Gamma provides telecoms peace of mind to national insurance specialists

As a professional service organisation, Thistle faced many challenges with its telecoms that are not uncommon in this sector. As a company that is subject to various industry regulations and with many employees across multiple disparate sites, the quality and scalability of its communications infrastructure is of significant importance.

The company is well equipped to provide deep specialist knowledge and tailored advice. JLT owns offices in 40 territories with some 10,600 employees all supported by the JLT International Network. This enables them to offer risk management and employee benefit solutions in 135 countries.

The Benefits

  • SIP trunks for reduced line rental and cost of calls.
  • Scalable solution at times of increased demand.
  • Free internal calls between offices and new range of features for staff.
  • Built-in business continuity with two geographically diverse locations being used.
  • PCI Compliant, SIP with Semafone, is available with no change in architecture.
  • Geographic number flexibility covering 01, 02 03 and 08 – all on one platform.
  • Ability to apply instant changes to call plans via the web portal.
  • One point of contact for all account management.

The Challenge

In 2010, the decision was made not to renew Thistle insurance telecoms contract and went out to tender. At the same time, the company’s Gloucester site was in the process of moving – giving Thistle the opportunity to seek a completely new support infrastructure. With this in mind, Thistle began to approach alternative providers.

Some of the issues Thistle Insurance telecoms has previously faced with its telecoms were based around customer service delivery. A simple action such as contacting their account manager could be a three or four stage process before getting through to the right person, if they managed to at all.

Requesting changes was another frustration – this often took weeks to implement due to the previous provider’s lengthy process. In turn impacting their own customer service and productivity.

Thistle’s previous voice infrastructure was based on ISDN / WLR services, but they knew that this ageing technology wasn’t going to be the most productive or cost effective way to support their business into the future.

3-4

Step Process To Get Simple Actions Completed

The Solution

Thistle looked at various SIP providers but Gamma came out on top following a successful trial period. The proven quality and functionality of Gamma’s IP voice solutions and well established reputation were also deciding factors.

The company relies on fax, but something that the incumbent provider was unable to offer support for. Gamma now supports these lines via legacy support.

As a forward thinking company, Thistle were particularly interested in moving to 03 numbers rather than 08. Gamma provided Thistle with an 03 number range to match their requirements and delivered bespoke commercials, ensuring this delivered value to the business. Thistle has now transferred every inbound number to Gamma. Now the platform allows them to make instant changes, 24/7 via the web-based portal, putting them in complete control, without having to wait for a third party supplier.

Payment Card Information (PCI) compliance is also a major consideration for Thistle. They are now in talks with Gamma about its SIP with Semafone service, a solution that will take its voice infrastructure out of scope for PCI compliance.

Thistle is very happy with the single point of contact and responsiveness Gamma’s support team provides.

24/7

Access To Make Instant Changes

Testimonial

Customer service and regulatory compliance are key concerns for us. We have been very pleased with the way Gamma have addressed all of this, all while only being on the other end of the phone if and when we need them.

Adam Neeld
JLT