nVent boosts global collaboration by integrating 8x8 with Microsoft Teams

The Challenge: Uniting 60 different systems across the globe

Established in 2018, nVent grew out of a number of long-standing businesses. With that, came a slew of legacy technology. “We had over 60 phone systems globally within our organization,” says Chris Geryol, Senior Manager of IT and Operations at nVent. “Some were very old and it was challenging to keep them all running.” The systems were not interconnected, which meant constantly navigating disjointed processes and operations. “We had to learn a lot of different administration tools and procedures for each one of those locations,” says Geryol.

In 2019, nVent began searching for a communications solution that would connect its administrative staff, manufacturing workers, and contact center agents worldwide, making it easier for employees to collaborate with each other and with customers.

The company evaluated several leading providers with a focus on three key criteria: a single platform solution with global flexibility and analytics, simplified administration and maintenance, and Microsoft Teams integration capabilities.

“As we worked through the process,” recalls Geryol, “8x8 stood out by fitting our global footprint very well with a highly competitive cost per line. Our contact center leaders in particular were very happy with the management features. Also, 8x8’s easy integration with Microsoft Teams was a major factor in our decision.”

The Solution: One single platform for UCaaS and CCaaS

In May of 2020, nVent implemented a pilot of 8x8 Work and 8x8 Contact Center in two small sites in the U.S. before rolling them out company-wide. Geryol says, “8x8’s project teams helped us plan out our solution. For each site, they meticulously gathered details from us, built out the solution, and then sent it back to us so we can test and document it.”

8x8 also helped to ensure that deployments went smoothly. At smaller locations, nVent had IT staff on site for local support with an 8x8 representative and the rest of the team standing by on a call to answer questions or provide guidance. For larger sites, 8x8 was present on site to assist with any issues or equipment set up. “8x8’s deployment teams have been great to work with, adapting to our Agile methodology and our tools,” says Geryol.

As nVent’s IT team became more comfortable with the process, they were able to deploy 8x8 to several sites at once. One implementation included six locations in the U.S. and Canada and 700 employees—all in a single day.

The Benefits: Increased productivity and savings

Consolidating 60 different systems onto a single, unified platform has brought significant productivity gains across the company. Users can collaborate seamlessly with colleagues and customers around the world from the same interface. The IT team now has one communications system that anyone on their team can administer.

Infrastructure cost savings have also been significant. Now, nVent no longer needs dedicated telephony staff to administer the disparate systems, nor does it need to buy and maintain servers, phones, cabling, and software. As the organization grows, nVent can easily add new users and employees can move between locations as needed with just their laptop and mobile phone.

For nVent, the process of moving to 8x8 began during the pandemic, at a time when the plethora of legacy phone systems made it especially difficult for employees to effectively work from home. Geryol says, “As we move forward with a hybrid work environment, 8x8 enables us to stay flexible and productive, which has been a huge benefit to the company.”