Communication | News

Cumberland County College Switches to Cloud-Based Phone System

• By Leila Meyer
• 10/30/13

Cumberland County College in New Jersey has dropped its traditional phone system in favor of a cloud-based communications system.

When the college recently decided to move its network operations center to a new building, the IT staff started looking for alternatives to re-routing the existing copper wiring to the new building and decided to investigate cloud-based solutions. When researching cloud-based communications service providers, the college had three main criteria. They wanted a system that could evolve with technology, save the college money, and provide a seamless business continuity plan. The team finally settled on OfficeSuite from Broadview Networks.

While the switch to a cloud-based system saved the college the hassle of rewiring, it has also introduced some handy new functionality. All three of the college's campuses are now linked with the same system. "All employees are in one directory and can be dialed from any location using a four-digit extension," said Doug White, chief technology officer for the college, in a prepared statement. "The entire system can be managed from one Web site that we can access anywhere.”

The system's Web portal lets employees redirect calls to other offices, mobile phones, and home phones. The OfficeSuite website also enables employees to update their phone system settings and preferences from anywhere. The system also has a twinning feature that can ring desktop phones and cell phones at the same time, so employees can answer a call on their cell phone, and then continue the same call on their desk phone.

According to White, only one person fully understood the college's old phone system, but employees are finding the new system "very intuitive." The switchover also saved the college "tens of thousands of dollars," he said.

Cumberland County College in New Jersey serves more than 4,000 students across three campuses.