Smart City Networks has partnered with Events DC to help integrate a new state-of-the-art telecommunications platform that promises the ultimate flexibility and mobility in a rapidly evolving industry. The Smart City Hosted Voice solution was a massive undertaking, and its success can be directly attributed to the hardworking and dedicated teams at Events DC and Smart City. The results are transformative, pushing Events DC into the 21st century with one of the most advanced telecommunications services Smart City has to offer.
Even before the pandemic highlighted the need for increased mobility and new solutions, Events DC wanted a change. An outdated PBX system was becoming a serious setback and not being able to offer the best support or the best service necessary to stay competitive in today’s ‘new normal’ led to Events DC seeking an alternative solution. Enter Smart City Networks, who teamed with sister company Smart City Telecom to help develop a proposal that would completely reinvigorate their telecommunication services at an affordable cost. And overall, it’s been a huge success.
“Our legacy on-premise PBX system provided limits to our team’s potential,” Al DeGregorio, Interim, Chief Technology Officer at Events, DC said. “A transformational change was necessary and seeing how Hosted Voice could completely revolutionized our current system with its advanced, easy-to-use features made it the overall smart choice.”
The proposed solution would see the Events DC convention center undergo a major overhaul of their telecommunications service. Over 250 phones were upgraded with ultramodern hardware and advanced call analytics. But what does that mean on a day-to-day level? Hosted Voice sees an overall increase of vital communication systems like Conference Bridges and Call Queues, as well as making the experience more user-friendly thanks to features like a new Mobile App and a web-based Softphone. All of this on top of Smart City Networks guaranteed 24/7/365 Local Customer Support means employees and customers can now talk with each other knowing they’re using the best equipment for the best price.
The transition process and overall implementation for Hosted Voice came and went with relatively few hiccups. Initial orders for equipment began in August 2021 and by November, Events DC had embraced the new platform thanks to its user-friendly interface. For Smart City employee Dennis O’Gara, Vice President, Operations East Region, that interface is one of Hosted Voice’s biggest draws as it balances a series of advanced features with the freedom to manage one’s own station.
“It’s truly a one stop shop for all your communications,” O’Gara said. “Hosted Voice offers a unified experience for co-workers, event planners and attendees in providing a whole range of advanced features including over 50 customizable calling features, a revolutionized voicemail management system and user-friendly admin portals.”
Another huge component of the Hosted Voice platform is its ability to adapt to business on the move. The event and trade show industry is still experiencing a massive upheaval in established norms and it’s proven vital to adjust accordingly. Hosted Voice assists Events DC with a greater functionality, flexibility and scalability all while using cutting-edge features with minimal on-site equipment. It’s by all accounts, a game-changer.
“Now more than ever, a stronger emphasis on mobility and collaboration is important in delivering quality service to our customers and our venues,” O’Gara said. “What better way to highlight that than to implement a system that allows you to pick up and go.”
What O’Gara is referencing is the platform’s ability for one-number calling from any device. Your desk phone, your smartphone, your soft phone, etc. can now all be routed through Hosted Voice for maximum convenience. All these technical improvements and easy-to-use enhancements show that Hosted Voice has simultaneously upgraded telecommunications at Events DC, while also simplifying them.
“Our team was pleasantly surprised with not only the HD quality of the calls made and received, but also how user-friendly the cloud-based platform turned out to be,” Samuel Thomas, Interim President and CEO of Events, DC said. “This personalized approach ultimately helps deliver customers the best experience imaginable and we’re thankful for Smart City’s deep experience and insight that allowed us to design, implement, and install the Hosted Voice solution at a cost-effective price.”
At the end of the day, this story highlights exactly what Smart City Networks does best. We offered Events DC an advanced solution with cost-effective pricing that will continue to help customers communicate with one another. Hosted Voice has proven to be a huge success and we look forward to implementing it in more convention centers across the United States.
