CrystalBlue Surfaces on the Banks of the Charles River

CrystalBlueSurfacesontheBanksoftheCharlesRiver

HeadOfTheCharlesRegatta®,theworld’slargest

two‐dayrowingevent,hasselectedWhaleback

SystemsasitstelephonyproviderfortheannualNew

EnglandfallspectaclethattakesplaceonBoston’s

CharlesRiver.TheRegattahasdeployedWhaleback’s

CrystalBlueVoiceservice,amanaged,commercial‐

gradebroadband‐basedtelephonyserviceforsmall

andmediumsizedbusinesses,atitsCambridge

headquarters.TheRegattautilizesCrystalBlueVoice

atitsadministrativeofficesthroughouttheyear.

Duringraceweekend,Whalebackexpandsthe

solutiontoprovideend‐to‐endtelephonyserviceat

theRegattaoperationsheadquarters,includingthe

organization’sinternationalmediacenterandits

merchandise,sponsorshipservicesandrace

committeeoffices..

“Whaleback’svoiceserviceoffersauniqueblendofhardware

andservicesthataddressourkeyoperationalneeds—an

enterprise‐classtelephonyservicewithreliabilityandrich

featuresthataregroundedinoperationalflexibilityand

simplicity,”saidFredSchoch,theRegatta’sExecutive

Director.“ItissimplewithWhaleback.Wecanconcentrate

onstagingaworld‐classeventwhileWhalebackmanagesthe

telecomserviceandequipment.Wedon’thavetopurchasea

PBXandphonesandworryaboutunloadinganoutdated

pieceofequipmentinafewyears,andwecaneasilyand

cost‐effectivelyscaleourtelecomserviceduringrace

weekendwhileavoidingcostlylineactivationfees.”

MigratingfromCarrierServicesTheRegattahasuniquerequirements.Yearlong,thisnon‐

profitorganizationrequireshighlyreliablephoneservicesto

supportitsfundraising,planningandoperational

requirements.“Oursponsors,contributors,donors,

volunteersandbusinesspartnersneedtobeabletoreach

ourstaffthroughouttheyear,butgiventhatoursolepurpose

istosupportanannualevent,wehaveadramaticincreasein

ourphoneneedsasweapproachraceweekend,”said

Schoch.“Inthepast,weneededtoprovisionmanyextra

phonelinestosupportoperations,administrationandour

mediacenter,andwealwayshadproblemsgettingthemin

timefromthephonecompany.”

TheorganizationhadantiquatedAvayaphonelinesinplace,

andtraditionallyreliedonCentrexservices.Afterlastyear’s

Regatta,anewapproachwasneededandmanagement

evaluatedalternatives.

“Whalebackpresenteduswiththeadvantagesandbenefits

oftheCrystalBlueVoiceService,andasweresearchedour

alternativesitbecameaprettyclearchoice,”statedSchoch.

“WedidourduediligenceonVoIP,andwereoriginally

concernedaboutcallqualityandreliabilityuntilWhaleback

demonstratedthequalityoftheserviceandexplainedhow

theWhalebackNetworkOperationsCenterwouldconstantly

monitorend‐to‐endperformancetoensurewewouldbenefit

fromthereliabilityweneeded.”

www.whalebacksystems.comWhalebackSystems|2InternationalDr,Suite150|Portsmouth,NH03801(603)812‐0400|info@whalebacksystems.com

BenefitingfromVoIP“Implementationwassmooth,andthecallqualitywas

excellentrightaway,”saidSchoch.“CrystalBluedelivereda

lotmorefeaturesthanwewereaccustomedtofromour

Centrexservices.Traditionalfeaturesthatourcarrier

supportedlikecallforwardingandcallerIDweresimilarly

supportedbyCrystalBlue,butweimmediatelybenefitedfrom

newfeatures.Forexample,ourvoicemailsareautomatically

emailedtoussowecanrelyonasingleinboxforvoiceand

emailmessages,whichhasbeenablessing.Icanlistentomy

voicemailsfrommyBlackBerrywhenI’mtraveling,which

makesmemorereachableandproductivethroughoutthe

day.”

Top‐NotchServiceandSupportInlatesummer,theRegattabeganstaffinguptosupportthe

Octobereventandeasilyaddedadditionallinesandphones.

“WemadeitcleartoWhalebackupfrontthatourneedfor

phonelinesincreasesdramaticallyaroundracetime,and

Whalebackagreedtosupportourbusyseason,”saidSchoch.

“Whalebackprovidesuswithtop‐notchserviceandsupport,

anditscustomerserviceorganizationsrespondsrightaway

wheneverwehaveaquestionorneedadditionallines.”

ScalingtoSupportaTwo‐DayEventAstheRegattarampsuptosupportthistwo‐dayannualNew

Englandtradition,managementdoesn’tmissthepast

problemsofscalingupcarrierservicesforashortduration.

AccordingtoSchoch,“Addingnewlinestosupportoperations

wasanightmare.Wewerecompetingforattentionfromthe

phonecompanywithstudentsreturningtoBostonand

Cambridge,andthephonecompanieswereoverwhelmed.

ButWhalebackisnimbleenoughtoscaletosupportthe

aggressivedeploymentofnewlinesandnewphones—even

thoughmanyoftheseservicesareonlyusedforafewdays.”

Hecontinued,“Inthepastwehadtopaysetupchargesto

establishnewphonelines,andthenhadtopayamonthlyfee

forphonesthatwouldonlybeusedforafewdays.But

Whalebackallowsustoeasilyandcost‐effectivelyadd

capacitytosupporttherace,andwecanincreasethe

visibilityoftheRegattabyprovidingreporterswithamedia

centerthatincludesnationalcallingthroughouttheevent.”

SchochestimatesthatCrystalBluesavestheRegattaover50

percentannuallyovertheorganization’spreviousrelianceon

carrierservice,andthattheRegattahasbeenabletoreduce

itsinternationalcallingchargesby70percent.“Iheartily

recommendCrystalBluetoothernon‐profits,”hesaid.

“Whalebackoffersacreativemanagedserviceforsmall‐and

medium‐sizedorganizationsthatreducestelephonycostsand

providesenhancedcallingfunctionalityandscalability.”