Case Studies...

One of the world’s leading independent publishers of children’s books 

With a 50-year history of producing high-quality fiction and nonfiction books for children of all ages, Usborne Publishing has become one of the most successful independent children’s publishers in the world—and the largest in the United Kingdom. 

The company has published more than 12,000 titles, many of which have won national and international awards, and Usborne’s books have been translated into more than 130 languages and dialects. In 2022, Usborne was the co-recipient of the “Bookseller Marketing Award” from the Independent Publisher’s Guild. 

Turning the page on legacy telephony 

Usborne’s earlier telephony infrastructure was comprised of outdated phone systems at each of the company’s locations around the world. 

The company’s legacy on-premises systems presented multiple challenges: the aging hardware infrastructure was difficult to maintain and prone to issues, insufficient bandwidth meant employees struggled to reliably make and receive calls, and frequent troubleshooting and repairs were needed by the team to keep the dated systems functional for day-to-day operations. 

Employees’ mobility was also severely constrained by the old phone system, where out of the office meetings or business trips did not have consistent connectivity and were left out of contact. Issuing mobile devices could not fully address the limitations. 

Additional costs stemmed from the fragmented nature of the legacy systems across locations. Offices spanned the US, UK, and Germany. Internal calls incurred international fees. Expensive third-party maintenance contracts were required just to keep the aging, incompatible systems running. 

Operational silos, lack of mobility, rising costs, and unreliable legacy hardware created pain points across the business. It was evident the systems were no longer adequate for supporting efficient workflows and employee productivity. 

AllThingsCX Ensured Seamless Transition to RingCentral 

When faced with the challenge of revamping their telephony infrastructure, Usborne Publishing turned to the expertise of AllThingsCX (ATCX), their trusted Cloud Consultancy partner. After thorough evaluation, Usborne embarked on a collaborative journey to transform their legacy PBX to RingCentral, the leading UCaaS and CCaaS platform. 

The transformation began with ATCX’s meticulous planning and consultation, ensuring a tailored solution that met Usborne’s unique requirements. Working hand in hand, the teams devised a comprehensive strategy to configure, implement, and train employees on the new system. 

Under the guidance of ATCX, the transition to RingCentral was seamless and hassle-free. The ATCX team managed the configuration process, ensuring the new telephony system was optimised for Usborne’s needs. As implementation begun, ATCX’s dedicated team provided direct support, meticulously ensuring a smooth deployment across all locations. 

However, what truly set ATCX apart was their unwavering commitment to employee success. Recognising the diverse range of technical familiarity among Usborne’s staff, ATCX conducted thorough training sessions, patiently guiding employees through the new system. Their attentive approach ensured that every team member felt comfortable and empowered to use the full potential of RingCentral. 

“Once implemented, the new solution immediately improved mobility and agility for the employees. Staff can now stay connected and productive regardless of location. The unified directory and internal extension dialling through the app also makes contacting coworkers easy for the distributed teams. It's great to see their global workforce benefiting from these capabilities that support reachability and collaboration across borders." 

Usborne 

Finding benefit after benefit 

In collaborating closely with the client, ATCX came to understand that the RingCentral deployment empowered revolutionary improvements for Usborne, beyond prior communications tools. 

In particular, it was emphasised that pristine call quality was of utmost significance, especially for the in-house audio recording professionals. With their earlier phone system, even the slightest background noise was noticeable during recordings. Therefore, selecting RingCentral was a natural choice, as it is renowned for delivering the clearest calls in the industry. True to expectations, Usborne’s audiobook team has expressed their satisfaction with RingCentral, appreciating the absence of background noise. 

The transition from legacy phone infrastructure to RingCentral has also brought significant advantages to Usborne’s IT department. By replacing the outdated system, the IT team now enjoys substantial time savings, redirecting their focus towards strategic initiatives. The burden of frequent system updates, troubleshooting office phones, or relying on external support for failed PBXs was eliminated. 

“The true mark of a great technology solution is when it fades into the background for end users. With RingCentral, employees can count on seamless performance whether using the softphone, mobile app, or integrations without any need for fixes from IT. The lack of issues and complaints says it all - the platform just works flawlessly across endpoints. This hassle-free experience is the ultimate validation." 

Usborne 

Integrating RingCentral with Microsoft Teams 

Another key factor in Usborne’s decision to go with RingCentral was the Microsoft Teams integration. Usborne found that ATCX’s provision and configuration of RingCentral offered the most seamless and deep integration with Teams compared to platforms from other communications providers. 

Usborne appreciated providing employees a unified communications experience through a single interface in Microsoft Teams. With staff already using Teams extensively after adopting it during COVID, they wanted to avoid forcing users to toggle between separate apps. The deep integration enabled keeping phone communications seamlessly unified within Teams without employees realising calls are powered by RingCentral. 

Saving money on telephony 

While cost savings were not the main driver for updating their communications, ATCX noted that migrating to RingCentral has helped Usborne reduce overall telephony spending. 

“Our transformation services of legacy to RingCentral drove substantial cost reductions for Usborne, consolidating their systems to eliminate international calling and maintenance fees. Through tailored implementation, we've delivered a measurable value of success, which we take pride in." 

ATCX, Project Team