CallTower consolidates communication for Sight & Sound Theatres

If operations are the engine that keeps businesses moving, communication is the oil that keeps employees and processes in sync. That’s where unified communication platforms come in: to connect organizations with everything from voicemail and video calls to instant messaging and content sharing. And when these systems are bolstered by powerful integrations, they can completely transform how businesses work.

For more than 20 years, CallTower—a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Modern Work—has been transforming the way businesses communicate and collaborate, providing a comprehensive platform that fully integrates with Microsoft Teams.

"When you're talking about a business-class phone system, or a unified communication as a service (UCaaS) or call center as a service (CCaaS) setup, there's a lot more complexity than just getting a phone number,” said Sam Barron, Director of Global Sales at CallTower. “Because we have 12-plus years of experience in the Microsoft space and 20-plus years in the telecom space, we can differentiate between the competitive products out there to provide a better solution.”

A full-fledged solution with seamless implementation

Because the Sight & Sound team was already using Teams for internal communication, CallTower offered a robust and native direct routing solution: Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams. The tool consolidates the management of various phones and extensions into one administrative portal so IT teams don’t have to manage multiple infrastructures, and Taylor was excited to move to “a user-friendly, intuitive console.”

But CallTower doesn’t just provide a portal and basic dial tone. They work with other software providers on contact center solutions, like advanced call reporting analytics and AI capabilities, to build a holistic solution that integrates with Teams. Barron said, “So [customers] can have their back-office standard phone system users working hand in hand with the contact center users.”

Just as CallTower’s services and solutions are more extensive than simply porting over phone numbers, the transition from a legacy phone system to a cloud-based system is much more involved. From the first discovery call to shipping the equipment, training, and moving phone numbers to the new system, CallTower’s team supported Sight & Sound at every step for a smooth transition to the cloud.

Internally, Sight & Sound often refers to the implementation process as the “gold standard” of vendor experience. “We realized pretty quickly that we wanted to go with [CallTower] and to use Operator Connect as the methodology,” said Taylor. “The partnership was just great from start to finish.”

Streamlined connections, all in one place

Moving to a cloud-based communication system streamlined Sight & Sound’s daily workflows and processes and significantly reduced the resources required to manage the theater's communication infrastructure. When the solution was implemented, the theaters had around 500 employees using the old system. “We were able to reduce desk phone hardware by over 100 units,” said Taylor, who felt it was a seamless migration. “The next day we got a total of 11 help desk calls and most of those were a password reset.”

CallTower feels the biggest impact was the customer not having to manage multiple applications anymore. “You don’t have to click around and figure out where you're putting information and files, or how to communicate with a person internally anymore. It's all done through Teams,” Barron said.

The transition also made it easier for the team to ensure smooth operations and guest experiences on performance days. “[Sight & Sound employees] now have Teams on their cell phones, on their computers, maybe they have a physical phone on their desk,” said Larson. “So they can collaborate and communicate with their colleagues or customers from wherever they are—whether they’re at their desk or running backstage to figure out what they need for the next scene.”

This comprehensive approach not only addressed Sight & Sound’s immediate needs but also laid the groundwork for future scalability and innovation for customer engagement. The theater company has begun exploring additional services offered by CallTower, like SMS capabilities, to further enrich its communication ecosystem. Taylor said, “We’re keeping up with the CallTower updates and we’re excited to see that they’re continuing to press in with Microsoft to enhance an already great solution.”