World Vision UK choose Microsoft Teams Direct Routing for provided a unified, secure and scalable comms solution

World Vision helps the most vulnerable children, in
the most difficult places, to overcome poverty and
experience fullness of life. World Vision UK is part of
a global World Vision organisation operating in 100
countries and is the biggest international children’s
charity in the world.

About Exactive

Exactive is a Unified Communications specialist and is one of a small number of Microsoft Teams Voice Partners operating in the UK.

Gamma Communications plc (“Gamma”), a leading technology-based provider of communications services to business markets in the UK and the Netherlands, acquired Exactive Holding Limited (“Exactive”) in March 2020.

This acquisition builds on an existing partnership to bring customers a complete range of services for Microsoft Teams.

The Challenge

For many years World Vision globally adopted Lotus (IBM) Domino+Notes groupware with all offices configured in a peer-to-peer relationship. The UK’s previous telephony solution was a Mitel phone system running over standard ISDN lines.
This system created several challenges:

  • The cost and expertise required to run separate legacy communication tools was proving to be more and more difficult.
  • Users lacked skills in the systems as they were complicated to use.
  • The existing systems seemed to reduce, rather than improve, users’ ability to communicate simply and effectively.
  • The existing solutions were very complicated to adapt to agile work patterns and locations.
  • Scalability was difficult and expensive.

Objectives

World Vision had distinct organisational objectives which the project intended to meet, under the heading of “We must be digitally enabled – We live in an increasingly digital world. We must make effective use of technology to both deliver on our strategic imperatives and work effectively as an organisation.”
The project allowed World Vision to address the following objectives:
  • Make a positive direct contribution to the transformation of systems and structures, by moving the platform for communication to the cloud.
  • To be innovative, by introducing technology seen as ‘forward looking’.
  • To be flexible, agile, and able to absorb shocks, by using a Microsoft platform with simpler management and easier UI.
  • To simplify the way they worked, by moving all users to one, single unified communication platform.
  • To be aligned with the World Vision International strategy. World Vision International was already moving away from IBM and towards Microsoft.

The Solution

Given that users were already conversant with the Microsoft Office portfolio of products, and a shift to Teams was likely to be embraced by users, World Vision decided to implement Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams.

Initial research and exploration across multiple vendors soon revealed favourable testimonies of customers working with Exactive, including some of World Vision’s existing Microsoft partners. Upon making contact with several Exactive customers, similar encouragement was received and they decided to work with Exactive.

Enterprise Technology Manager, David Allsopp, commented: “The initial workshops and the level of professional investment in our project from Exactive persuaded us. It has proven to be an excellent choice.”

“I think it is hard to overestimate the benefits to the solution and our collaboration with Exactive. Reduced costs, professional and faithful account management and a desire to constantly be moving ahead with technology is a long way ahead of where we were when we started.”

The Results

  • A unified communications solution across voice, email and messaging.
  • A system that is secure and relatively simple to manage.
  • Users can work from anywhere with an internet connection.
  • A transformation to a ‘share-first’ organisational culture.