Dynamic Earth is a five star visitor attraction located in the heart of the Scottish capital’s World Heritage Site. The award-winning building opened in 1999 and was the UK’s first Millennium Commission funded project to open to the public. Operating on a not-for-profit basis, Dynamic Earth has welcomed over four million visitors since opening.
Dynamic Earth was operating on an IP Office communications system that was 10 years old with its old software version becoming ever more apparent. They were experiencing multiple issues and at one point the entire system failed, resulting in no calls in or out – a major setback for a business that attracts thousands of visitors each month and relies heavily on the phone system.
Another issue was that Avaya’s technical team will only support customers on the current version minus one. Dynamic Earth were four software versions behind and no longer covered under an Avaya IPOSS contract that would have allowed incovo to raise tickets with tier 3 and 4 back bone engineers at Avaya.
Furthermore, Dynamic Earth were still using ISDN phone lines into the building and this was having an impact on high call spend. As the ISDN infrastructure was over 20 years old, call quality issues were starting to become evident.
First and foremost, incovo’s priority was to get Dynamic Earth back up and running quickly and efficiently. Thanks to their rapid response team, a desk-based engineer was able to remotely diagnose the fault and pinpoint the fact that the main control unit had shut down. incovo’s helpdesk then organised a field engineer to pick up the necessary part from the depot. An engineer was on-site within an hour of the first call and replaced the main control unit immediately. Thorough tests were carried out and the team at Dynamic Earth were delighted to be up and running again so quickly.
Next, incovo’s Head of Voice and Data, Craig Beveridge, organised time with Dynamic Earth to discuss the benefits of an upgrade. Dynamic Earth quickly established that upgrading the communications platform was an urgent requirement, ensuring a solid system was in place that wouldn’t result in downtime again.
incovo focused on creating a design that would future proof Dynamic Earth for the next 10 years. This included the latest Avaya software version, new hardware, firewall and new handsets. The design process was also a great opportunity to offer savings to Dynamic Earth, who opted for SIP trunking (or VoIP), enabling all calls to run over an internet connection rather than a traditional phone line. This offers best assurance and quality of service.
In addition to decommissioning the ISDN circuit, the incovo team installed a new fibre circuit in the building. This change alone will save Dynamic Earth an estimated £30,000 over a five-year period. Incovo also incorporated a full in-building DECT solution to enable the team to roam the massive building whilst maintaining contact with others. This is of particular benefit to the team when hosting large corporate events and parties.
Finally, incovo’s specialist trainers spent time with every member of staff to ensure they all fully understood how to use both the new handsets and phone system.
After analysing Dynamic Earth’s existing system, IP Office R7, the incovo engineers recommended an upgrade to IP Office R11 which offers significant advancements in security and resiliency. Given their five star rating and the sheer number of visitors they welcome on a daily basis, it was essential this changeover was as smooth as possible, with minimal downtime. The incovo engineering team worked hard to meet these requirements and exceeded the customer’s expectations.
Thanks to incovo’s efforts regarding the number porting process, Dynamic Earth experienced only seconds of downtime and their team were soon enjoying the benefits of their new, fully modernised communications infrastructure. They were also able to start making significant monetary savings by switching to a lease term agreement.
Effective communication is vital for any business or charity to thrive, and it is of particular importance when one has a five star rating to safeguard and thousands of visitors to cater for. Upgrading their system with zero downtime not only ensured they could continue their work as one of Scotland’s leading attractions, it also meant they could be confident in their future – thanks to their new, reliable system and more affordable payment plan.
Howden