COVID-19 and Remote Work 

Over the last decade, companies around the world have begun to mobilise their workforce. Thanks to the expanding utility of VoIP technology, cloud calling, and other workflow management tools, companies are no longer required to be localised in a specific location in order to ensure business runs efficiently. While companies have been preparing for such a future, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this move, unfortunately catching many businesses by surprise. With government-imposed quarantine rules in effect, “non-essential” business owners have had to dispatch their workforce whether they were fully equipped to do so or not. While nobody could have predicted such a disruption, it has nonetheless caused a loss in time and revenue. However, despite the uncertainty of the times, it is possible to get things up and running amidst the chaos.

How COVID Affected Woodstock Trading Company’s Communications  

Woodstock Trading Company, the manufacturer and distributor of the Calypso Bathroom furniture brand, was in the process of transitioning away from their office phone system when COVID-19 gripped the UK. WTC had been in early discussions to upgrade their ageing Avaya system to Zen Systems Hosted 3CX Phone System, an all-in-one hosted communications platform with CRM integration, for multi-site businesses as well as companies looking to scale. However, when the lockdown was announced, Woodstock was faced with a serious communication risk which would’ve significantly disrupted their day to day operations.

Interim Telecoms Solutions Are Possible 

With multiple offices, an extensive retail network, and clients around the country, any disruption in communication would have been extremely detrimental to the business. To avoid downtime in sales and communication, our team at Zen Systems proposed an interim solution that would maintain business continuity for their Sales and Account teams. Essentially, the interim solution was to set up their teams on our Hosted 3CX Platform, whilst instantly providing a temporary number using our SIP Trunking and DDI service. This allowed for WTC to re-point their existing main number and present it on outbound calls, so that their Sales and Accounts teams could resume normal operations at home.

Rapid and Remote Implementation 

While businesses cannot control economic slowdown due to the pandemic, they can manage their current operational procedures. In fact, the work from home mandates has given companies the opportunity to make fundamental changes to the infrastructure within the office. Solutions such as Zen Systems’ Hosted 3CX offering can be implemented rapidly and 100% remotely. With businesses both at home and abroad caught in a major shift in workplace operations, many will need to ensure a functioning communication and sales procedural strategy independent of the workplace. With Zen Systems seamless integration, it is possible to maintain business as usual, remotely. Our features such as call forwarding, transferring calls, and CRM integration are not only entirely possible, but in fact advantageous without the geographic shackles of a traditional phone system.

Let’s Talk

Cloud-based and remote communication systems are not only a huge asset for companies like WTC during this time, but they will also set an efficient precedent for a post-coronavirus work culture. 

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to running your business communications. If you’re interested in exploring our suite of solutions with custom-tailored feature sets, please click here.