ATC’s DeMartino Spearheads Consultation and Review of UCaaS Services
Faced with aging, disparate telephony platforms across 80+ locations, Hubbell Incorporated’s telecommunications manager, Jeff Mazzabufi, knew a new single platform was going to be needed sooner rather than later.
“We had a mixed bag of different release models, different call centers, and different brands of phone system products,” stated Mazzabufi. “95 percent were premised-based PBXs.” In addition to organic growth, a second source of growth for Hubbell has been acquisition, approximately 40 companies or assets since 1990, and hence the “mixed bag.”
Mazzabufi also knew that hosted VoIP would be the likely solution for the new phone system. He also understood that its inherent OPEX-driven fiscal model would be much more copacetic with his friends in accounting. Even for a company that’s the size of Hubbell—#650 on the 2017 Fortune 500 list—and been around since 1888, the capital expense involved with purchasing such a solution was simply not going to happen.
What he didn’t fully realize two years ago when he started researching services is how Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) has replaced “hosted VoIP” and exactly how “copacetic” UCaaS could truly be.
Hubbell is an international manufacturer of quality electrical and electronic products for a broad range of non-residential and residential construction, industrial and utility applications. With 2016 revenues of $3.5 billion, Hubbell Incorporated operates manufacturing facilities in the United States and around the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Shelton, CT.
Seeking the Big 3
“We were looking to achieve standardization, cost savings and productivity improvements… the Big 3,” says Mazzabufi. “We also wanted this to be set up as an expense model versus CAPEX so we didn’t have the maintenance costs and issues we had before.”
Mazzabufi turned to ATC’s co-founder and managing partner, Darren DeMartino, for counsel and to spearhead the bid process, which culminated in the review of seven different vendors on three different platforms.
“Darren thoroughly understands the enterprise UCaaS market. He did a great job of aligning our needs with the providers we needed to consider. In the end, we leaned on him for evaluation neutrality and recommendations.”
Masergy Global UCaaS Selected
Achieving productivity improvements started with true mobility where employees can connect anywhere in the world on any device with single-number reach… 24-7-365. Masergy’s global UCaaS solution with Polycom phones fit the bill. It also satisfied “accounting” by eliminating CAPEX with a predictable OPEX model for business communications.
“Hubbell wanted the option to use one vendor globally for both voice and data,” adds DeMartino. “Right now, Hubbell has separate networks and Masergy is handling voice for the domestic locations with a few international sites sprinkled in. Going forward, Hubbell has the option to bring global locations into the cloud-telephony mix and also consider data for a single voice and data network, or for backup connectivity. Masergy’s ability to satisfy the Big 3, notably global standardization, was a key differentiator.”
“We are no longer in the phone system ownership business,” states Mazzabufi. “Nor are we in the business of supporting and maintaining a slew of disparate systems. The Masergy help desk handles all this now for all locations and users.”
Cost Neutral or Better
Mazzabufi’s business calculations for the project, which could end up including up to 7,000 handsets, determined the project to be “cost neutral” and possibly “cost benefit.” And, this doesn’t take into account the employee productivity enhancements associated with unified communications and the move to a single contact center, not to mention the elimination of broad support of multiple PBXs.
“We’re rolling out new locations every day and all is good. Net net… we’re seeing solid results with the Big 3,” states Mazzabufi. “Moving to a single network will be icing on the cake.”
