OpenTouch communications keep British brewery open for business

Hall and Woodhouse, an independent family brewer and pub operator with over 250 public houses and hotels, has selected NextiraOne, Europe’s leading expert in communications services, to deploy a new communications infrastructure. The new platform will introduce faster, more efficient communications including Voice and Video over IP. NextiraOne was able to design and implement in an outstandingly short space of time, delivering the solution within six weeks from the initial discussions.

Hall & Woodhouse is an independent family owned brewery that has been brewing award winning speciality ales such as Fursty Ferret and Tanglefoot for 7 generations. With over 1,500 employees across the Blandford Brewery and public house estate which covers the South of England, Hall & Woodhouse relies on a service that allows fast communication and decision-making along with easy access to information at all its different locations. NextiraOne used its expertise as a multi-vendor solutions integrator to design and build Hall & Woodhouse’s new solution with an Alcatel-Lucent OmniPCX and the pioneering implementation of Alcatel-Lucent’s OpenTouch platform running over a Cisco Local Area Network (LAN). This gives users the ability to switch seamlessly from device to device, making use of the video conferencing functionality using Open Conversation for iPad, or talking on the move on a range of devices including Blackberry, iPhone and many others.

Hall & Woodhouse and NextiraOne have a long-standing and trusted relationship, with over ten years of working together. This, along with NextiraOne’s proven ability to integrate complex communications networks in a timely and cost-efficient manner, made them the ideal choice to undertake the project. The system was designed and deployed within six weeks of the contract being signed and clearly demonstrates NextiraOne’s expertise in implementing a communications project even under pressure of time.

“We really needed to change to our new system quickly and we knew it would be a challenge,” said Steve Lacey, Group Head of IT at Hall & Woodhouse. “It was a pleasure working with NextiraOne who ensured the system upgrade was a complete success. They are considerably experienced in delivering these complex installations in a timely manner to a high standard and we are extremely pleased with the results NextiraOne has achieved.”

To support the future development of the organisation, a robust, efficient and resilient communications system is a critical improvement. Hall and Woodhouse had an ageing, end-of-life telephony system and the organisation plans to migrate onto the new system in stages, allowing ongoing communication between the new and the old system, dramatically reducing disruption to the organisation’s operations.

The roll-out will ultimately allow users access to the Alcatel-Lucent communications platform, with selected users operating with OpenTouch 8082 handsets and the rest of Hall & Woodhouse’s team members using OpenTouch Media Services through the client application installed on their desktop, along with IP Touch digital handsets provided by NextiraOne.

Steven Skakel, Managing Director UK and Ireland at NextiraOne, commented: “Hall & Woodhouse has a wonderful reputation for good quality ales and great hospitality. This innovative deployment will bring better communications and boost Hall and Woodhouse’s productivity. Effective communication is crucial as this will allow them to continue to deliver high quality services at a reasonable price.”