Teekay

Solution

Since Teekay was already an established customer of Microsoft Office 365 throughout the organization, the decision to adopt Skype for Business as its UC infrastructure was fairly straightforward. Skype for Business ticked all the boxes in terms of UC functionality – instant messaging, collaboration, video and voice conferencing etc. – and it offered the potential for a full PBX replacement solution.

Teekay turned to AudioCodes to provide a suitable on-premises Skype for Business based voice solution. In particular, Teekay selected AudioCodes CloudBond™ 365 Standard Edition, all-in-one voice solution for Skype for Business. CloudBond 365 is a modular, adaptable solution delivering on-premises voice connectivity for data centers, customer premises and branch offices in Skype for Business environments. CloudBond 365 includes a full Skype for Business implementation integrated with AudioCodes Mediant session border controller (SBC) and dedicated, built-in management tools. The Standard Edition is supplied as a fully integrated appliance running on the field-proven Mediant 800 hybrid SBC platform.

One of the main challenges faced by Teekay when deploying its new voice solution was ensuring smooth integration between the existing Skype for Business on-premises deployment already in use, Skype for Business Online, the legacy PBX and CloudBond 365. On the face of it, this would seem to be a highly complex proposition. However, Teekay was guided expertly throughout the process by AudioCodes technical support team and field engineers whose knowledge and vast experience in Skype for Business voice deployment ensured that the deployment was carried out smoothly and on time.

Results

Following the initial deployment, Teekay has expanded its Skype for Business voice network with CloudBond 365 appliances located in Vancouver, Singapore, Glasgow, Stavanger and, in the near future, Manila. The solution ensures reliable voice communications with seamless interconnectivity with Teekay’s legacy PBXs (including solutions from Nortel and Avaya) and the local PSTN operators.

Among the benefits delivered by the new solution are:

• All-in-one Skype for Business enterprise voice solution simplifies deployment
• Seamless integration with existing Skype for Business infrastructure creates a truly unified communications environment for Teekay employees
• Simple and controlled migration from legacy voice solutions reduces disruption to users
• Built-in user life-cycle management tools simplify administration of the solution

Jamus Spink, CIO at Teekay, is highly satisfied with the solution. “AudioCodes’ CloudBond 365 solution is unique in offering flexible hybrid voice connectivity for any Skype for Business environment, whether on-premises or in the cloud,” commented Mr Spink.

“AudioCodes excels both in terms of its technical solution and the expertise and level of assistance offered by its engineers,” he continued. “We look forward to expanding the solution to our other offices and partnering with AudioCodes when we take on the next challenge of migrating to Microsoft Teams.”