Haseltine Lake Kempner (HLK) was created in 2019 when two of Europe’s leading specialist intellectual property firms merged.
Between the previous firms, HLK has 180 years of combined history, experience and expertise in intellectual property matters. They have offices in London, Bristol, Leeds, Glasgow, Munich, The Netherlands and Guangzhou, China.
HLK was looking for a local IT supplier who understood both traditional analogue telephony and new technology. They had experienced issues with analogue providers in the past and wanted a single IT provider with expertise in integrated voice solutions.
Croft were a logical choice as they work closely with clients to understand their telephony requirements and provide an extensive range of options, regardless of business size or location.
HLK was already embedded in Microsoft Teams, using it as a fundamental part of their business communications process. Croft suggested that it would be logical to use Teams for voice as well, resulting in fewer apps on employees’ desktops and no need for physical phones, just headsets.
Discussions were ongoing throughout 2019 and by the summer, on Croft’s advice, HLK decided to deploy Microsoft Teams for their telephony services. Plans were put in place to lay the foundations between August and December, followed by internal testing. Croft deployed a successful pilot migration at the Leeds site, then shortly afterwards, HLK decided to roll out Teams across their entire user base.
There are two ways to route voice services into Teams: either Microsoft Calling Plan (as SIP bundled packages) or a Direct Routing Service, the option chosen by HLK. Direct Routing enables calling within the Microsoft Teams app to support HLK’s workforce wherever they are. It is also a cost-effective alternative to Microsoft Calling Plans. After a successful pilot, the migration of HLK’s telephone numbers began in January 2020 when Croft started to port all of their telephone numbers from ISDN to SIP.
With early signs of Covid-19 in late January 2020, Croft accelerated the rollout to all users as soon as possible, but well in advance of the ‘panic’. HLK’s employees were already working remotely and had been issued with laptops and USB headsets, well before the full force of the pandemic hit, so they were in a good place for business continuity and seamless working practices.
Croft also provided internet connectivity through their private hosting environment which gives HLK the reliability and speed they need. HLK’s mobile phones are also supported by Croft for the 50 employees who need them and they also benefit from using the mobile Teams app. HLK put their trust in Croft to rely on them for additional support services.
" The technical team at Croft are fantastic. They have gone above and beyond, helping us with out of hours issues when they didn’t have to. Our voice services, mobile devices and internet connectivity are all supported by Croft, which makes management so much easier now it is all ‘under one roof’. They are always so helpful and receptive: I cannot fault the service we have received from Croft and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them. "
With Direct Routing, HLK is enjoying significant cost savings per user when compared to Microsoft Calling Plans or call plans on their previous systems.
HLK still have full phone system capabilities and benefit from a truly unified communications experience. Work is no longer tied down to the office and HLK’s employees have been empowered to work from anywhere, on any device. It has cut down on travel time and encourages greater staff collaboration and productivity.
The Munich office now use Teams Unified Comms, with local in-country SIP provided by Croft, so they benefit from no international call charges, just bundled calls included.