Philips Business Communications has revamped the telecommunications infrastructure for NBS, a division of BOE, in one of the largest projects of its kind in the country valued at more than R12 million.
The project was initiated when NBS decided to centralise the loans and branch queries to a call centre which is located in Kingsmead Durban. To facilitate this, a system had to be built which would improve intercompany communication thereby laying the foundation for a world class customer service system.
According to Mervyn Savary, IT communications infrastructure manager, NBS, an intelligent solution which had the ability to route optimise and thereby prevent tromboning had to be found.
"The system we needed called for innovative solutions. We had no idea of the volume of traffic. There were no call measurement details. We thoroughly investigated our various alternatives and came up with a five digit numbering plan which was, in essence, a private voice network solution."
"As Telkom was an integral part of the operation we looked closely at their `Primenet` which is an ISDN dial up solution and decided to go this way because of the unknown traffic factor. We then looked for a PABX replacement - voice network - to work in tandem with `Primenet`. We required a solution which had the flexibility and intelligence to work with both dial up and lease line if the need arose in the future. We considered various suppliers and chose Philips as they fulfilled the various criteria for which we were looking and were the only company which could handle both dial up and lease line technology. Moreover they had a three to one compression card which was unique at that time. They were also able to support full feature transparency - that is, ring back, centralised operator etc," said Savary.
Philips installed 30 pilot sites to test the compatibility of `Primenet` and their system over a three month period. The pilot sites proved to be successful and the roll-out to 140 branches in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Free State began immediately thereafter.
"As the roll-out was tied to the centralisation project it was a complex logistical operation. There was no margin for error as the technology had to match the administrative changes. And in a banking environment this is a mission critical exercise. We devised a system whereby we installed in `waves`. This meant that we would install up to a certain point and then stop and assess, get feedback from the client, make the necessary changes and then continue with this process until the project was complete. The final `wave` began in March this year and we are now up and running."
"Both from a project administration point of view and from a technical point of view Philips truly came to the party. Our requirements stretched the technical boundaries to the limit. This was not an `off the shelf` solution but very much a purpose designed solution," said Savary.
Derrick Laas, managing director of PBC, said that the success of this project is due not only to Philips` excellent technical skills but the fact that the company and NBS share a philosophy in regard to the roll of technology in business.
"Both NBS and we at PBC are dedicated to the ideal that technology must serve the customer at the end of the day. If our customer service does not improve as a result of the technology then the technology is of no use whatsoever. We no longer sell `products in a box`. We look for the solutions together with our clients that will serve their customer needs to the best possible potential," said Laas.
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