Association of Chartered Certified Accountants case study

First-rate communications help maintain industry standards

To provide round-the-clock support to a growing worldwide membership, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) needs a first-rate communications infrastructure. So when it moved premises, it took the opportunity to consolidate and upgrade its existing network.

ACCA needed a solution that would help staff resolve enquiries quickly by providing instant access to caller details. It also wanted to reduce the costs of making phone calls and sharing information across four UK sites and more than 70 global centres.

A comprehensive voice and data communications solution from ntl:Telewest Business provided the answer, allowing ACCA to provide high-quality customer service – while cutting costs.

Providing 24/7 support for global members

As the world’s largest and fastest growing global professional accountancy body, ACCA has 296,000 students and 115,000 members in 170 countries. Its reputation is grounded in over 100 years of providing internationally-recognised qualifications for finance professionals. Our data and voice communications infrastructure is helping ACCA in its mission to promote the highest ethical and governance standards in the industry.

Consolidating the network

With thousands of members worldwide, ACCA’s staff must handle a steady stream of requests for information about training courses and industry regulations. But having three different telecoms suppliers at its UK sites made controlling and containing communications costs problematic. When the accountancy body’s 24/7 contact service centre moved to a new site in Glasgow, it decided to consolidate and upgrade its existing voice and data services.

Our solution fitted ACCA’s technological needs, whilst delivering cost savings – both in the short- and long-term. "All the tenders were roughly equal on solution design, quality of service and capability," comments Mark Devine, IT Director at ACCA. "But ntl:Telewest Business offered sophisticated technology at a significantly lower cost."

Serving a growing membership

As well as reducing operational overheads, ACCA wanted an easy-to-manage solution that would help improve its service to members. "To meet the needs of our growing customer base, we needed more advanced technology that would help us manage calls better and send information between sites more quickly," explains Mark. "We also wanted a telecoms system that is easy to support from one location."

In just three months, we designed and delivered a complete range of bespoke telephony products and services. These include a fully-managed data and voice network, dedicated internet access, and a Cisco-based infrastructure that includes security, content delivery, network management, internet telephony, contact centre telephony, voice recording and voicemail, as well as fax and wireless access points.

Meeting and exceeding expectations

Mark believes that the input we gave at the planning stages was critical to the success of the project. "With any project of this scale, the more effort you put into the design the more likely its execution will run smoothly. ntl:Telewest Business proposed a design and an implementation process that satisfied our requirements – and ensured it ran on time and to budget," says Mark.

It also became clear that with ntl:Telewest Business, Mark has a partner he can rely on. "The project management skills of the ntl:Telewest Business team have been excellent," he comments. "When they say a product will be delivered on Tuesday and it will be working the following Thursday, they mean it. They have totally met and exceeded our expectations."

What it has made possible

Our consolidated solution allows ACCA to offer a greatly enhanced service to members – delivering better value for money and increased customer satisfaction as a result. It has also enabled ACCA to achieve immediate cost-savings, while significantly enhancing efficiency and effectiveness across the entire organisation. Mark concludes: "We’ve been very impressed with ntl:Telewest Business and look forward to working with them in future."