Spring Services: migration to Microsoft Teams Calling

How do you ensure a structured client contact center when your company has different locations? And how do you create more insight into your call flows, conversions and productivity? Purple was asked to help Spring Services with the transition to cloud telephony via Microsoft Teams. From personal supportto the actual technical migration: everything is fully taken care of, down to the last detail.

A smart structure for all locations

Spring Services helps fast-growing companies with a full-service range of specializations in areas such as Media, HR, Accounting, Real Estate, Legal, Corporate Finance and Technology. In addition to various locations in the Netherlands, they have also established themselves in Spain. In recent years, the organization has grown rapidly and they were forced to use multiple contact center solutions next to each other. The use of these various solutions caused challenges in handling and in particular the efficient routing of customer conversations within the organization. It became clear that the limit of the current tools had been reached, maintaining the structure was becoming more difficult and having a clear overview was a real challenge.

The goal ? An overall improved customer experience. One with a high accessibility where customers always are being answered from the right discipline. At the same time, the new solution must be easy to use for all Spring Services employees, preferably out of one solution for the entire organization. Stability, flexibility and scalability are also of great importance, mainly due to the diversity of locations and the rapid growth of this organization.

We started the migration project to Microsoft Teams Enterprise Voice in October 2021, with the aim of migrating basic telephony to Microsoft Teams Direct Routing and replacing the existing contact center solutions with Microsoft Teams Call Queues and Auto Attendants. The biggest advantage of this solution is that the entire telephony environment is fully available from one central platform. A platform that is set up with the aim of landing conversations quickly and adequately in the right place. It allows users to make calls from Microsoft Teams, both from office and a different location, even from home! Customers who reach Spring Services on the general number are intelligently routed to the right department or person. A boost in customer experience and service levels!

Robert Jeninga, Project Manager & Senior Business Consultant, about the collaboration: “The project at Spring Services was characterized by the desire for a quick migration. They wanted to further increase and improve the customer experiences and preferably as quickly as possible. In terms of the direction of the solution we kept it simple, which is why we moved everything to Microsoft Teams. After all, the organization already as actively used this platform. By deploying our managed SIP and SBC solutions, we were able to deploy the transition quickly, giving users their own number, supplemented with call queues and auto attendant functions for the common numbers for smart call routing.”

"The client wanted a quick migration, with the focus on increasing and improving customer experiences."

There were also challenges according to Robert: “The migration took place across multiple locations, both in the Netherlands and in Spain. This requires a smart use of supporting resources to enable adoption by users. We also made the choice to migrate per location to maintain control and focus.”

Good preparation is a joined process

For Spring Services, Purple used a project strategy that supports the migration and ensures that it runs smoothly. Speed ​​is key, but not without thorough preparation. Robert explains: “We always carefully configure and test the environment together with the customer. We do this well before the actual go-live to ensure a smooth transition. We also paid a lot of attention to an adoption plan that helps employees in the transition from the old to the new situation. Therefore we deployed a supporting communication plan and we  trained all users before the migration. We chose short, relevant training, both virtual and on-site. We also recorded these training sessions so employees could view it afterwards as well. We timed the trainings smartly so that the investment of time remains effective, but knowledge does not fade away too quickly. After the go-live, we actively keep supporting the users by being present on site and setting up a support channel via Teams.”

Customized migration

But what does such a project actually entail in technical terms? Klaas-Hendrik Romkes, Technical Consultant at Purple, has the following to say about this: “As a technical consultant, it was my job to provide technical support for Spring Services and to migrate from the current IP-PBX platform to Microsoft Teams. I always make sure that I understand the current situation, so I can design the desired situation for the customer. I am investigating the most logical path to get to that new situation.”

Together with the Project Manager, we make a planning and look closely at the timelines of the various components. This planning comes together to form a design, after which we set various processes in motion. We plan the number porting for Spring Services as early as possible and start the preparation immediately. In addition, we work with various intakes to get a good idea of what the call queues will look like, so that we can then build them and test them before the migration. Things like the SBC and the direct routing link will be finalized before the migration and tested with a number of numbers.

Together with the Project Manager, we create a planning and look closely at the timelines of the various components. Combined, this planning results in a design, after which we set various processes in motion. For example, we plan the number porting for Spring Services as early as possible and we immediately start the preparations. In addition, we work with various intakes to get a good idea of what the call queues will look like, so that we can build them and test them before the migration. Things like the SBC and the direct routing link will be finalized before the migration and tested with a number of numbers.

Of course, an important goal is to inform and train the customer as best as possible, so that they understand the environment themselves and can use it. Klaas-Hendrik: “I always involve the technical people at the customer's end as much as possible in everything I do. Prepared scripts are great to have as a technical consultant, bbut at the end of the day the customer must also manage users, devices and call queues themselves, and thus have direct control over their own environment."

The transition

In January 2022, after thorough preparation, we were able to migrate Spring Services to Microsoft Teams. Robert: “It was an intensive and challenging period that demanded a lot from the customer, and ultimately also from the project team. Collaboration is then essential and this was successful. It is good to realize that a transition like this does not end but starts with a go-live. From that point on, attention, rest and of course time is needed to let users get used to the new situation. We are proud to assist Spring Services in this.”

Telephony via Microsoft Teams has now landed well within Spring Services and this stable, flexible and scalable solution is used intensively on a daily basis. A beautiful project for a beautiful customer

Everything to accomplish a successful digital transformation of Spring Services, Let's Go Purple!