Summary
Discover how a major Canadian law firm migrated from its legacy phone system to Microsoft Teams Phone while maintaining an existing carrier and eliminating most desktop phones.
With Teams Phone, geographically dispersed teams now collaborate more effectively through features like soft phones and video conferencing. Learn how the move to Teams Phone saves money, streamlines communications, boosts productivity, and delivers flexibility and scalability.
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BACKGROUND
BCF Business Law is a major Canadian law firm headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1995, the firm has over 520 employees, including more than 270 legal professionals. BCF is known for its entrepreneurial spirit and has been recognized as Canada’s Best Managed Companies by Deloitte for 17 consecutive years.
BCF offers a wide range of business law services, with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, litigation, immigration, and more. The firm caters to a variety of clients, from startups to established companies. They also have a strong presence in Montreal and Quebec City and boast international alliances.
It struck me how little negative feedback we got from the migration, and we can see people are using it every day
SITUATION
The BCF management team made the strategic decision to move telephony from BCF’s legacy PBX to Microsoft Teams. Their goal for migrating telephony to Teams was to create a more unified technology platform with tighter integration of features like chat, video conferencing, file sharing, and calling. They also wanted to streamline voice enabled workflows and eliminate the need for a separate proprietary UC platform.
Management also wanted to streamline voice enabled workflows and eliminate theneed for a separate proprietary UC platform.
BCF was already heavily invested in Microsoft technologies and management felt Teams Phone was a natural fit that would integrate seamlessly, offer users a familiar experience, and potentially increase productivity. Enabling easier collaboration among geographically dispersed teams through a more tightly integrated platform was a particularly attractive value of the solution.
The legacy PBX was managed by one internal person on the IT team with the support of ZIRO. BCF had been using ZIRO’s SMACS to manage adds, moves, and changes and relying on ZIRO to handle advanced telephony challenges
Since the pandemic people have been using their cell phones more, and desktop phones less. This led us to believe we could eliminate the desk phones all together as part of the migration.
CHALLENGES
Changing UC platforms is complex and can be risky, and this is particularly true in a law firm like BCF. Lawyers and supporting staff are frequently under significant pressure and tight deadlines. They cannot afford to have communication systems fail and generally resist change.
The nature of law firms also includes many sensitive communications that must be kept private. BCF must comply with various regulations regarding data privacy and security. These regulations require IT to be extra vigilant about security measures like encryption, access controls, and user training regarding voice conversations.
The decision to migrate from the legacy system to Microsoft, a newcomer to UC, was also risky. Could the firm provide the same services as users had with the previous system? The consensus was that users would initially receive something inferior, but this would be the right decision in the long term.
Most BCF employees worked remotely during the pandemic and heavily utilized their cell phones. The BCF management saw the migration as an opportunity to move away from desk phones and replace them with headsets.
My past experience had me prepared for glitches and mistakes, but there weren’t any! The ZIRO migration tools are really well done and there is really nothing left behind. There are even ways to detect when something is not configured right prior to migrating.
SOLUTION
ZIRO designed a solution to migrate 600 knowledge workers and a fax solution across two sites in the province of Quebec. The plan was to eliminate common area phones where possible and replace them with headsets. All attorneys were moving to the headset-only solution.
To support PSTN connectivity with BCF’s existing carrier, ZIRO deployed its Direct Routing as a Service (DRaaS) with the ‘Bring Your Own Carrier’ option. This allowed BCF to continue its existing carrier relationship through the commitment period. Beyond the commitment period, the plan is to migrate entirely to ZIRO DRaaS, eliminating the third-party carrier relationship.
During the migration, the new Microsoft Phone system and the legacy system would coexist. To accommodate this environment, ZIRO configured Session Border Controllers (SBCs) to provide connectivity to Microsoft, the legacy PBX, and BCF’s fax server. Supporting the legacy PBX and fax solutions eased the migration burden for BCF.
ZIRO software was used to support daily UC tasks in both Microsoft and legacy environments. The ZIRO platform enables BCF to manage dial plans and lets the helpdesk manage daily adds, moves, and changes without using the legacy PBX’s UI, Teams Admin Center, or Powershell.
With ZIRO providing UC support for Microsoft and Cisco environments, BCF’s need for internal UC expertise is minimized.
BENEFITS
Changing UC platforms is complex and can be risky, and this is particularly true in a law firm like BCF. Lawyers and supporting staff are frequently under significant pressure and tight deadlines. They cannot afford to have communication systems fail and generally resist change.
The nature of law firms also includes many sensitive communications that must be kept private. BCF must comply with various regulations regarding data privacy and security. These regulations require IT to be extra vigilant about security measures like encryption, access controls, and user training regarding voice conversations.
- Enhanced Workflow & Productivity: Teams Phone integrates seamlessly with BCF’s existing Microsoft ecosystem, offering a familiar and intuitive user experience. This streamlined approach eliminates the need for separate communication tools, allowing legal professionals to focus on billable hours and maximize productivity.
- Stronger Collaboration: The platform empowers geographically dispersed teams across Montreal, Quebec City, and international alliances to collaborate more effectively. Teams fosters real-time communication through features like video conferencing and instant messaging, ensuring everyone stays on the same page regardless of location.
- Reduced Operational Costs: BCF has experienced significant monthly savings over their legacy system.
- Future-Proof Technology: BCF’s commitment to Microsoft Teams positions the firm at the forefront of technological innovation. Teams Phone offers a scalable and adaptable platform that can grow with the firm’s needs.
By embracing Microsoft Teams Phone, BCF continues to demonstrate a commitment to innovation and efficiency. The unified platform empowers legal professionals to collaborate seamlessly, enhance client service, and operate at peak productivity. While the transition may require some initial adjustments, the long-term benefits position BCF for continued success in the ever-evolving legal landscape.