Healix

• CDW helps Healix identify the latest cloud-based unified communication solution, including voice capability.
• Project involves technical assessment of multiple vendors in the Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) space.
• The selection of 8x8 as a provider meets all of Healix’s objectives across its global business.
• The partnership helps Healix become a more integrated and efficient operation, with greater flexibility.

• The Healix Group of Companies has been offering healthcare and risk management solutions to clients around the world since 1992.
• The company offers bespoke services to organisations who want control over health, travel and risk provision.
• Health services are delivered through a dedicated medical team of fully qualified doctors and nurses based in offices worldwide.

The Healix Group of Companies is one of the world’s leading healthcare and risk management specialists, offering bespoke services to clients who want control over their health, travel and risk provision since 1992. With offices in the UK, USA, New Zealand, Kenya, Singapore, and Spain, Healix works with a broad range of clients, including multinational corporations, government departments, NGOs and insurers.

Its services are delivered through a dedicated team of doctors, nurses and security experts, who speak a total of 34 different languages. Enabling this broad base of clinically-trained staff to communicate quickly and seamlessly is a critical factor in ensuring that the highest level of medical care and emergency support can be administered – ensuring the health and security of its customers no matter where they are located.

Due to the expanding nature of the business, Graham Christie, Group Chief Information Officer at Healix, believed that future operations needed to be supported by a more powerful and dynamic communications system, in order to optimise customer experience and gain efficiencies.

“We have offices worldwide in places like the UK, Singapore, New Zealand and the US, and it is crucial that our team can interact as one. Our existing voice system had limited functionality when it came to call queues and forwarding, and there was a limitation on the ability to segregate call recordings. It also did not integrate very efficiently with our case management system. It was clear that we needed a multi-channel communications solution, based on the latest Voice over IP (VoIP) technologies.”

Graham Christie had partnered with CDW on several large technology projects in previous roles, and he was keen to do so again. “I have worked with CDW for 20 years, on and off, and always found it to be an organisation that could deliver added value. CDW’s people are very engaged – they understand objectives and go out of their way to meet timescales. It is never just a sales process. So, we selected CDW to help us identify the best communications solution.”

The first stage in identifying the most suitable unified communications system was understanding what Healix wanted to achieve. CDW’s Business Development Managers worked closely with the IT team at Healix to draw out the vision and define a clear set of business objectives.

It became apparent that the most appropriate solution would sit within the area of Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS), enabling Healix to adopt a flexible software deployment model which would reduce IT, integration, and support costs. CDW worked collaboratively with Healix to shape the required solution, understanding the challenges and establishing more detail around the outcomes that needed to be achieved.

“Working through this structured process enabled CDW to identify three vendors that could meet Healix’s requirements,” says Sam Suleyman, Senior Account Manager at CDW. “We then worked closely with Healix to conduct interactive working groups, in which each of the three vendor solutions were carefully evaluated and assessed. Eventually, there was collective consensus on an all-in-one contact centre, voice, video and chat system from 8x8 as being the most suitable platform for the task at hand.”

For Graham Christie, CDW’s management of the selection process led to the right outcome. The 8x8 solution offered a truly unified approach which could be delivered through a single, cohesive application. This would help Healix to streamline its workflows and improve productivity.

“The CDW value is in decision making,” he says. “When there is a big decision around vendor selection, I always trust that CDW will work closely with us to help ensure that we make the right choice. I often get CDW’s thoughts at this early stage, as it employs solid technical people who can see the benefits that can be derived. CDW always adds real value.”

The 8x8 hosted VoIP solution ticked boxes in several crucial areas. It could be connected across Healix’s global offices, with low latency and no time lag. It also provided the correct levels of functionality, allowing better integration of teams. Also, as a managed service, the system could be flexed quickly and easily to meet demand.