Dave Reed researched a range of leading solutions. Reed was more familiar with another vendor, but he liked what he learned about 8x8 by comparison. “Base pricing was similar,” he says, “but there were some extra implementation costs with the other provider. After talking with the 8x8 team, they felt that I’d be able to set the system up myself.”
In addition, 8x8 Work offered a wide range of features and functionality through one unified platform, so there would be only one vendor to go to for any issues support needs. Based on Reed’s recommendation, The Plus Group adopted 8x8 Work.
Onboarding, training, implementing 8x8 Work
When it came to implementation, Reed found a wealth of support at 8x8. His customer support representative helped him understand the basics of the system and provided tips and ideas on how to set up specific features like ring groups and auto attendants. “If I had any questions,” says Reed, “our rep would answer back quickly or get on a call. He was instrumental in helping me ramp up.” Reed also relied on tutorials from the 8x8 University to help him better understand various features. “With all that info and support, I felt pretty comfortable with setting up the system.”
Exploring new 8x8 features
After rolling out 8x8 across the company, The Plus Group started experimenting with different 8x8 Work features that could help increase productivity and remove some friction with their existing tools. The company had been using Microsoft Teams internally, but after experiencing a few outages with the service, they did not wish to rely on Microsoft for phone service. Reed says, “We have the 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams integration ready, which gives us the ability to run both systems in parallel.” This allows employees to use the 8x8 calling plans and enterprise grade PBX features through direct routing with Microsoft Teams. “We have a bi-weekly all-hands meeting, and we’re going to move that to 8x8 and see how that goes.”
The benefits: business continuity made easier
Reed considers the transition project to be a success on all fronts. From a cost perspective, he sees little difference between the old and new system. “It’s basically a wash,” he says, “but the advantage is that we got a better system that gives us a bunch of new features that we’re just beginning to explore.”
Since the switch, business communications at The Plus Group have been humming along without a hitch. Reed says: “8x8 has been godsend for us from a business perspective. It's really helped us keep things running smoothly, and our group thinks it’s wonderful.” Now, employees can manage their availability for calls by logging in or out of the system, and no one has to worry about where to forward a call. In addition, staff can take calls from home or the office on any device.
Not only has this agility been critical during the pandemic, but it’s opened an opportunity for The Plus Group to hire more remote employees. “With 8x8, our remote employees can be included in the phone group and answer phones just like people in the office. Our customers can’t tell the difference, which is great. And if we ever face another pandemic lockdown, we’ll be ready.”
