A5 pharmacy chain (Microsoft Lync Server 2010)

Situation

With increase in number of drugstores and branches also travel costs and especially on a domestic long distance communication grew. The management set the task: to urgently cut down expenses on telephone communication and also on administration and service of IT infrastructure. At the same time need to increase confidentiality of data transmission and communication quality was separately noted.

Information exchange on such important issues as: updates of lists of drugs; to lists of withdrawal of drugs from sale according to the solution of relevant organs; regulating medical documents; sheets of employees; financial documentation; and also data on actions and discounts – happened in office A5, as a rule, by e-mail. Information was often delayed, and completion dates of instructions of top management to administrators of drugstores were extended. To make internal communication more effective it was required not only to establish relation between branches, but also to give the chance to employees to contact colleagues from any place of the planet.

Solution

The company management decided to optimize communications of employees and to pass from old analog automatic telephone exchange to digital telephony. Originally IT – department of A5 Group considered the IP telephony based on Asterisk. But after attentive market research of the IP telephony and consultation with specialists of the company integrator, as the platform the communications system of Microsoft Lync which not only gives necessary opportunities was for this purpose selected and provides the high level of reliability, but also just integrates with other products of Microsoft.

"Asterisk gives us normal cheap IP-telephony, and Lync expands its functionality as that:

1. Remote access to a corporate telephone network

2. Audio/video / test conferences

3. Presentations

4. Remote access to the slave. to tables of users".

Victor Polyakov, CIO of A5 group.

Its profitability in respect of acquisition of licenses, deployment and software maintenance was important point when choosing the Microsoft Lync Server platform.

Implementation of Lync Server 2010 was entrusted to the TI Systems company which already accumulated by then solid experience of implementation of similar projects.

In the organization carried the new and advanced tools providing communication of employees in corporate network and interaction with external users, in particular the convenient organization audio-and web conferences without use of additional software, support of the IP telephony, flexible opportunities of setup of auto attendants and groups of calls to number of main advantages of Microsoft Lync 2010. Besides, this communication product can be integrated with a corporate portal and e-mail Microsoft Outlook that also gives to users enhanced capabilities for communications.

Results and advantages to business

Implementation of Lync allowed to cut down significantly expenses on a domestic long distance communication and local telephone lines, optimized and accelerated communications of employees. Now on the basis of Microsoft Lync 2010 in the company about four hundred people use the IP telephony.

"Implementation of Microsoft Lync 2010 allowed to reduce significantly costs for the organization of work of call center as we completely got rid of expenses on payment of domestic long distance telephone communication and we pay only services of Internet service provider".

Victor Polyakov, CIO of A5 group

In A5 also note that Microsoft Lync provides flexibility and scalability of a system of office telephony. Thanks to these qualities the company can reduce considerably costs when opening new branches.

Besides, in a single window employees can see contacts of customers, contacts and a presence status in a workplace of colleagues now, can contact them by e-mail, using instant messages, call on the stationary or mobile phone, organize a video call.

Group mailings and the systems of short messaging allow to convey information to specific employees about 40% more effective, than on other communication channels, such as e-mail or phone. In the future personnel department considers the possibility of the organization of video interviews at personnel recruitment for regional branches and also to use web conferences for training of new employees in remote divisions. In plans of the company also to integrate all offices of the company and drugstore in a single telephone network.