The Customer
For over thirty years, Forest Care has been helping British families choose a care home. Located in the neighbouring counties of Surrey and Hampshire, its four luxurious sites are all highly rated by the Care Quality Commission, the independent regulator of health and social care in England. They focus on providing the highest level of care to every resident, ensuring health, well-being and comfort. They strive to make every resident feel truly at home from the start of their stay, whether for a short respite stay to relieve a caregiver or for a long-term stay.
For over thirty years, Forest Care has been helping British families choose a care home. Located in the neighbouring counties of Surrey and Hampshire, its four luxurious sites are all highly rated by the Care Quality Commission, the independent regulator of health and social care in England. They focus on providing the highest level of care to every resident, ensuring health, well-being and comfort. They strive to make every resident feel truly at home from the start of their stay, whether for a short respite stay to relieve a caregiver or for a long-term stay.
Business Challenges
Forest Care was having difficulties with a legacy phone system. It ran on an old PBX and used ISDN, allowing calls to be made and received in the rooms. This equipment was combined with IP desk phones and wireless N lines separate from the Internet data lines, each provided by a different supplier. They needed a modernised phone system offering a consolidated connection between their four sites and greater flexibility. Another major challenge was providing residents with a phone in their room without additional costs or technical complications. Beyond a phone system, Forest Care wanted support and a partnership with the integrator who would work as a team with their IT department for their clients and residents.
Sangoma Solutions
To design and deploy a new communications platform, Forest Care engaged P2C Communications, Ltd. Based in Surrey, P2C Communications found a cost-effective solution that met all their needs. They opted for a hosted virtualised PBXact Unified Communications solution as well as SIP trunking. This choice enabled them to consolidate all separate connections and providers in one location. This allowed all sites to connect to a central virtual unified phone system.
To design and deploy a new communications platform, Forest Care engaged P2C Communications, Ltd. Based in Surrey, P2C Communications found a cost-effective solution that met all their needs. They opted for a hosted virtualised PBXact Unified Communications solution as well as SIP trunking. This choice enabled them to consolidate all separate connections and providers in one location. This allowed all sites to connect to a central virtual unified phone system.
At each site, Sangoma Vega 3000G FXS gateways were deployed to provide each resident with a direct DDI and compatibility with existing analogue phones, allowing them to make and receive calls in their rooms. This equipment was combined with IP desk phones and wireless devices, so that nurses and care assistants always had a phone within reach.
Results
Forest Care could not be more satisfied with the upgrade to the Sangoma solution deployed by P2C Communications. During the design phases, cost assessments were conducted comparing Sangoma with other leading brands. Sangoma’s PBXact solution was priced 50 % lower than a comparable system from other providers. But savings were not the only reason Forest Care was satisfied.
Forest Care could not be more satisfied with the upgrade to the Sangoma solution deployed by P2C Communications. During the design phases, cost assessments were conducted comparing Sangoma with other leading brands. Sangoma’s PBXact solution was priced 50 % lower than a comparable system from other providers. But savings were not the only reason Forest Care was satisfied.
With their phone system and SIP trunks hosted in a data center, communication between sites is as seamless as if they were located in the same building. And eliminating separate phone lines through VoIP technology means that connections and providers are consolidated into a single source and a single provider, simplifying what was once a complicated situation. This consolidation of voice and data lines also enabled Forest Care to move away from the ISDN network well before the service was discontinued in the United Kingdom. Combined with the use of cutting-edge IP technology, they can rest assured that their phone system is future-ready.
Finally, upgrading to PBXact gave Forest Care a degree of flexibility they had never experienced with their legacy phone system, thanks to the advanced Unified Communications features included in their new system. Forest Care found a solution to a diverse set of communication challenges in Sangoma’s PBXact.