Horticulture experts Trakat more reachable thanks to Cloud Telephony

01.10.2020

After their search for a new switchboard, horticulture specialists Traktat partnered up with Orange. The company made the transition from a classic switchboard to Cloud Telephony, a choice the staff are very happy with: “We’re much easier to reach.”

A family-owned business, Trakat carries a full range of gardening and horticulture equipment. This dynamic SME employs three people, all of whom work at the company premises in Sint-Katelijne-Waver. From time to time, the employees also work outside the company premises, when visiting customers for example. Customers are central to Trakat. That is why Trakat wants to be available every time they call.

This availability came under pressure when Trakat’s classic switchboard gave up the ghost. “That switchboard was located here, in the building. Whenever there was a problem, we had to call in a technician and they obviously can’t come at a moment’s notice,” Sven Van den Eynde explains, responsible for digital operations at Trakat. “We applied for several quotes for a new switchboard. All of them were in the four to five thousand euro range. That’s pretty expensive so we went in search of an alternative.” 

 

Cloud Telephony: affordable alternative to a traditional switchboard

The search for an affordable telephony solution eventually led Trakat to Orange and the Cloud Telephony solution. “Cloud Telephony offers many benefits, but the fact that we are no longer responsible for maintaining the switchboard is really convenient. Now if something goes wrong or an update is required, Orange takes care of it themselves straight away,” says Sven Van den Eynde. “Orange takes care of every aspect of the management of the switchboard in the cloud. We pay a small amount per user for this service, on top of our Orange subscription.”

For Trakat the switchboard is at the heart of all communication “At our desks we use fixed IP phones via Ethernet. When we’re walking around on the premises, we carry the mobile devices that were installed by Orange with us. This way we can be reached at all times, even when we’re away from our desks,” Van den Eynde explains. “When we visit customers, we use the Orange app on our smartphones. A mobile connection enables us to also use our switchboard outside the company premises to make calls and take care of any other communications. The whole process is efficient and streamlined. The same can be said about the installation.”

 

Smooth and efficient communication

Everyone at Trakat is very happy with the possibilities Cloud Telephony offers. “A so-called IVR system (Interactive Voice Response) automatically routes a customer to the right member of staff. There’s no fuss and no time wasted putting people through or checking to see if someone is available. That’s all taken care of centrally,” Van den Eynde points out. “With the old switchboard we could only put calls through to landlines, but now we can put them through to mobiles as well. We’re much easier to reach.”

Apparently, setting up the answering machine is also very simple. “For example, when I’m visiting customers, I change my availability status to ‘Do not disturb’. The answering machine takes over and I can call those customers back later,” he explains. We can use either the telephone line or the app to listen to voicemail messages. A copy of the voice message is also sent via email, so no contact is missed. 

Cloud Telephony can be programmed to display only the landline number of your business. “Customers only get to see my landline number, even if I’m calling them on my mobile. If customers want to call me back, they end up with a colleague or myself by day and on the automatic options menu of the virtual switchboard in the evening. This is customer-friendly. It keeps us from having to be personally available round the clock. I feel that’s a major step forward for our business.”

 

Wondering whether Cloud Telephony is a suitable solution for your business as well? Use our self scan and find out.

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