Dawson Group comprises several companies in various facets of transportation infrastructure, including road construction, maintenance and truck and heavy equipment sales. Founded in 1922 and headquartered in Kamloops, British Columbia, it is an intergenerational family company with an eye on continued longevity and sustainable growth. Its 30 offices and sites span communities of different sizes and rural locations across BC, and many staff work remotely or in the field.

With 30 offices and sites spread across different-sized communities and rural locations in British Columbia, Dawson Group struggled to stay connected efficiently. When Brian Eshpeter came on board as Director of IT, he found a wide variety of voice providers and technologies in use at different locations.

That patchwork created extensive maintenance work. Directories for the various offices, sites and remote workers had to be updated manually, and any time someone relocated, the phones had to be re-wired and reconfigured. Each provider and solution had to be managed separately, so the IT department was constantly running around between different vendors and solutions.

The general consensus inside the company was that it should not be so difficult to get in touch with colleagues. Dawson Group began assessing alternatives that could unify voice services across every location, support mobile and remote staff, reduce the maintenance load and meet its price point.

Dawson Group identified the unified communications solution offered by 8x8 and iTel Networks as meeting all of its operational criteria, including price point. iTel, a Canadian converged network company, supplied the 8x8 UCaaS platform to replace the assortment of voice solutions and providers spread across the group's 30 offices and sites.

The rollout began with a pilot at one of Dawson Group's offices. After procuring new equipment for the other locations, the team moved every site onto the 8x8 solution. Moving an office took a matter of hours, and with a short changeover period and minimal effort, disruption to staff was minimal.

Flexibility was a key design benefit. Phones can be relocated with no additional configuration or effort from the IT team, so moving offices or working remotely is simple. With the 8x8 mobile app, remote staff stay connected while in the field. Throughout the process, Dawson Group had access to extensive training and support from 8x8 and iTel, which gave the team confidence in its decision.

With one platform in place, the IT department no longer runs between different vendors and solutions. Directory and configuration maintenance that once consumed hours is now streamlined, and those hours can be put to better use.

• 35% reduction in operating costs for phone and voice services
• All 30 offices and sites unified on one 8x8 UCaaS platform, replacing multiple providers
• Office transitions completed in a matter of hours with minimal disruption to staff
• Phones relocate with no additional configuration; mobile app keeps field staff connected
• Less time spent managing and maintaining the system, freeing IT hours for better use