The Client
The founder of the O’Brien Automotive Team, Joseph D. O’Brien Jr., has been selling cars and trucks for more than 45 years. Today, O’Brien Automotive Team dealerships are located in four cities and three states, including IL, FL, and KY. They employ nearly 500 people, providing sales, service, and leasing for 12 different automotive brands of cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs at state-of-the-art facilities.
The founder of the O’Brien Automotive Team, Joseph D. O’Brien Jr., has been selling cars and trucks for more than 45 years. Today, O’Brien Automotive Team dealerships are located in four cities and three states, including IL, FL, and KY. They employ nearly 500 people, providing sales, service, and leasing for 12 different automotive brands of cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs at state-of-the-art facilities.
Business Challenges
O’Brien had long used traditional phone systems dating back several decades before replacing them with Asterisk-based systems to take full advantage of open-source software. This software brought some much-needed improvements to their phone system to help them stay competitive. These phone systems served them well, as they were supported by a third-party company responsible for all maintenance and upkeep. However, after some time, this third-party company ceased operations, and O’Brien found itself needing to consider replacing all of its Asterisk-based systems with a proprietary solution that could be supported.
Sangoma Solutions
O’Brien discovered Sangoma Technologies, a company that supports Asterisk-based PBXs, including FreePBX. FreePBX was adopted quickly, providing O’Brien with the customization they needed, and was fully supported by Sangoma. Shortly afterward, they were introduced to Sangoma’s commercial PBX, called PBXact. PBXact offered integrated productivity modules and was easier to use than FreePBX. And since it was also based on Asterisk, it was an obvious choice for O’Brien. Weighing the benefits of moving from an open-source solution to a compatible enterprise solution, it made sense for O’Brien to switch to PBXact, and they did. “We found PBXact more advantageous than FreePBX because it offers many features and is easier to support. It is also the best value for money we have seen compared with other solutions we have evaluated.” O’Brien adopted Sangoma’s SIP trunking service, called SIPStation, which is integrated with every PBXact system and can be configured automatically with a single click. “We appreciate SIPStation because we don’t have to maintain or monitor it. That’s one less thing to manage in our busy schedules.”
O’Brien discovered Sangoma Technologies, a company that supports Asterisk-based PBXs, including FreePBX. FreePBX was adopted quickly, providing O’Brien with the customization they needed, and was fully supported by Sangoma. Shortly afterward, they were introduced to Sangoma’s commercial PBX, called PBXact. PBXact offered integrated productivity modules and was easier to use than FreePBX. And since it was also based on Asterisk, it was an obvious choice for O’Brien. Weighing the benefits of moving from an open-source solution to a compatible enterprise solution, it made sense for O’Brien to switch to PBXact, and they did. “We found PBXact more advantageous than FreePBX because it offers many features and is easier to support. It is also the best value for money we have seen compared with other solutions we have evaluated.” O’Brien adopted Sangoma’s SIP trunking service, called SIPStation, which is integrated with every PBXact system and can be configured automatically with a single click. “We appreciate SIPStation because we don’t have to maintain or monitor it. That’s one less thing to manage in our busy schedules.”
The Results
O’Brien now uses PBXact phone systems at all its sites. An IAX (Inter‑Asterisk eXchange) connection between their offices eliminates the need for leased lines, saving costs. They make extensive use of IVR (Interactive Voice Recording) to route incoming calls to the right people, as well as Call Parking to announce customers on hold. “One of the biggest challenges is routing calls to the right person depending on the time of day. For example, the service department is staffed in the morning, but sales is not. At the end of the day, the service department is not staffed, but sales is. It is therefore crucial that the phone system can route calls to the right people or ring groups, so that customer calls are answered.” PBXact can do this very easily. O’Brien also chose to deploy Sangoma IP phones for all its employees because they are designed specifically for PBXact. Soon, Sangoma will launch a mobile client to help businesses improve their productivity and customer service by staying accessible at all times, whether in the office or on the go. O’Brien stated: “We are excited and look forward to adding mobility through the Zulu client to our solution in the near future.”
O’Brien now uses PBXact phone systems at all its sites. An IAX (Inter‑Asterisk eXchange) connection between their offices eliminates the need for leased lines, saving costs. They make extensive use of IVR (Interactive Voice Recording) to route incoming calls to the right people, as well as Call Parking to announce customers on hold. “One of the biggest challenges is routing calls to the right person depending on the time of day. For example, the service department is staffed in the morning, but sales is not. At the end of the day, the service department is not staffed, but sales is. It is therefore crucial that the phone system can route calls to the right people or ring groups, so that customer calls are answered.” PBXact can do this very easily. O’Brien also chose to deploy Sangoma IP phones for all its employees because they are designed specifically for PBXact. Soon, Sangoma will launch a mobile client to help businesses improve their productivity and customer service by staying accessible at all times, whether in the office or on the go. O’Brien stated: “We are excited and look forward to adding mobility through the Zulu client to our solution in the near future.”