE:

• Newbusinessventuresandtheneedforahighlyavailablecommunicationssystemmeantreplacingtheaginganalogphoneswithmodern,feature-richandresilientIP-basedcommunications.

SOLUTION:

• AShoreTelUnifiedCommunications(UC)systemacrossthreesites,usingtwoShoreGear®T1Switches,fourShoreGear®60VoiceSwitches,oneShoreGear40VoiceSwitch,andShorePhone230and560IPtelephones.ThesystemalsousesShoreWare®EnterpriseContactCenterandShoreWareCallManagerapplications.

BENEFITS:

• ThesophisticatedShoreWareEnterpriseContactCenterenablestheutilitytodramaticallyimprovecustomerserviceandquicklyscaletohandleincreasedvolumestohelpMUSpursuenewmarkets.

• ShoreTeleaseofmanagementhascutthetimespentonphonesystemmanagementdownfromhourseachweektominutes,leavingmoretimeforrevenue-generatingprojects.

Overthepastfewyears,deregulationintheutilityindustryhasledtoanincreasingneedforbusinessagilityamongutilitycompanies.ForMorristownUtilitySystems(MUS),alocalgovernmentcommissionthatoperatesasanenterprisefundofthecityofMorristowninTennessee,thismeansrespondingtomarketdemandsrapidlyandcostefficiently,andtherecentbusinessdecisiontodiversifyitsofferingsandenterthefibertothehomemarketwithinnovativeentertainment,Internetandcommunicationproductsandservicesmadeperfectsense.However,itsoonbecameobviousthattheutility’sagingAvayaphonesystemcouldnotkeepupwiththeincreasedcallvolumeresultingfromthissuccessfulventure.

FormedbyaprivateactoftheStateLegislaturein1901,MUSistechnicallyagovernmentunit,butfundsitsexpendituresexclusivelythroughratesandcharges,andreceivesnoincomefromtaxes.Therefore,choosingareliablesystemandafiscallysoundinvestmentwerekeycriteria.

“Thevolumeofcallstripled,plusthelengthofcallswentfromanaverageoftwominutestomorethan20minutes,duetothecomplexityofthefibertothehomebusiness,”explainedMikeFawbush,InformationSystemsManagerforMUS.“Theoldsystemonlyofferedautomatedcalldistribution,andagentshadtonoticethelightonthephonetoknowthatsomeonewasonthelinewaiting.Weweregettingatleastfourorfivecomplaintsadayfromfrustratedresidentsunabletogetthroughtoaliveperson.”

MUS Must Keep the Lines Open in an EmergencyInaddition,theoldsystemhadthreeindependentPBXsinthreeseparatesites;butcallscouldnotbetransferredtoanyonesiteinemergencysituations.Sincethecitydependsontheutilitycompanyforpowerandwater,andespeciallytoprovidecityservicesduringanytypeofemergencyoroutage;MUSneedsacommunicationssystemthatishighlyresilientandreliable.Forinstance,inthe

MorristownUtilitySystemsprovideswater,powerandFiberNetbroadbandcableservicestoapproximately13,000customerswithinthemunicipalboundariesoftheCityofMorristown,Tennessee.

ShoreTel and Morristown Utility Systems PAGE 2

eventthattreesorthunderstormstakeoutpowerlines,MUSmustbeabletomakerepairsquickly,andthatmeansmaintainingemergencycommunicationsforstaff,workcrewsandcustomers.

WithjusttwopeopleonhisITteamtosupportthethreedivisionsofpower,waterandFiberNet,MrFawbushalsoneedsacommunicationssystemthatiseasytomaintainandmanage,anddoesnotrequirespecialcertificationsorprogrammingskills.AfterconvincinguppermanagementthatanIPtelephonysystemwouldprovidetheutilitywithenterprise-classcommunicationsfeaturesandfunctionalitywithouttyingphoneservicesandpersonneltoaspecificsite,heissuedanRFP.Attherecommendationoflocalreseller,TerryFishburnofAdvancedCommunications,heinvitedShoreTeltorespond,alongwiththreeothermajorvendors.

“StraightawaywesawindemonstrationsthatthemanagementoftheothersystemswouldbeanightmarecomparedtotheShoreTelUCsystem,”MrFawbushsaid.“Plus,ShoreTelmetallofourrequirements:managementease,reliability,functionalityandflexibility,atamuchlowerpricepoint.”

ShoreWare Enterprise Contact Center Supports Business AgilityInadditiontotheredundancyandfail-overcapabilitiesprovidedbythedistributedarchitectureoftheShoreTelUCsystem,MrFawbushandhisteamwereparticularlyimpressedwiththefeaturesintheShoreWare®EnterpriseContactCenterapplication(ECC).Asbusinesscontinuedtogrow,MrFawbushrecognizedtheneedtoimprovecustomerservicebyestablishingacallcenterthatcouldrespondquicklyandeffectivelytocustomercalls,andscalewhenneeded.TherichfunctionalityintheShoreWareECCapplicationprovidesmultiplelevelsofinsightandfeaturesthatenableorganizationstorespondquicklytochangingcustomerneeds.

