Testimonials
Queen Mary University
Queen Mary University of London partnered with SCC and RingCentral to replace an ageing PBX with a cloud-first, integrated UCaaS and CCaaS platform.
As with universities across the country, Confirmation and Clearing is always such a busy time for Queen Mary and we are very pleased to have delivered a particularly successful Conformation and Clearing this year. Fundamentally, this demonstrates the growing reputation and appeal of Queen Mary. However, success also hinges on effective operations. The Ring Central telephony and call centre service powered by SCC worked seamlessly, and we were so pleased with how we all pulled together to help ensure this success.
Rachel Bence
Chief Information Officer, Queen Mary University of London
Overview
Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) is a leading public research university and a member of the prestigious Russell Group. Located primarily in East London, with several campuses across the city, it boasts a diverse community with over 32,000 students and 5,700 staff from over 170 nationalities. QMUL is committed to providing an inclusive, supportive environment that attracts talent from across the globe.
Challenge
QMUL faced significant challenges with its ageing PBX systems, compounded by the impending digital switch-off. The university needed to transition away from outdated analogue and digital PBX infrastructure to a cloud-first solution that could scale, deliver 99.999% availability and handle high call volumes – especially during the critical two week clearing window each summer.
To meet recruitment goals and attract high-calibre students the university needed a communications platform that could scale effortlessly to handle the pressure of clearing and deliver consistently. Just as important, it had to integrate seamlessly with their wider digital estate — bringing together CCaaS capabilities and softphones into a single, student-focused experience.
Solution
Partnering with SCC and RingCentral, Queen Mary’s rolled out an enterprise-grade contact centre to support the intensity of clearing, while also introducing RingCentral’s UCaaS platform to unify staff telephony, contact centre and softphones. This approach gave them the flexibility to scale up during peak demand, while ensuring everyday communications across thousands of staff and students remain seamless. By combining CCaaS and UCaaS in one integrated solution, Queen Mary established a future-ready platform that delivers reliability, interoperability and has room to grow alongside the university. The cloud-first strategy aligned perfectly with QMUL’s digital ambitions, and RingCentral’s interoperability allowed seamless integration with existing systems.
Benefits
The new platform has transformed how Queen Mary communicates – both internally and with prospective students. During clearing, the contact centre scaled effortlessly, playing a major part in Queen Mary’s meeting their recruitment targets. Beyond peak periods, teams across Admissions, IT, Estates and HR now benefit from a single, reliable system that keeps everyone connected, and allows staff and students to communicate using the channel of their choice. Predictable costs and 99.999% availability give the university peace of mind, while the seamless integration with Microsoft Teams means staff can work in the tools they already know. Most importantly, the solution helps Queen Mary continue attracting the right number of students — and the highest calibre of talent — by offering a smooth, responsive experience at the moments that matter most.
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