Lake Ridge Bank cashes in on great communications

The Challenge: Different banks, different systems

In 2023, Monona Bank and State Bank of Cross Plains merged to become Lake Ridge Bank. During the merger process, the two banks encountered several communications challenges. Bank leadership decided that they needed to consolidate voice communications and contact centers into a single solution system for Lake Ridge Bank.

State Bank of Cross Plains had previously relied on a complicated, on-premises Mitel solution that was reaching end of life, and the merger was a great opportunity to transition their offices to the 8x8 platform, which was already being utilized by Monona Bank. “We wanted to remove all legacy phone system hardware in the branches and the VoIP servers housing voicemail and running Contact Center in favor of a cloud-based solution with no on-site overhead,” said Wade Carlson, Information Security & User Experience for Lake Ridge Bank.

While contemplating a new solution for the newly combined bank to come, the banks’ IT consultant ACP CreativIT worked with Carlson to map out integration of the legacy Mitel platform into Monona Bank’s existing 8x8 cloud-based communications platform that offers a rich set of features, including support for mobility, telephone, and contact center operations. With its cost-effective plans and impressive capabilities, 8x8 was the perfect solution for Lake Ridge Bank. “It was comforting, knowing that 8x8 would fully support us as we went through the migration,” says Carlson.

By switching to 8x8, the newly formed Lake Ridge Bank could start out with a modern communications infrastructure that enabled it to provide superior customer service and enhance its operational efficiency.

The Solution: 8x8 delivers efficiency and enhanced collaboration

After making the decision to switch, Lake Ridge Bank implemented 8x8’s eXperience Communications Platform, including 8x8 Work and 8x8 Contact Center.

Lakeridge Bank utilizes 8x8 Contact Center's option for multiple lines to allow clients to immediately access specialists in Client Support, Treasury Management, and Card Services, among others, for quick, efficient service, minimizing transfers and wait times.

8x8 Work enables all bank employees to work remotely or in the office, resulting in enhanced collaboration across the company.

When Monona Bank first made the move to 8x8, it had only nine locations. Now at 21 locations and counting, 8x8’s scalable platform makes it easy for Lake Ridge Bank to continue growing and expanding. The bank’s IT team gains peace of mind knowing they can easily deploy the 8x8 system at any new branch without having to worry about setting up complex, on-premises hardware solutions each time.

The Result: Top-notch customer service, self-service administration

For Lake Ridge Bank, the move to 8x8 has resulted in improved user experience, efficient communications, and enhanced data security. Most importantly, 8x8’s modern, cloud-based features enables the customer focused bank to deliver top-notch customer service.

“8x8 makes it easy for people to manage their own administrative settings for their profiles,” Carlson says.

Plus, 8x8 has allowed Lake Ridge Bank to become much more agile and independent. Not only can the IT team make changes and adjustments on their own as needed, but they’re also saving on support costs. "With the old on-premises phone system, troubleshooting and line moves typically involved technical assistance from a phone system support vendor. Now, thanks to 8x8, we’re self-sufficient and can perform our own user/group adds, moves, changes and other updates with a few clicks of the mouse via the 8x8 Administration web console," says Carlson.

Finally, 8x8’s reliability has added important peace of mind for the bank’s leaders, who can now leave the headaches of hardware outages behind. “8x8 is stable, and we can really depend on it,” adds Carlson. “I would absolutely recommend 8x8, I’m a big proponent of it. It’s a good solution and the support is great.”