So the phones and corresponding network are in, the system has been tested and activated and we are essentially 'live'.
Couple of things spring to mind. Firstly, how seamless the installation was. Moving from one system to another had generated a mild panic among myself and the team here.
Thoughts of metres and metres of cabling lying across the office floor, disconnected phones that prevent calls from coming in or being made for days and internet failure all ran through our minds. Were all needless of course.
Over one night (must have been a long night for the installation team) Black Tomato moved from our old, creaking telephony system to the new Cisco setup and it was almost as if the guys had never been there, save for the new shiny handsets and the odd coffee mug lying around (caffeine must have kept them going through the night).
Secondly and most importantly, what now happens? Well, the training has begun in earnest and the team are beginning to get to grips with using the new technology, but crucially understanding just how broad the capabilities of the new system are and how they will be able to help us in many aspects of our customer service and internal operations.
There is a danger that despite all the great new technology installed, if you don't really understand its capabilities and how they can be applied to the work environment then all you will ever really have for it are some new telephone handsets.
Using 5% of a new system isn't clever and fortunately that won't be the case here. The training is already working and we are beginning to see benefits already, particularly in the area of how we are sharing information with our customers. There is still some way to go but so far so good and for the setup, Cisco get top marks.
