Capital 21 “Disaster Recovery System” Overcomes Manchester Phone Crisis

• Capital 21 network call management system helped firm ride out storm
• Phone calls instantly diverted to unaffected “safe house”

Capital 21 client Innov8 was one of the few companies in the Greater Manchester area able to carry on after all telephone lines had been cut by a major fire at the key BT underground station in central Manchester.

At the same time, the leading Sage Line 100 developer was almost alone in that it was able to let its customers know what was happening - and what they had to do to get through.

The reason Innov8 was still able to function when faced with the disaster lies in the fact that it had introduced a Capital 21 specialist call management system.

As a result, the company was able to point all incoming calls instantly to a “safe house”- a location unaffected by the fire which had terminated the telephone service for more than 100,000 customers in the Greater Manchester area.

The fact that all callers could still get through also meant that Innov8 was able to broadcast an emergency message, so alerting people to the situation.

With a telephone link still open to them, this allowed Innov8 to field all vital calls and pass on critical messages to key service personnel via mobiles.

Innov8 originally chose a Capital 21 customised call management system because -

• No caller ever hears an engaged tone - even during an emergency - with all calls answered and managed, ensuring they get through to the right department
• Live emergency announcements were available through the system
• There was no need for capital outlay on equipment - the Capital 21 system resides at BT network level and simply sits over existing equipment - nor was there any requirement to retrain staff
• The system is based on non geographic numbers - so can be used for multi-sites
• Calls can be redirected instantly - or at pre-set times - by the user to any other location - i.e. to other sites or home workers
• In-depth, real-time accurate data is available on all incoming calls via a secure web link. As all calls can be identified, response to any specific marketing activity can be tracked accurately - and campaigns adjusted accordingly

“It’s a fantastic system which you almost start to take for granted,” says Carl Maher, Innov8’s Commercial Director. “However as one of the few firms able to function during a time of disaster, it brought it home to us just how important it has become to us as a company . . .”

For futher information, please call 0870 787 0490.