Customer Case: Environment Agency

The UK Environment Agency chooses our Enterprise Solutions after rigorous evaluation.

The Challenge

The UK Environment Agency is in the process of replacing its telephony service as part of a move from traditional PSTN delivery to a VoIP Unified Communications solution. The basic need to communicate effectively and flexibly is of paramount importance, and there is a strong focus on finding a solution that provides quality, clarity and usability while remaining costeffective.

The Solution

The Environment Agency conducted an extensive in-house trial of a range of leading headsets and telephony equipment as part of its move to a Unified Communications and Cisco Jabber™ compatible workforce. The aim of the project was to promote interdependent communication between flexible, agile teams that could work from anywhere and with anyone, from employees to partners and customers. This process must be conducted effectively and fluidly, and so an endpoint solution to enable staff to do so while reflecting the dynamic nature of the revised operation was a must.

“We knew that our endpoint devices were an important part of the service. This is a business process change facilitiated by technology, so these devices had to be the same standard as the service we were creating.” said Ben Thomas, Project Manager for the Environment Agency.

“We went to market to find out what was out there and narrowed it down to three key suppliers for an internal evaluation. We investigated each company’s wired product, Bluetooth® product, and speakerphone product to cover the three main areas for desk based and mobile use.”

Your headset and speakerphone solutions came out on top in key areas of our testing”

Ben Thomas

Project manager - Environment Agency

The Environment Agency trialed the 3 following products from our Enterprise Solutions portfolio: IMPACT 660 - a wired dual-sided headset, ADAPT Presence – a wireless Bluetooth® headset and the Speakerphone EXPAND 20 - a portable, powerful speakerphone designed to be used both in the fixed and mobile office.

The IMPACT 660 was chosen due to, among other reasons, superb comfort for day long operation. As a dual sided headset designed for office professionals requiring, the combination of comfort and quality, with effective noise cancellation for busy environments, made it the obvious choice.

It also opted for the ADAPT Presence Bluetooth® headset for flexible operation, long battery life and fast charging – key factors for busy professionals on the move.

Finally the EXPAND 20 Speakerphone was seen as the ideal accompaniment to extend its mobile office capabilities and deliver a solution that was equally at home in a fixed position or to carry when on the move.

Before being chosen by the Environment Agency, our products went through a rigorous testing procedure to ensure that only the most effective solutions were utilised at every stage of the process.

“We found that your headset and speakerphone solutions came out on top in key areas of our testing, often by a fair margin.“ said Ben Thomas. “Comfort was a key criteria with many staff attending to calls throughout the day. A warranty period that reflects the company’s confidence in its product is a reassuring advantage.”

...Battery life was a very big factor for us...

Ben Thomas

Project manager - Environment Agency

“We also decided to look at the technology used in the build of the product – of the individual components, and make a judgement based on that.

Battery life was a very big factor for us – often you find that what the manufacturer says it is and what it actually is is very different, so during our own tests we managed to make a judgement on this – and did in fact find some significant differences between manufacturers‘ claims.”

But it was not just comfort and quality that fell under the microscope during the Environment Agency’s rigorous process. Our product solutions was also judged on factors that may not immediately seem important, but actually reflect a key part of an overall strategy to deliver in all areas of its product and service offerings – from development to delivery.

“Of course due to the nature of our business, we took a strong look at the environmental considerations each company takes with its products, including packaging, the materials that come with the device itself, fittings, the background of how the company operates and a number of other criteria. The Enterprise Solution products came out head and shoulders above the rest here – they package products only with what you really need and of course the packaging itself is fully recycled.”

Finally, it was our dedication to customer support alongside our extensive portfolio of products that deliver consistent quality across the board that sealed the deal: “We also needed a strategic partner going forwards. Your Enterprise Solutions proved to us that it could be relied upon for both support and advice and a consistent, high product standard.”

The Environment Agency is starting to roll out the new headsets and speakerphones across the organization.