University of West England Bristol

For UWE Bristol, we delivered a communications transformation with an up-to-date contact centre, removing legacy and temporary workarounds to provide greater reliability.

CLIENT

University of London

INDUSTRY

Education

SERVICE

Contact Centre

PARTNER

Microsoft

The client

StudentsvisitUWEfromacrosstheUK,inadditiontoasignificantandgrowingnumberofinternationalstudentsfromover140countries.

The challenges

TheUniversityhasplacedastrongemphasisoncommunication,buildingclosepartnershipslocally,nationally,andinternationally.

However, building these partnerships relies on successful collaboration, therefore, the University of the West of England needed to ensure it had a suitable and reliable Unified Communications solution in place.

Furthermore, recognising that their existing infrastructure that supports the annual Clearing process had caused issues previously, UWE needed to migrate to a Skype for Business platform and refresh their existing Contact Centre build, bringing it in line with current best practices. After a couple of failed upgrade attempts, Nasstar* stepped in.

As the annual 'Clearing' period is a critical time for both the University’s income targets and the students seeking a response to their application, a robust and efficient system would be essential in managing this process.

Our goal

ModerniseUWEscommunicationsinfrastructureintimeforitsannualstudentClearingprocess.

The outcome

Find out how our expertise could transform your organisation.

Uninterrupted performance during peak periods

UWE successfully hit a major admissions milestone during the Clearing period without any telephony issues, a first in over a decade, thanks to the upgraded Skype for Business and Contact Centre solutions.

Enhanced operational resilience and remote capability

The new solution supports 3,000 users and 150 Contact Centre agents with robust, reliable telephony and seamless remote working, ensuring continuity even during high-demand periods.

Cost control and budget transparency

Nasstar’s all-inclusive, fixed 'price per user' model offered full project support, hardware, training, and ongoing account management. The move helps the University avoid hidden costs and confidently plan for future expansion.

Empowered internal IT team

UWE’s infrastructure team has been upskilled to independently manage the Skype for Business environment, reducing reliance on external support and building long-term internal capability.

What UWE has to say...

"Watching our Clearing process take place without a hitch following Nasstar’s upgrade of our infrastructure was a very different experience from the issues we’ve faced in previous years. Now we can be confident in the knowledge that students and the general public can get in touch with us at a potentially difficult time, allowing them to benefit from the wide range of courses and opportunities we have available for the success of their future."

Alistair Sandford

IT Operations Director

UWE Bristol