Allstream: ST. JOHN'S AMBULANCE IMPROVES RESILIENCY WITH TELEPHONY AND NETWORK UPGRADES

ST. JOHN'S AMBULANCE IMPROVES RESILIENCY WITH TELEPHONY AND NETWORK UPGRADES

ORGANIZATION
St. John's Ambulance provides community service, as well as first aid and CPR training.

CHALLENGE
The organization needed to upgrade its telephony system to improve business resiliency.

SOLUTION
By interconnecting its sites on Allstream's MPLS network and adopting IP telephony, the organization improved disaster recovery and contact centre reporting.

OUTCOMES

Reduced the risk of business disruption by setting up a failover between its two main sites
Reduced long distance fees by equipping 45 staff with IP handsets
Improved disaster recovery by enabling call centre staff to work remotely, at home and in the field
Increased customer calls by roughly 20%

BUSINESS CHALLENGE

Since 1883, St. John's Ambulance has provided Canadians with first aid and CPR training. In British Columbia, it runs these operations from five main locations and roughly 20 satellite offices. To support both its customers, the organization also maintains a busy contact centre.

After assessing its business resiliency, however, the organization realized it needed some changes. With standalone networks in each of its locations, the organization would have been unable to access key systems in the event of a business disruption. If its primary contact centre went down, its staff would not have been able to work remotely. To improve its emergency preparedness, St. John's Ambulance decided it was time to upgrade its telephony system and network.

SOLUTION

Allstream began by interconnecting the organization's Vancouver and Kelowna sites on its Quality of Service (QoS)-enabled MPLS network. The network itself guarantees 99.9% uptime and, should one location become disabled, it automatically fails over to the alternate site, ensuring always-on availability.

Next, the organization adopted teleworker functionality that freed up its contact centre staff to work remotely - both at home and in the field. Already, contact centre workers have gained a better understanding of customer needs across the province and are delivering more consistent service.

Allstream also equipped the organization's 45 people with IP handsets. By enabling four-digit dialing among all its locations, this IP functionality allowed St. John's Ambulance to both enhance collaboration and virtually eliminate long distance charges across its sites.

BUSINESS OUTCOMES

Since upgrading its telephony and network systems, St. John's Ambulance:

Reduced the risk of business disruption by setting up a failover between its two main sites
Enhanced collaboration and reduced long distance fees by equipping its 45 employees with IP handsets
Improved disaster recovery by enabling call centre staff to work remotely
Increased customer calls by roughly 20% thanks, in part, to enabling call centre staff to work in the field

"We are much better positioned to continue serving our customers in the event of an emergency or pandemic because we can keep running in key locations and have staff work at home or from remote sites," says Martin Addison, Chief Information Officer at St. John's Ambulance.

"Allstream made it clear they wanted our business and would do everything they could to meet our needs. They couldn't have been more helpful."

- Martin Addison,
Chief Information Officer,
St. John's Ambulance