8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT), a provider of cloud-based unified
communications, contact center and collaboration solutions, today
announced that Barge, Waggoner, Sumner, and Cannon, Inc., one of
Engineering News Record’s (ENR) Top 500 engineering and architecture
firms in the U.S., has deployed 8x8 Virtual Office services to
approximately 400 users in its Nashville, Tennessee headquarters and 11
other offices in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Ohio. By standardizing
on the 8x8 secure unified communications platform across all 12
locations, Barge Waggoner enables its talented professionals to quickly
and easily collaborate with colleagues in other offices regardless of
location, enhancing the agility and productivity of this widely
distributed organization.
Founded in 1955, Barge Waggoner is a full-service engineering and
architecture firm focused on industrial, energy, environmental,
aviation, water services and land resources (private development,
surface transportation, civil site design and survey) markets as well as
federal government work. Before implementing 8x8’s unified
communications solution, Barge Waggoner had as many as 10 different
phone systems installed at its various offices. These older systems
lacked modern features and functionality, such as email notification of
voicemail and accompanying mobile apps. More importantly, the problems
associated with having disparate phone systems were exacerbated when the
firm organized to focus on vertical markets rather than geographic
locations. This organization meant that professionals in areas like
water plant design needed to collaborate with colleagues throughout the
firm, not just in their own local offices.
“We wanted to use the talent we have anywhere,” explained Barge
Waggoner’s Chief Technology Officer Paul Dougherty. “To align our
business vertically, we needed a communications solution that could
overcome geography and enable our specialists to efficiently consult
with other employees. Dougherty initially considered standardizing the
entire firm on an on-premise VoIP system, but the required capital
expenditures and IT support requirements that would be needed at each
location gave him pause. Lack of incremental scalability was another
issue.
“Our firm is affected by macroeconomics, just as many businesses are
today,” said Dougherty. “We wanted the ability to quickly add users and
offices during expansion, and to scale back during downturns. There’s no
point investing in expensive hardware we may not be able to use in the
future.” Impressed by a recent Gartner Magic Quadrant report that named
8x8 a leader in unified communications, Dougherty and his team decided
to pilot 8x8 service at one office.
“We were very pleased with the feedback received so the firm decided to
move forward with 8x8,” said Dougherty. “Our original plan was to
implement 8x8 only where it was needed most, but momentum started to
build, and we ended up canceling some phone service contracts early and
replacing the former hardware that wasn’t even fully depreciated so we
could standardize the whole company on 8x8 unified communications.”
From Dougherty’s perspective, 8x8 has “transformed how we interact with
clients and other stakeholders.” Employees can now make and receive
business calls on their smartphones using the 8x8 mobile app, which
makes it appear as if they are using their office phones. Email
notification of voicemail lets employees know when they have voice
messages—and caller ID indicates who left the message, greatly enhancing
responsiveness to clients.
Standard 8x8 business features such as four-digit dialing between
offices and a company-wide directory on every desktop make it easy for
employees to reach colleagues anywhere in the firm. Conference bridges
are also included as part of the standard service, eliminating
additional charges for third-party conferencing services. The
flexibility of the 8x8 solution enables customized configurations for
the firm’s locations. For example, some offices allow direct inward dial
(DID) calls to go straight to the call recipient; others set up ring
groups and have a receptionist answer calls before transferring them to
the recipient.
“8x8 allows us to set up our phone system to meet the needs of each
office and the individuals who work there,” said Dougherty. “Each time
we rolled out 8x8 to a new location, our IT Manager, David Ferguson led
a team of champions who would work with an 8x8 sales engineer to train
users and answer our questions. All we had to say is ‘we would like the
system to perform this way,’ and he helped us find the answer. The sales
engineer visited us on site numerous times which was extremely helpful.”
"The benefits of switching to 8x8’s cloud-based unified communications
are even more apparent with highly distributed organizations like Barge
Waggoner,” said 8x8 CEO Vik Verma. "8x8 provides a single unified
platform that enables the entire company to communicate and collaborate
effectively while providing enough flexibility to establish customized
configurations for specific locations, groups and users.”
About 8x8, Inc.
8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT) is the trusted provider of secure and reliable
cloud-based unified
communications and virtual contact center solutions to more than
37,000 small, midsize and distributed enterprise organizations operating
in over 40 countries across six continents. 8x8's out-of-the-box cloud
solutions replace traditional on-premise PBX hardware and software-based
systems with a flexible and scalable Software as a Service (SaaS)
alternative, encompassing cloud business phone service, contact center
solutions, and web conferencing. For additional information, visit www.8x8.com, or
www.8x8.com/UK or connect with 8x8
on Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
About Barge, Waggoner, Sumner, and Cannon, Inc.
Barge Waggoner is a professional services firm that includes engineers,
architects, landscape architects, and surveyors employed in offices in
Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio and Georgia. Our focus markets include
Aviation, Energy & Environment, Federal, Industrial and Building
Services, Land Resources and Water Services. Founded in 1955, Barge
Waggoner is ranked No. 171 in the 2014 Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top
500 Design Firms list. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn
-@BargeWaggoner. For more information, please visit our website: www.bargewaggoner.com.
Copyright Business Wire 2014