“Thepreviouscallcenterwasn’treallyacallcenterbutsimplyagroupofaboutsevenpeopleresponsibleforansweringthephones,”MrFawbushsaid.“Wehadnoadvancedcallfeatures,andnowayof

knowingwhypeoplewerecalling,simplythattheywerecallingandwewerenotalwaysansweringintime.”

MUSuppermanagementapprovedthedecisiontopurchaseaShoreTelUCsystem,andfourShoreGear®60VoiceSwitchesandoneShoreGear40wereinstalledacrossthreesites—themainofficewhichhousescustomerservice,administration,payroll,accounting,andthegeneralmanager;thewaterfiltrationplant;andthetelecomandpowersite.Withthreedigitdialing,callsbetweensitesaresimpleandquicklytransferred.

AdvancedCommunicationsalsohelpedMUStransitionfromcoppertoPRIlines,whichwerealreadytestedandgoodtogoatdeployment.ThecutoverfromtheoldsystemtothenewShoreTelUCsystemtooklessthanthreehours,includingbringingthenewphonesupandrunning.MUSisusing95ShorePhone™IP230telephones,withabouttenShorePhoneIP560telephonesforstaffwhohavetomonitormorelines.Theutilityjustneedsoneserverforvoicemail,andanotherthatrunstheECCapplication.

Flexibility of ECC Provides Customizable Customer Experience TwoofthethreesitesusetheECCapplication,withatotalof25agents,includingtwoadministrativesupervisorswhoperformreportingandcallcentermanagement,andfiveregularsupervisorstoperformoperationalfunctions,suchasputtingtheagentinworkmodeornonworkmode.TheflexibilityoftheECCapplicationontheShoreTelUCsystemmeansMUScaneasilyaccommodateagentsattwosites,eachwithfullfunctionalitysuchastheabilitytotransfercallsandcombinereports.ThisarrangementenablesMUStobalancecallvolumeandhelpimprovecustomerservicewithminimalwaittimes.

“TheflexibilityoftheECCapplicationhasenabledustowriteascriptthatsendsane-mailtoasupervisorwhencustomershavebeenonholdforthreeminutes,”MrFawbushsaid.“TheabilitytointeractwithEnterpriseContactCenterandwritescriptstoanexternaldatabasemeanswecancustomizethesystemtomeetourneedsandensureoptimumcustomerservice.”

“ShoreTel met all of our

requirements: management

ease, reliability, functionality

and flexibility, at a much

lower price point.”

Mike FawbushInformationSystemsManager,MorristownUtilitySystems

ShoreTel and Morristown Utility Systems PAGE 3

Inaddition,thereportingfunctionalityinECChasenabledMUStomakeimportantchangestoimprovecustomerservice.Nowthesystemreportsonwhatpeoplearecallingabout,soMrFawbushwasabletoestablishseparategroupstoanswercustomerserviceandtechnicalsupportcalls.Thisconnectscallerstotherightpersontoanswertheirquestions,resolveissuesonthefirstcallandimprovesMUSagentsproductivity.

“Thereal-timestatisticsproducedbyECCprovideimportantinsightthatmeanswecaneasilyandquicklyrampupagentsintheeventofanemergencyorotherspikeintraffic,suchastheintroductionofanewentertainmentfeaturethatmightproducealotofcalls,”MrFawbushsaid.

Inaddition,thewallboardfunctionalityinECCprovideseveryoneinthecallcenterwithaquickglanceathowwellthecenterisperformingwithcurrentcallstatisticspostedonalargescreen.Agentscannowseethenumberofcallswaitingthequeueandmanagecallvolumeasateam,insteadofrelyingonasolitaryblinkinglightonthephone.

No Call Goes Unanswered—No Matter What!MUSusesShoreTel’sWorkgroupcapabilitiestohandleincreasedcallvolumesduringpoweroutages,allphonesinaworkgroupringtohelpensurethatasmanycallsaspossibleareanswered.Thehuntgroupsfunctionalityringsallofthephonesinthewaterfacilityatnightwhenthereisonlyoneoperatorandthatpersoncouldbeanywhereinthefacility–notnecessarilynearhisdesk.

“ShoreTelenablesustodesigntheexactstepseachcustomerflowsthroughwhentheycall,andtailorthecommunicationsexperiencetomeettheirneeds,”MrFawbushsaid.“Atthesametime,theShoreTelUCsystemprovidesourstaffwithvaluableinformationaboutwho’scalledfromtheverydetailedCDRData.”

