8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT), a provider of cloud-based unified
communications and collaboration solutions, today announced that George
Best Belfast City Airport, a regional airport serving a range of
destinations throughout the UK and Ireland and Northern Ireland’s sole
link with London Heathrow, has replaced its traditional phone system
with business VoIP and cloud-based unified
communications services from 8x8 Solutions. 8x8 Solutions, formerly
Voicenet Solutions, is the UK/European arm of 8x8, Inc.
“The existing infrastructure and on-premise PBX telephone system at
Belfast City Airport could no longer handle the needs of the 1,500
employees and eight buildings spread across the airport’s 100,000 square
foot facility,” said Terry Moore, CEO of Outsource Solutions, Belfast
City Airport’s IT solutions provider. “After a thorough assessment, a
decision was made to replace the airport’s old PBX system with 8x8’s
cloud-based communications solutions. The challenge we faced was
upgrading the technology during the airport’s normal day to day
operations, which saw over 2.5 million passengers using the facility in
2013 making it one of the busiest periods in the airport’s 30 year
history.”
The existing premise-based phone system required expensive engineering
input for simple administrative changes and did not have the capacity
for expansion. In addition, there were very limited disaster recovery
options with no straightforward mechanism to activate additional lines
to deal with periods of high demand. The system also lacked detailed
reporting and analytics capabilities, which were necessary to evaluate
the effectiveness of aspects of the airport’s customer service.
“With the help of Outsource Solutions and 8x8, we determined that, in
order to provide for flexibility, resilience and future growth, we had
to move our telephony to the cloud,” said Raymond Hooke, Airside
Operations Manager at Belfast City Airport. “We were truly impressed
with how 8x8 proactively reached out to us, came prepared with an
analysis of our needs and delivered what they recommended efficiently
and on budget.”
Belfast City Airport’s new cloud-based communications system is
configured to not only handle the airport’s present needs but to also
scale to handle future requirements, seasonality and VIP communications
with full wallboard and call statistics reporting. In addition, the
airport can now accurately measure, rate and analyze telephone-based
service aspects, along with providing real-time reporting and analytics.
“Belfast City Airport’s deployment of cloud communications services
could very well be the first for an airport, but I’m certain it won’t be
the last,” said 8x8 Solutions CEO Kevin Scott-Cowell. “Airports all over
the world are facing the need for reliable, secure and scalable services
that are well beyond the capabilities of traditional on-premise PBX
systems. The ability of cloud communications services to provide the
resiliency and reliability necessary to keep the communications systems
of a mission critical public utility like an airport online and
available confirms that IP communications not only meet but exceed
traditional telephony capabilities.”
Scott-Cowell continued, “Airports like Belfast City are leading the way
in the adoption of cloud technologies that will forever change the way
public transportation operators handle their communications needs. We
are proud to be supporting them in this endeavor and look forward to
helping facilitate the airport’s future expansion and growth.”
8x8 Solutions’ cloud-based software platform provides a comprehensive
unified communications and collaboration suite of services that, in
addition to replacing traditional solutions with more cost effective,
flexible alternatives, address critical challenges faced by many
businesses today such as managing globally distributed workforces and
mobile devices, maintaining business continuity, and integrating with
enterprise applications and IT systems.
About 8x8, Inc.
8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT) is a provider of unified
communications and collaboration (UCC) services in the cloud to
small and medium businesses and mid-market and distributed enterprises.
The company delivers a broad suite of UCC services to in-office and
mobile devices spanning cloud business VoIP phone service, virtual
meeting web conferencing, contact center software and virtual desktop
through our proprietary unified software as a service, or SaaS,
platform. For additional information, visit www.8x8.com,
or www.8x8.com/UK or connect with
8x8 on Google+, Facebook,
LinkedIn and Twitter.
About Belfast City Airport
George Best Belfast City Airport is a regional airport serving a range
of destinations, mainly in Great Britain and Ireland. Situated on the
south shore of Belfast Lough adjacent to the A2, one of the main
arterial routes into the city, the airport has grown significantly in
recent years and is a key strategic gateway to the province. Within a
few minutes drive of Belfast city centre, GBBCA currently caters for
over 2.5 million passengers per year, representing approximately 40% of
the scheduled domestic air traffic to and from Northern Ireland.
Copyright Business Wire 2014