DCTC hired a consultant to outline their specifications for a new communications system. The consultant then researched and recommended vendors to meet those specifications. According to Todd Jagerson, Chief Information Officer for DCTC, they had been working on upgrading their network over the past five years and had the network infrastructure in place to take advantage of Voice Over IP (VoIP) technology.
Through a bid process, DCTC chose Marco and the Mitel 3300 (VoIP) solution for several reasons: features and flexibility, competitive pricing, and strong customer references. DCTC worked with Randy Lindstedt, Marco Account Manager, to learn about the features and benefits of the Mitel system and to develop an implementation plan for DCTC.
“Randy and the rest of Marco’s staff eased us through the process very well,” said Pat Adams, Buyer for DCTC. “They were knowledgeable and very calm and patient with us throughout the entire process.”
As part of the decision making process, Pat and other staff members visited Dunwoody College of Technology – a Marco customer who has been using the Mitel 3300 VoIP System for over two years. Pat explained, “Visiting Dunwoody College was an important part of our decision making process. We were able to actually try out their Mitel IP phones, headsets, and conference unit. It was nice to be able to talk to someone using the system. They spoke very highly of Marco.”
Pat added, “Because we were transitioning to VoIP, our team made several calls to companies who had already made the transition with Marco. We got great reports. They all said they had not experienced any problems in transitioning to VoIP technology.”
In July 2005, Marco installed the new system. DCTC set aside three weeks for installation, testing, and staff training. Todd explained, “We had tight time constraints. We wanted to have the least amount of disruption to the least amount of people. Our goal was to have the system implemented and staff trained before students came back in mid-August. Things went well.”
He went on, “We did a lot of tone and trace testing of our lines to determine which connections were working. Marco’s engineers and IT staff were here a few late nights to make sure the system was working properly.”
Pat added, “Marco met all of our timelines. They provided us with training, and I think the staff adapted to the new system very well. We haven’t had any complaints. I use the phone a lot and haven’t had any problems.”
DCTC was pleased with the implementation of their new system. Todd said, “After the installation, we utilized Marco’s help desk to work through any issues we had. They have been extremely helpful. As time went on, we didn’t need to contact them as much, but we know they are always available if we need them. Ryan Dyrud (Marco Technical Engineer) did a tremendous job. We also liked the fact that he gave us his cell phone and email address. Marco’s people are approachable, and we’re able to get a hold of them when we need them.”
Todd explained how the Mitel VoIP system has benefited DCTC. “The system has lowered our monthly phone bills. It use to be costly and cumbersome to call our telephone company to come out every time we needed to make a move or change.