“Managers love having the flexibility of being able to get all of their messages without having to come into the office. Additionally, voice mail truly becomes voice ‘mail’ – not just telephone tag.”
—Jerry McConnell, Director of Technology with Wall Street Systems.

WSS is widely recognized for its treasury support products that help companies better manage their cash reserves and foreign exchange, as well as reduce transaction costs for customers.

The Challenge

Having recently completed a merger, WSS was in the process of integrating the two companies, with a new office in London, and moving to larger quarters in Manhattan. They needed a unified communication solution.

The Solution

Deploy Objectworld Unified Communications Server® to deliver in combination with an AVAYA® PBX to build an end-to-end unified communications solution.

The Results

The new system allows on-the-go employees to receive voice mails, emails or even faxes no matter what the location. Call-flow management has now been made a self-service and ensures that employees will be able to route important calls to the phone of their choice.

For over 20 years, Wall Street Systems (WSS) has provided high performance back-office and transaction management to global financial institutions and corporations. The company has 500 employees servicing over 300 banking, corporate and bank customers, and operating out of twelve offices worldwide. WSS is widely recognized for its treasury support products that help companies better manage their cash reserves and foreign exchange, as well as reduce transaction costs for customers. It also offers a series of services, including a 24-hour help center, account management and professional consultants. Each service offers the necessary technical support and a day-to-day liaison with WSS professionals. WSS needed a communications system that could enable the company to keep up with the changes in its business as well as its rapid growth. Having recently completed a merger, WSS was in the process of integrating the two companies, with a new office in London, and moving to larger quarters in Manhattan. The Manhattan move triggered an examination of WSS’s communications needs, which extended far beyond the company’s relocation of offices. Many of its employees were now working remotely. Employee scenarios varied from home office-based employees to U.S.-based employees spending large amounts of time servicing customers in Japan. Inefficient communication over multiple servers was both costly and unproductive.

Additionally, its global customers were now requiring 24/7 attention, an expectation with multiple implications for WSS. One was that WSS employees needed to be available to customers beyond regular business hours in any one location. This meant that employees needed the capability to work seamlessly across offices. Moreover, its HR and Accounting departments relied greatly on faxes. Faxing was turning into a real challenge as the decentralization of its workers meant that they were not necessarily proximate to a fax machine. WSS’s existing telecommunication system had not evolved much past a TDM system with basic dial tone and no integration. As WSS’s business continued to grow, there became a growing need for a system that would provide a centralized server, combining all communication forms over one platform. Centralized access to important information and contacts was needed but not readily available.

Bottom line: WSS need unified communications capabilities that could better leverage its telecommunication systems to be more productive while helping the company grow into a truly global organization.

The Solution
WSS retained Consultedge to design and implement a communications system that effectively met its multiple goals. Consultedge’s design centered on Objectworld UC Server® to provide the unified messaging, unified communications and line-of-business tools needed by WSS to enhance customer relations and improve workplace productivity. A key consideration was the interoperability of Objectworld UC Server with a new Avaya IP Office PBX and existing Avaya communications products installed in WSS’s London office. Consultedge’s integration of existing and new technologies from different vendors enabled WSS to optimize its past communications investment while gaining the performance and efficiency benefits of new technologies.

Using Objectworld UC Server, WSS can manage voice, fax and other unified communications services with Microsoft® Active Directory®. Objectworld now integrates with the new Avaya communications system and the Microsoft Windows® platform, while Active Directory is integrated with Exchange. This enables employees to have a single source of communication for voice, fax, or e-mail. “Voice mail and call-flow management are completely integrated into e-mail and fax – it is not just a ‘bolt-on’,” said Jerry McConnell, Director of Technology with Wall Street Systems. “Managers love having the flexibility of being able to get all of their messages without having to come into the office. Additionally, voice mail truly becomes voice ‘mail’ – not just telephone tag.”

With the software application, information can be shared by multiple employees across multiple offices. For example, an employee in California works with the London office. Work can now be easily passed between offices at the end of the business day in each time zone. Objectworld’s text-to-speech capability enabled WSS applications to enhance customer service and increase customer retention. For example, WSS employees now have the option to convert their e-mail to voicemail and listen to it on their Blackberries or other PDAs and smart phones, enhancing the new found simplicity of communication.

Although the features are geared towards worker productivity and customer retention, there are many benefits that also accrue to the IT department. Objectworld’s powerful, Windows-based administration and service creation tools provide a consistent interface for IT to set up conference lines on the fly, add passwords and designate lower cost call routing. IT also spends significantly less time chasing down problems. There are fewer complaints in the field. If and when problems arise, UC Server provides a wealth of diagnostic information in a central location. This information is also an important resource for corporate compliance.

The tight time constraints on the system’s implementation required a cohesive integration of design and implementation. The installation was completed in just six weeks, in marked contrast to a telecommunications installation at WSS’s London offices that had dragged on for six months. “Given the limited amount of time for the implementation, it’s key that we were not locked into a particular service set,” commented McConnell. “Consultedge’s design enables us to take advantage of the multiple upgrades, new services and features that Objectworld regularly supplies us with. In fact, we have barely scratched the surface in terms of the system’s capabilities. But over time, I can clearly see that it will grow into our operation company-wide.”

WSS receives extended technical support from Consultedge, in addition to access to Objectworld’s 24-hour support center. “Support was an important requirement for us,” said McConnell. “You can have a good product but ultimately if the support is not there, it will not succeed. Objectworld and Consultedge have demonstrated their commitment to supplying the service and support we expect. At one point during integration, I contacted the tech support center with a concern. Objectworld stayed on the phone with me the whole time, making sure all my questions were answered.”

Objectworld UC Server cost less than 10% of WSS’s $80,000 budget for the telecommunications portion of the office move. “It is hard to put an exact ROI figure on the product because it is hard to put a dollar value on things like improved productivity and customer responsiveness”, said McConnell. “Let me just say that the Objectworld software was not a significant cost outlay and it is well worth the money spent.”

Summary
Consultedge’s integration of Objectworld’s technologies into WSS’s business communications system is changing the way WSS conducts business, improving employee productivity and boosting the company’s efficiency. The new system allows on-the-go employees to receive voice mails, emails or even faxes no matter what the location. Call-flow management has now been made a self-service and ensures that employees will be able to route important calls to the phone of their choice. The adaptability and customizable features of Objectworld’s technologies give WSS the ability to work with multiple programs and increase the level of WSS’s customer service. Seamlessly integrated into WSS’s current programs, Objectworld’s superior programming has provided a unified platform, ensuring that all communication is delivered straight to the fingertips.