Astell Scientific

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Astell Scientific stays at the cutting edge of technology

With a history dating back to 1884, Astell Scientific, which manufactures autoclaves and sterilization equipment, has stayed at the cutting edge of the technology they distribute worldwide for over 130 years. In order to do this, they know that the technology they use to support their business also needs to be kept right up to date.

Challenge

As suppliers of vital sterilization equipment to organisations including Cancer Research UK, Pfizer, Coca-Cola and Nestlé, the ability to maintain clear and constant lines of communication with customers is vital for Astell Scientific. The company has relied on Beaming as their telecommunications supplier for both phones and internet for more than ten years, so managing director David Pennock knew he had a partner he could trust to give him the right advice when the time came to upgrade the company’s telephone technology.

“We knew that copper ISDN telephone lines would be retired within the next few years, so we approached Beaming about upgrading to VoIP,” he told us.

Having already benefited from the decreasing price of fibre optic internet technology by installing a 100Mbps fibre leased line connection, the next step was to take advantage of this reliable, high-capacity connection by using VoIP telephones, which operate over an internet connection rather than traditional copper lines. “It made sense economically and practically to continue using Beaming, as a provider we know and trust, to help us move over to this new technology.”

Solution

Beaming’s BeamRing VoIP telephone system is cloud hosted, which means that once our engineers had installed 20 telephone handsets at Astell Scientific headquarters, everything else was activated remotely.

With phone calls being routed across the internet, David knows that up-coming changes to the UK’s copper telephone network won’t affect the business, and because there’s no on-site PBX as you’d have with a traditional ISDN phone system, any future updates or maintenance will happen remotely, too. That means adding users and features as the team grows is quick and easy, and security updates don’t necessitate a visit from an engineer.

Employees benefit from high-definition call quality and are still able to use all the features they were used to with their previous phones, plus some new ones that enable more flexible working – such as an app that turns a user’s mobile phone into an extension of the system, allowing them to easily work anywhere. After a briefing from Beaming’s engineers, staff got to grips quickly with the system and they know that if they have any questions they can contact our support team quickly and easily, reaching someone that can help them straight away.

‘Most importantly, when we ask Beaming’s team to do something, they just get the job done.’
David Pennock, Managing Director, Astell Scientific

Results

“Our staff are really pleased with the new system,” David Pennock says. “The quality of the sound is great and everything has worked without a hitch.”

With this new phone system in place, David knows that the technology will not only continue to work well beyond the ISDN switch off, but that it also offers the flexibility that may be needed in the workplace of the future. Some Astell employees have worked from home during Coronavirus lockdowns, using the BeamRing mobile phone app to contact customers and colleagues just as if they were in the office. As pandemic-related restrictions ease, they can still continue to be flexible in the way they work, where necessary.

We’ll give David the final word on why Astell Scientific has stayed with Beaming as a supplier for over a decade: “We like working with a local East Sussex supplier and most importantly, when we ask Beaming’s team to do something, they just get the job done.”

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Challenge

  • Existing phone technology due to be phased out
  • Eagerness to make the most of high capacity internet connection
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Solution

  • BeamRing cloud hosted phone system
  • 100Mbps dedicated fibre leased line internet connection
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Results

  • Preparedness for future technology changes
  • Improved call quality
  • Happy employees
  • Confidence in expert support

More happy Beaming customers