Lync Case Studies
The value of Lync through a variety of verticals
Healthcare - AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca Reduces Training Time by 75 Percent with
Communications Solution
AstraZeneca is a global research-based biopharmaceutical company
with operations in more than 100 countries. The company needed a
sophisticated tool to enable seamless collaboration among global team
members and external partners for drug research, inventing new
molecules and compounds. AstraZeneca deployed Microsoft Lync Server
2010 to 4,300 users globally and has reduced training time by 75
percent, among other benefits.
Click here to see the video case study
Government- Scottish Borders Council
Scottish Borders Council Expects £1 Million Saving from Unified
Communications Over Three Years
Scottish Borders Council faced severe budget pressures and wanted to
cut costs by minimising travel and giving its employees tools for flexible
and remote working. The council replaced its telephony system with
Microsoft Lync 2010 and now plans to extend the solution to 10,000
users. The Lync 2010 deployment to the entire corporate staff is
expected to save the authority £1 million over the next three years.
Click here to view the case study
Government – Argyll & Bute Council
Council Meets Budgetary Challenges Head-on Through
Flexible Working Programme
Effective communication is a challenge for Argyll and Bute Council in
Scotland, which needed to improve workforce productivity through
unified communications. It introduced flexible working and replaced its
Cisco phones with Microsoft Lync 2010. With each user expected to gain
20 minutes of working time a day through greater efficiency, the
Council expects a significant contribution towards the savings required
to meet budgetary pressures.
Click here to view the case study
Education – Benenden School
U.K. School Deploys Unified Communications Saving 40 Per Cent
on Cost of New PBX
Leading United Kingdom (U.K.) girls school Benenden School needed to
replace its private branch exchange (PBX) telephony system. Having
considered offers from four different PBX vendors, the school chose
Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Standard Edition for telephony and unified
communications. The Microsoft solution cost 40 per cent less than any
of the competing offerings. Plus, it is scalable, easily accommodating
new accounts for staff and students.
Click here to view the case study
Education – Open University
Open University: Open University Makes Major Saving over
Five Years with Unified Communications
The Open University (OU)—which specialises in distance learning—is
the biggest university in the United Kingdom (U.K.). It needed to reduce
costs and improve communication among its 5,000 office-based
academic and administrative staff, giving them access to features such
as instant messaging and presence awareness. The OU is deploying
Microsoft Lync 2010, which will save the university around £2 million
over the next five years, as well as substantially cutting travel and
subsistence costs.
Click here to view the case study
Finance – Metro Bank
Revolutionizing banking by putting customers first
Metro Bank was founded on a simple precept: to offer the best customer
experience, how, when and where the customer wants it. Its motto is "no
stupid bank rules" and its focus is on bringing back traditional retail banking,
supported by flexible technology. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Office 365
and Yammer, Metro Bank gives its people the apps they need to support the
personalized interactions that are the hallmark of its business, and be
operationally flexible so that they can take a best practice from one location
and implement it across all locations. For a company like Metro Bank –
where customer experience is everything – Dynamics CRM is essential to its
business.
Click here to view the video case study
Public Sector- West Yorkshire Fire
& Rescue Service
Fire Service Adopts Unified Communications Solution, Increases
Productivity 35 Percent
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service wanted to consolidate multiple
communications platforms and provide employees with a new vision of
work as an activity, not a location. The organisation implemented
Microsoft Lync Server 2010 communications software to facilitate realtime communication and on-demand training. It benefits from
improved employee communication and effectiveness—and significant
cost savings.
Click here to view the case study
Retail- Helly Hansen
Apparel Manufacturer Accelerates Business with Cloud Solution
Helly Hansen is known for its innovative blend of technology and design to produce
high-performance outdoor gear. However, it was not providing innovative
communications capabilities to employees. It was relying on outdated, unreliable
email and telephony systems. To revitalize its IT capabilities, Helly Hansen adopted
Microsoft Office 365, licensing the E4 plan, which provides access to hosted
communication and collaboration solutions. By using the capabilities in Microsoft
Lync Online, lengthy email messages, business trips, and mobile phone calls will be
primarily replaced by instant messaging, online meetings, and voice over IP calls.
Helly Hansen accelerated business processes and reduced travel costs by 10 to 15
percent and mobile call charges by more than 10 percent. It has recently deployed
Microsoft Lync Server 2013 to supplement Office 365 with enterprise voice
capabilities.
