Unified Communications – Case Study

Introduction:

A global university’s Senior Director of Technology Service Delivery commissioned ETI to migrate over 9,000 telephone numbers from Intrado and 8×8 to Microsoft Teams Phone within a three-month window per carrier. The project was driven by cost reduction and consolidation objectives, all to be accomplished within a challenging timeframe. Beyond the migration itself, ETI assumed responsibility for optimizing operational workflows and executing a comprehensive training and user adoption approach.

Challenges:

  • Scale and Complexity: Migrating over 9,000 users from existing to a new unified communications platform with such an aggressive timeline was a massive undertaking.
  • Dynamic E911 Compliance: Our client had campuses and administrative offices across the United States. E911 needed to be configured so that as users went from site to site, their location was accurately captured.
  • Unexpected request for new numbers: A large percentage of users opted for new numbers, which changed the nature of the project to needing to order new numbers in different area codes and port existing numbers.
  • Inaccurate Information on Losing Carrier: We discovered a dozen losing carriers shortly after the project started, not the two initially scoped.
  • Automation of Provisioning Workflow: Our client needed a complete redesign of their phone number provisioning and de-provisioning processes to support the move to Microsoft Teams Phone. This required seamless Azure Active Directory, ServiceNow, and Microsoft Teams integration.
  • Training Strategy: Microsoft Teams Phone was unfamiliar to the users, necessitating the development of tailored training content and methods.

Approach:

  • Scale and Complexity:  ETI recommended using a wave-based migration, migrating users every other week. This required us to move quickly from a POC to a pilot and then a rinse-and-repeat mode.
  • Dynamic E911 Compliance: Our engineer defined the LIS data requirements and partnered with the client’s network team to gather and upload to the formats for each site. ETI created detailed test plans and then oversaw the test effort of the client’s test team across multiple time zones.
  • Unexpected request for new numbers: ETI created a tool that extracted the zip codes of all users who requested new numbers so that orders could be placed with Microsoft before each wave.
  • Inaccurate Information on Losing Carrier: We defined a process with the Microsoft Porting team that allowed us to identify the actual losing carrier before submitting a porting request so that an accurate LOA could be created.
  • Automation of Provisioning Workflow: Our team analyzed and documented the existing process of provisioning and de-provisioning accounts and numbers to identify challenges and developed seamless integration points and automation scripts between Azure Active Directory, ServiceNow, and Microsoft Teams.
  • Training Strategy: ETI collaborated with stakeholders to develop train-the-trainer sessions, in-person training sessions, communication schedules, how-to videos, and documentation for Teams Phone usage.

Impact:

  • Successful Migration: ETI efficiently migrated over 9,000 telephone numbers and associated devices over the course of six months, ensuring uninterrupted communication.
  • E911 Enablement: Fully tested and enabled E911 at all 45 sites.
  • Inaccurate Information on Losing Carrier: Our process allowed us to reduce the occurrence of request rejections and wave delays.
  • Operational Improvement: By evaluating and reengineering our client’s provisioning and de-provisioning business processes, we achieved a seamless and unified approach across ServiceNow, Azure Active Directory, and Microsoft Teams. This eliminated manual processes, which expedited provisioning, boosted overall efficiency, and reduced costs for the client.
  • Adoption and Training: Comprehensive training materials facilitated the smooth adoption of Microsoft Teams Phone, minimizing disruptions and maximizing user proficiency.