Skype Cloud PBX Simplifies Communication for Global Company

Few companies do all business in a physical office, so why should voice communication be limited to desk phones and computers? Cloud PBX solutions remove the need for physical phone lines, allowing employees to make voice calls using a broadband Internet connection. Unfortunately, poor call quality is a widespread issue, forcing companies like American Barbell to rely on email alone for communication.

That’s why American Barbell President Jeff Goergen set his sights on Skype for Business Cloud PBX when starting his exercise equipment company in 2014.

Headquartered in San Diego, the company also has a factory in China and satellite workers across the U.S. and Europe. Employees travel often and communicate on a global scale. To maintain a corporate appearance while allowing team members to work remotely, Jeff needed a reliable, all-in-one communication solution like Skype for Business Cloud PBX.

Before the Skype for Business PSTN calling capabilities became available, Jeff used Skype for internal messaging, Line2 for VoIP and ConferenceCalling.com. Using separate communication platforms was difficult to manage, costly and unreliable. For instance, when making voice calls with Line2, employees often had to revert to email because call quality was so poor.

“We were already paying for Skype for Business through our Office 365 subscriptions,” Jeff said. “Paying for Line2 and ConferenceCalling.com just didn’t make sense.”

With remote employees, transferring was also an issue. Jeff wanted a phone system that would seamlessly transfer callers to employee lines without forcing his team to come into the office.

Amid merging and running a growing business, Jeff also wore the IT hat. Dealing with everyday computer issues added a layer of stress and detracted from more important objectives. He not only needed a partner to deploy Skype for Business, but also a cloud partner to shoulder the IT burden.

With the release of Skype for Business Cloud PBX in 2015, Jeff could finally consolidate internal and external communications into one license, cutting costs for the company.

But setting up the new phone system involved updating user licenses and porting over numbers to the new platform. And without an in-house IT team, Jeff needed a trusted partner to complete the project and provide ongoing IT support.

Working with Agile IT, Jeff gained:

• Skype for Business Cloud PBX deployment for 34 users/workstations
• Consulting for Skype for Business Readiness, Assessment and Planning
• Licensing support for Office 365 E5 and PSTN calling plans
• Existing DIDs (direct inward dialing numbers) moved to Microsoft voice services
• One Auto Attendant
• Three Ring Groups

“When I looked into deploying Skype for Business, I had no idea what I was doing,” Jeff said. “With this transition, Agile IT did everything. We provided the phone numbers, and they set everything up.”

The best part of moving to the Skype for Business phone system? Local employees, remote workers, global partners and clients can all enjoy uninterrupted voice calls and move projects along faster.

With Agile IT’s cloud technicians at his disposal, Jeff doesn’t have to tinker with employee computers, fix email glitches and field IT questions he knows little about. With managed IT services, users can now call Agile IT directly for computer or printer issues.

From a customer’s perspective, American Barbell is also a professional business environment. Transferring calls is an automated, one-step process with Auto Attendant, and employees can take calls from anywhere.

“The changeover from phones to Skype for Business has improved the experience from our customers’ standpoint, Jeff said. “We can easily transfer calls, which was hard to do with remote workers. Now, callers don’t have to know the person on the other line is probably in her pajamas.”

Overall, the transition was seamless, Jeff said. With training from Agile IT, employees could begin using the cloud PBX solution the same day.