Success Stories

Legacy Upgrades Success Story.

A lot of customers in today’s market place tend to have significant investments in their current system. One way to move forward with a solid old system is upgrade the controller panel to support all the new modern features. There seems to be a common misconception out there due to all the advertising and new technology companies, that a complete upgrade is the only option. Quite often we come across legacy NEC or Nortel customers that are being told by other companies that the system is not upgradeable. Sometimes, with very old equipment or unsupported equipment this is very much the case. However, most of the time, this is simply misleading information and not correct. NATG has upgraded many original Nortel or NEC systems several times saving the customer money and providing solid technology migration paths. Why spend money on a new phone just to get VOIP, upgrade the controller panel and take advantage of the features at a fraction of the investment. Doesn't it make more sense to spend less to save money than spend more to save money?

Custom Solutions

Sometimes the best solution is a custom solution with a little bit of creativity. One such example was a gravel operation that required both a paging and emergency notification system. The facility had several key buildings including the main administration building, maintenance building, processing building, shop, numerous other outbuildings, and several warehouses. NATG utilized the paging system and added the ability to sound an alarm for 45 seconds to notify occupants of an emergency. This was both a creative and cost effective solution; as we were able to utilize one system for several purposes. 

XL Ironworks Wireless Link

XL Ironworks was expanding and needed a solution to communicate effectively with the new shop. The problem was that the remote building was several streets over and about 1 kilometre apart. NATG reviewed the site and the issues at hand; several options were considered but the clear solution was to enhance their existing NEC system and activate the IP portion. By activating the IP portion NATG was able to support IP phones with full feature transparency. With the system IP enabled; NATG installed a 54 meg wireless link on the roof of both buildings allowing XL Ironworks to connect both buildings together for both voice and data. The result is seamless communications between both buildings. The data is considerably faster than a normal ADSL type connection, more secure, and more reliable. The system just works and allows XL Ironworks to do what they do best.

"We would like to give Kevin a pat on the back from XL Ironworks for the really good work and patience that you have shown over the years in educating us and enhancing our communications." Gerry from XL Ironworks

IP Networking Success Stories

Most customers today have several facilities, a main office and several smaller branch locations. It used to be that each facility operated fully independent; today for most businesses that is changing. We now have one branch manager responsible for two locations, one technical expert for several branches, a small service depot, and awkward communication rules; accounting is one place, sales another, warehousing is another; how does the customer keep up? With a new IP system we can link several facilities together to create one telephone system network with numerous points of presence. For NATG this means linking our Vancouver office to our Fraser Valley Office; individuals can intercom each other like they are in the same office. It no longer matters where you are, calls can be transferred between locations just like they are transferred within the office. Most of the time we recommend that businesses maintain their local presence with the local telephone numbers in the local area as that provides the highest level of redundancy. Sometimes, we recommend an IP phone or two at an end users home office, or branch location.  It depends on the customer’s situation, level of comfort, and business tradeoffs. While every situation is unique, the common improvement is the ability for the business to change the way service is delivered to their customers. When you can save a business money, improve customer service, and improve responsiveness; you create value that makes sense.

"We approached NATG, whom we purchased our previous telephone system from, to formulate a plan to upgrade the telephone systems in our three offices in Langley, Burnaby and Squamish. Our goal was to modernize and standardize our telephone systems and to interconnect them via our existing data network for expanded functionality. Our Langley and Burnaby offices are of similar size of about 25 employees at each location and our Squamish location with 2 employees each with plans for future expansion. In parallel with our telephone upgrades we were also moving our Burnaby office to a new space.

Working with Kevin and the team at NATG we decided on the NEC Univerge SV8100 configured for up to 5 lines, voicemail and network connectivity between systems. The NEC DT300 series handsets are stylish and easy to use. While increasing productivity with large screens and easy to use softkeys they also complete the look of our new office and modernize our current offices. The system has helped us to meet our goal of modernizing and standardizing our offices. The ability to call directly to extensions between offices has given our Office Administrators time to work on other projects and not having to constantly watch the phones. With this system we are ensured that even with future growth we will be able to expand the system and accommodate new employees easily.

The installation by the technicians went smoothly with no delays and with excellent communication while scheduling. This was especially trying because of moving our Burnaby office at the same time. The technicians were very friendly and professional. Excellent training and ongoing support is being supplied. Having a previously proven data network really streamlined the installation and connectivity of the systems over the network. The installations at all three locations went in without a hitch.

Everybody is very happy with the new telephone systems and with our service from NATG."

- Derrick Tam, IT Administrator - ISL Engineering