For several years, Katz had been executing a cloud-first strategy, moving many of its in-house IT technologies to web-based solutions. Robert Lyons, Katz’s Chief Technology Officer, notes that telephony was among the last on the list.
“Our phone infrastructure consisted of on-prem PBX systems at our offices around the country. Everyone in the company had gotten comfortable using desk phones and landlines, which was a big part of the reason we were slow to replace that infrastructure with a cloud solution.”
But as Telecommunications Director Barbara Rossi points out, maintaining that familiar telephony environment for employees came at a price. “We had no companywide directory, and had to oversee and fix aging PBX hardware at every location. From an administrative standpoint, it was a challenge”
As Robert also explains, moving to a cloud-based unified communications platform would solve other efficiency challenges and cut costs. “We had many communication apps and vendor relationships—multiple phone systems and carrier contracts, different tools for video conferencing, and others for team chats. In addition to creating challenges keeping everyone connected, that infrastructure was also costing more than it should.”
