Cardiff Council has opted to deploy Avaya Cloud Office within schools prior to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) switch-off.

A recent press release by Avaya explains that this will enhance school communications, business continuity, speed, and cost efficiency, and it is a simpler data analytics tool for IT admins.

The UCaaS and CCaaS service provider hails the council’s resolution to adopt Avaya Cloud Office as “turning PSTN switch-off into an opportunity”.

Huw David, Operational Manager for ICT Services, explained in detail the savings it is now making thanks to Avaya Cloud Office: “We not only needed to transition all the schools ahead of the PSTN switch-off deadline, but we had an opportunity to choose a communications system that would enable economies of scale and a robust business continuity solution if stay-at-home rules were ever put in place again.”

“Our schools’ phone systems had grown organically over many years. They all had different arrangements with their own negotiated contracts, and we were dealing with differing types of handsets and technologies. Everything was done repeatedly.”

David continued:

We did a survey and it looked like around £600,000 was being spent on telephony across Cardiff schools per year but with Avaya Cloud Office, we were looking at potential savings in the region of £350,000, which for a public sector organisation, is money that could be diverted to spend in other much needed areas.”

Avaya Cloud Office

72 out of 128 schools have already been migrated, and the council is reportedly ahead of schedule. 2,500 users have been onboarded.

The council sought help from FourNet, a CX specialist and an Avaya ecosystem partner, to find the right solution.

In 2019, Avaya and RingCentral announced a new UCaaS partnership that resulted in the end of the popular “Powered by Avaya” IP solution and the creation of the Avaya Cloud Office.

The following year, Avaya Cloud Office gained availability in the UK and the company has been on a mission to advertise the benefits of cloud communications over on-premises setups.

Although cloud PSTN solutions are possible, such as Webex’s Cloud Connect service, the PSTN is soon to be switched off in the UK by the country’s leading communications provider, BT. Therefore, it makes sense for businesses and organisations to find an alternative solution in advance.

It is not long now! In May this year, BT postponed the PSTN switch-off date to the end of January 2027. It plans to transition to a modern fibre network as legacy network technologies and devices are becoming increasingly rare from both a business and consumer perspective.

Therefore, it is looking to move over 14 million copper lines onto the fibre network, simultaneously ending the legacy services and wholesale line rental products connected to them.

Steve Joyner, VP at Avaya’s UK and Ireland division, commented on the benefits that lie ahead for the Cardiff-based schools: “The PSTN switch-off is a great opportunity to rethink the tools schools use for communication, and what could be possible if all the separate siloed pieces of technology worked together in an integrated and holistic way.

Cardiff Council had the vision to recognise this, and its schools will be well positioned to take advantage of all the communication and collaboration benefits that a world-class cloud phone system has to offer for many years to come.”

UC Today’s Rebekah Carter previously compared and contrasted Avaya Cloud Office and RingCentral Office.



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