Click here to view the case study
Employment - Total Jobs
Online Job Advertiser Moves Email to the Cloud for
Cost-Effective Communications
Online job advertisement company Totaljobs Group wanted to move its
email system to the cloud following its acquisition by StepStone Group
in 2012. Working with Microsoft Gold Partner Core, the firm migrated
its corporate email infrastructure to Microsoft Office 365. This has
given staff access to larger mailboxes, avoided the significant costs of a
new physical infrastructure, and equipped employees with the latest
unified communications tools.
Click here to view the case study
Entertainment- London Symphony
Orchestra
Leading Orchestra Works and Tours Smarter with Communication and
Productivity Tools
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) decided to upgrade its
productivity and communication tools to support fund-raising and up to
25 tours a year. The LSO also needed to replace an ageing telephone
exchange with a more integrated system.
Click here to view the case study
Retail and Hospitality- LA Fitness
Fitness Giant Upgrades Conferencing Solution to Improve Communications and
Collaboration
LA Fitness helps its customers achieve their goals for personal improvement by
providing excellent facilities and highly motivated trainers. Internally, LA Fitness
also has goals to provide excellent service. One way it has achieved this goal is by
continually improving its communications capabilities so staff members in the clubs
have access to the right information and systems to handle customer interactions
professionally and efficiently. LA Fitness uses Microsoft Lync Server 2010 to provide
voice, conferencing, instant messaging, and presence. It recently tested Microsoft
Lync Server 2013 to understand how it can continue to improve employee
communications and collaboration. With the deployment, LA Fitness plans to
improve mobility support, add conferencing capabilities, and use advanced highavailability options.
Click here to view the case study
Automotive- Aston Martin
Luxury Sports Car Manufacturer Drives Collaboration and Speeds Business
Processes
Aston Martin builds beautiful sports cars. Its employees are passionate about their
work and challenge themselves to stretch the limits of automotive performance.
Equally passionate about the business, the IT staff at Aston Martin wanted to focus
on strategic projects and work more proactively to improve processes and
technologies. To free IT resources from routine administration tasks while still
providing the latest communications and collaboration capabilities, Aston Martin
chose Microsoft Office 365. The cloud-based solution provides employees with
familiar Office applications, plus enterprise-grade email, conferencing, and
collaboration solutions. By providing easy access to business-critical productivity
tools, enhanced security, and reliability through Office 365, Aston Martin is able to
foster collaboration and improve business processes while reducing IT
administration.
Click here to view the case study
Construction - Pisani
Construction Firm Saves £200,000 Over Three Years with Unified
Communications
Pisani Group wanted to replace its existing telephony system with
unified communications to improve agility, increase efficiency, and cut
costs. Microsoft Partner alwaysON deployed a hosted Microsoft Lync
solution, integrated with Microsoft Exchange Online. As a result, Pisani
Group is boosting productivity by 1,488 hours a year to achieve savings
of £165,000 and will reduce travel costs by £27,000.
Click here to view the case study
Energy and Utilities - Shell
Shell Improves Global Team Collaboration, Reduces Costs with Communications
Solution
Shell depends on teams of employees and partners who work together effectively
from any location. The company wanted to deploy a flexible communications
solution that would maximize collaboration by enabling employees to quickly find
colleagues virtually and then select a method of communication. Shell found this
solution in Microsoft Lync. Lync provides instant messaging, presence information,
voice, and conferencing all from a single, intuitive user interface. Employees can
reach one another by using the same methods of communication independent of
their location and are able to use Lync via an Internet connection, available either
on their computers or from their mobile devices. By deploying Lync, Shell has
increased collaboration by facilitating communications among dispersed team
members.
Click here to view the case study
CPG and process - Eden Springs
Water Company Trims Costs, Improves Flexibility with Communications
Solution
Eden Springs, one of Europe’s leading providers for water solutions in the
workplace, felt it was overly dependent on expensive international phone
calls and conferencing services. It wanted to deploy a solution that would
reduce these costs and provide additional methods for communications. Eden
Springs deployed Microsoft Lync Server 2010 to take advantage of its voice
over IP capabilities to reduce call charges and begin to retiring its privatebranch exchange systems. Recently, Eden Springs deployed a pilot of
Microsoft Lync Server 2013 and is looking forward to more robust
conferencing, multiple mobile clients, and Skype federation to enhance its
current communications solution.
Click here to view the case study
Non-profit - International institute for
Environment and Development
Research Institute Improves Business Agility and Flexibility with
Unified Communications
The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in
the United Kingdom (UK) wanted to improve productivity and business
agility while lowering telephony costs with unified communications.
Microsoft Gold Partner Outsourcery deployed Microsoft Lync Server
2010 for IIED in just three weeks. As a result, the institute avoided
buying a new private branch exchange (PBX), and is now offering
employees more productive ways of working at home and abroad.
Click here to view the case study
Infographic
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