St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi-Academy Trust is a leading education trust in the East Midlands, comprising of 23 schools, including 4 secondary and 19 primary schools. St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi-Academy Trust was facing issues with its various existing phone systems, which was outdated, unreliable and lacked the features required to meet their modern communication needs. After evaluating several providers, St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi-Academy Trust decided to partner with DoveComms to deploy a centrally hosted telephone system.

Challenges:
St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi-Academy Trust existing phone systems were outdated and lacked the necessary features required to support the communication needs of a modern education trust. The systems were unreliable and resulted in missed calls and dropped calls, which caused frustration and delays. Additionally, there was no central control over the phone system, and each site was managed independently. This led to a lack of consistency in the phone systems across the trust, which made it difficult to manage and maintain.

As with all education trust budgets are a challenging factor to consider.

Objectives:
St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi-Academy Trust primary objective was to deploy a centrally hosted telephone system that would improve communication across all of its 23 sites. The system should provide reliable connectivity and offer features such as call forwarding, voicemail. The system should be scalable and easy to manage, with central control and monitoring of the phone system across all the sites. The system should also be cost-effective and offer value for money.

Solution:
After evaluating several providers, St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi-Academy Trust chose DoveComms to deploy a centrally hosted telephone system. DoveComms offered a cloud-based system that would provide St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi-Academy Trust with a reliable and feature-rich phone system that could be managed centrally. The system would allow St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi-Academy Trust to manage and monitor all of its phone systems from a central location, providing a consistent user experience across all sites. The system also included features such as call forwarding, voicemail, which would help to improve communication and increase productivity.

The deployment of the system involved a phased approach, with each site being migrated to the new system over a period of a couple years. This ensured that there was minimal disruption to the schools’ day-to-day operations. DoveComms provided training to the staff at each site, ensuring they were comfortable using the new system and understood how to use its features.

Results:
The deployment of the centrally hosted telephone system has resulted in significant improvements to St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi-Academy Trust’s communication capabilities. The system is reliable and provides the features required to support modern communication needs. St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi-Academy Trust now has central control over the phone system, making it easier to manage and maintain. The system has also resulted in cost savings, with reduced call charges and maintenance costs.

Conclusion:
The deployment of a centrally hosted telephone system by DoveComms has helped St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi-Academy Trust to overcome its communication challenges. The system has provided a reliable and feature-rich phone system that is easy to manage and maintain. St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi-Academy Trust can now provide a consistent user experience across all its sites, resulting in improved communication and increased productivity. The partnership with DoveComms has provided St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi-Academy Trust with a cost-effective solution that has delivered significant value for money.