ITC Ltd

ITC Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the ASX listed Elders Group, farms 175,000 hectares of Tasmanian Bluegum, Teak, Red Mahogany and Indian Sandalwood timber with an annual solid wood conversion capacity of 250,000 cubic metres. A global provider, ITC was recently named the Australian Forest Manager of the Year by the internationally recognised Forestry Stewardship Council.

"The competitors offered systems where you have to pay for more features, and keep on paying. It was clear that many of those costs would continue to rise, and if we needed to upgrade in a few years, we’d have to throw away various components and start all over. With the ShoreTel UC system, additional components just fit into place so we won’t have to change the system itself.

— Easaw Mathew, Group IT Manager, ITC

All sections of the business are focussed on customer service and operations are conducted under the company’s strict environmental and safety directives. With 16 branches located in urban and often isolated regional areas throughout Australia, reliable telephony for ITC employees is critical.

For many of ITC’s 200 employees, staying constantly connected to the head office, branches and support services is more than a business utility. It is a backbone resource that links the company to the many communities it serves. For Easaw Mathew, Group IT Manager, ITC’s aging hybrid IP telephony system with Cisco handsets was using up increasing levels of IT resources for maintenance and service, and putting reliable communications at risk.

“Our comparative review process identified major differences between the Cisco and ShoreTel solutions. ShoreTel and its service partner, Flexnet, demonstrated the easyto-use features and productivity benefits of the ShoreTel system and this, along with their passion and interest in our business, really stood out as points of difference. They made an impact.”
— Easaw Mathew, Group IT Manager, ITC

Since the company had already invested in Cisco, Mr. Mathew initially felt inclined to opt for a Cisco solution. However, it wasn’t long before he changed his mind.

The ShoreTel UC system was brought in twice for demonstrations and installed on ITC’s existing Citrix system to demonstrate its versatility and compatibility with existing networks. Feedback was obtained from various IT specialists as well as key users, including reception and administration staff, and employees who spend much of their work time in the field. Mr. Mathew’s team also talked to other companies currently using the shortlisted telephony systems.  Following the comparative review, ITC selected a ShoreTel UC system. Benefits include:

• Direct annual cost savings of more than A$30,000 in service and maintenance.
• Valuable work hours spent on telephony maintenance reallocated for higher returns.
• Easy-to-use, more reliable and robust telephony with higher call quality even in remote locations.
• Higher levels of customer service with improvement in call management.
• Complimentary and regular software upgrades for ShoreTel licence holders help lowers TCO.
• Integrator-offered bundled solution (as part of Telstra Business System program) with carriage and data services means one single monthly bill for the entire solution.

“In spite of the long distances between branches and the isolation of our timber plantations, the entire system switchover was quick, which was a pleasant surprise as we’ve usually always experienced teething problems with the introduction of new technology. ShoreTel was trouble-free, with no disruptions to operations. Training was just as easy because the system is very intuitive and simple to use.”
— Easaw Mathew, Group IT Manager, ITC