Case Studies — Playworks
"I recommend Speakeasy Hosted Voice to any small-to-medium organization that wants to consolidate their voice system. It's ideal for Playworks because we can be a unified organization across all our offices nationwide. We get one bill for all our voice and data, and calls between locations are free with 4-digit dialing."
— Richard Ng, IT Manager
- Full Case Study 78 KB
Company Background
Playworks is a nationwide non-profit organization that brings safe, healthy, and inclusive play opportunities at recess and throughout the day to low-income schools across the country. Founded in 1996, Playworks now has about 320 employees nationwide, including 75 people at their Oakland, CA headquarters and seven branch locations. Over a nine-month period, they unified their communications by transitioning all of their offices to Speakeasy DSL and T1 connections with Speakeasy Hosted Voice. By the end of 2012, Playworks expects to expand to more than 750 employees in 27 US cities.
Overview
- Challenge
Before Speakeasy, Playworks had a PBX at their headquarters, key systems at each branch office, and separate connectivity and phone bills from different providers in every location. Playworks doesn't have the time or money to do extensive training, but they need their employees to feel comfortable with the phone system. - Solution
Speakeasy's nationwide data connectivity options and flexible Hosted Voice system enabled Playworks to bring all their voice and data under one umbrella - with one pedictable bill each month. Speakeasy also provides a wide range of training materials, including and printed quick-start booklets with every phone, online demo videos, and downloadable user guides. - Results
The major benefit of consolidating voice and data with Speakeasy, says Ng, is the soft cost savings. "There's only one bill to pay and one number to call when we need help with something. We save so much time." After a smooth initial adoption period, Playworks employees are now enjoying advanced features like the ability to make and receive business calls from any location with Remote Office.