Theutilitynowreceivesfewerthanfivecomplaintseverysixmonths,andMrFawbushcaneasilyquerythecalldatarecording(CDR)informationtoinvestigateeachcase.“TheCDRenablesmeto

reproducetheroutingslip—wherethecallwent,howmuchtimeittookandhowmanytimesthephonerang—soIcanfullyunderstandandaddresseachcustomer’sissue.Themajorityofthecomplaintswereceivenowarefrompeoplewhosimplywanttobypassthesystem.”

InadditiontotheECCapplication,staffatMUSisalsousingShoreWarePersonalCallManager,integratedwithMicrosoftOutlook®,whichmeansthatdirectoryupdatesareavailabletoeveryoneonthesystemimmediately,andtheutilitynolongerneedstomaintainandpublishapaperphonebook.

ReceptionistsatMUSarealsousingShoreWareOperatorCallManger;whichenablesthemtoquicklyandeasilydragacallanddropitonsomebodyfromacomputerdesktop,andprovidespresenceinformation,soifsomeoneisnotavailabletheycantransferthecalltoanotherperson,ordirectlytovoicemail.Theseproductivitytoolsmeanthatcallersareconnectedtotherightpersonquickly,improvingcustomerserviceandbusinessefficiency.

Ease of Management Saves Big Time for Small TeamForMrFawbush,theShoreTelUCsystem’seaseofmanagementhasbeenahugeadvantagetohissmallITteam.Notonlyarenospecialtechnicalskillsrequiredtomanagethesystem,butthetimesavingsareenormous.

“Itusedtotakeusatleast35minutestomoveaphone,”hesaid.“Nowittakesnomorethantwominutes,andIdon’tneedaprogrammerortelecommunicationsexpertonstaff.Iusedtospend25percentofmytimeonthephones,andnowthat’sdowntolessthan5percent.Thattranslatestomoretimetospendonrevenuegeneratingprojects.”

Furthermore,becausetheShoreTelUCsystemmanagementisWeb-based,ITcanmanagethesystemfromanyWebbrowser,anywherefromaVPNconnection.Eventtriggerskeeptheminformedbye-mail24/7aboutsystemhealthandintheeventofanout-of-hoursemergency,theycanquicklytransfercallstooneoftheothersites.

“It used to take us at least 35

minutes to move a phone,

Now it takes no more than

two minutes, and I don’t

need a programmer or

telecommunications expert

on staff.”

Mike FawbushInformationSystemsManager,MorristownUtilitySystems

WORLD HEADQUARTERS 960 Stewart Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94085 USA. shoretel.com and shoretelsky.com

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About ShoreTel

ShoreTel is a provider of business communication solutions whose brilliantly simple unified communications platforms, applications and mobile UC solutions promise a new rhythm of workforce engagement and collaboration. With costly complexity eliminated by design from its award winning, all-in-one IP phone system, UC and contact center solution, and its industry leading hosted business phone system, workers enjoy a freedom and self-reliance that other providers can’t match. Users have full control to engage and collaborate, no matter the time, place or device, for the lowest cost and demand on IT resources in the industry. ShoreTel is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and has regional offices and partners worldwide. For more information, visit shoretel.com or shoretelsky.com

“HavingnopreviousPBXexperience,thesimplicityoftheShoreTelUCsystemallowsmetomanageitwitheaseandconfidence,”explainsChelseyHolt,InformationSystemsSpecialistforMUS.

ThereliabilityoftheShoreTelUCsystemanditsabilitytooperatewithbothPRIandanaloglinesarekeybenefitsforMUS.WhenaPRIcardfailedatthephonecompany’scentralofficeat4a.m.recently,MrFawbushwasabletoimplementabackupstrategybeforetheopeningofbusiness,andswitchtheShoreTelUCsystemovertoanalogcopperlines.Thissituationpersistedfortwodaysbeforethephonecompanywasabletoeffectivelyaddresstheproblem,butthankstoShoreTel,noonemissedasinglecall.

“TheShoreTelUCsystemisarealpowerhouse,”MrFawbushsaid.“Inadditiontoexceptionalreliability,we’veseenhugetimesavingsandarepayingaboutthesameamountasouroldsystemforfargreaterfunctionality.We’renowlookingatwayswecanfurtherimproveproductivity,includingintegratingourbillingsystemtomakeitquickerandeasierforcustomerstopay.Thislevelofflexibilityhasimprovedourbusinessagilityandmeanswe’rewell-positionedforfuturemarketchanges.”

“Having no previous PBX

experience, the simplicity

of the ShoreTel UC system

allows me to manage it with

ease and confidence.”

Chelsey HoltInformationSystemsSpecialist,MorristownUtilitySystems