Case Studies

PowerSchool Integration: Hawthorn School District #73, Illinois

When it comes to school notification systems, reliability and ease of use are some of the most important concerns. For districts that use PowerSchool, integration capabilities are another consideration. Hawthorn SD #73 in Illinois made the switch to SchoolMessenger Communicate for all of those reasons and more.

Reliability
Hawthorn discovered a night-and-day difference between its previous notification system and SchoolMessenger Communicate. This was especially true as far as reliability. Database administrator Lisa Gosen recalls several instances where its previous system failed to send an urgent message to parents in a timely way – or, in some cases, at all. “When you’re trying to send a message, you don’t want to be nervous about whether it will go out or not, how long it will take to go out, etcetera,” Gosen said. With Communicate, she said, she no longer has those sorts of concerns.

Ease of Use
“Of the three notification systems we’ve had, SchoolMessenger Communicate has been the easiest to use,” Gosen said. “It just works.” Gosen praises Communicate’s ability to send messages quickly. “The SchoolMessenger interface is easy to use, and it doesn’t take 3 hours to set up a call,” Gosen noted.

PowerSchool Integration
Although Hawthorn’s previous notification system also integrated with PowerSchool, Gosen felt that the system wasn’t reliable enough to meet their needs.

SchoolMessenger Communicate for PowerSchool works well for Hawthorn. Gosen appreciates that Communicate is integrated not only within PowerSchool, but also the parent portal, considering that Hawthorn’s portal is the go-to place for important district information.

Gosen also appreciates the flexibility that Communicate offers. “For a district-wide school closing message, I’ll just go directly to Communicate,” she said. “But if I need to send a message that affects one class, then I’ll go within PowerSchool, find those students, and send the message. It’s nice to have the ability to do either one.”

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SchoolMessenger CustomApp: Alamo Heights ISD, Texas

Thanks to SchoolMessenger CustomApp, Alamo Heights is helping everyone from PTO members to alumni stay connected. “The app makes it so much easier for people to access district information,” Pawlik-Perales said. “With the staff directory, parents can just call staff directly instead of calling the school. Also, some people don’t want to have their own Facebook and Twitter account, so they like that they can go to the app and get the latest news from the district.”

Perhaps most importantly, Pawlik-Perales uses the district’s SchoolMessenger CustomApp to discover what people really care about. For example, parents and alumni love the sports section of the app. “It keeps them connected and they communicate that back to us, which allows me to keep my finger on the pulse of what our community wants or needs,” she said. “We try to be in as many places as we can with updated information. The app is one more tool we can use to communicate with parents.”

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Case Study: Deploying E911 for Skype for Business in a Large Enterprise

When organizations decide to upgrade or replace their existing communications infrastructure, it can represent the perfect opportunity to evaluate their E911 status and solution options.

This case study focuses on a client with an aging voice infrastructure, who turned to West to implement an E911 solution for their new Microsoft Skype for Business system. Their E911 solution, which was servicing their legacy deployment, could not support Skype for Business’ next-generation, location-aware endpoints.

The Requirements

The client needed an E911 solution that could address specific requirements, such as:

• The ability to support Skype for Business’ location-aware endpoints.
• Easy-to-use, reliable, and instantaneous location validation.
• Direct connectivity to multiple Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) across the US, without requiring local trunks and gateways at each location, or the intervention of an intermediary call center for on-premises users.

About the E911 Solution for Skype for Business

The following case study identifies:

• The key E911 challenges large enterprises often face when moving from legacy communication infrastructures to modern communication technologies.
• How West’s E911 solution for Microsoft’s Skype for Business differs from other 911 solutions on the market.
• The E911 features West offers that enhance Microsoft’s Skype for Business’ rich UC feature set.

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Access Center Improvements Drive Revenue Retention for Henry Ford Health System

“West allows our patients to call in and use their voice to direct them to any service they want. This cuts down on call volume for our contact center and increases patient satisfaction.”

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Case Study: Blue Cross Blue Shield Medication Adherence

A leading BlueCross BlueShield plan teamed with West to increase medication adherence by delivering more targeted, personal outreach through direct mail, email, live phone calls, and interactive voice technology.

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E911 for Telematics Call Centers: MyAssist Case Study

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E911 Reseller Case Study – Cincinnati Bell Technology Solutions Inc. (CBTS)

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911 IP Phone Management: Invensys Wonderware Case Study

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E911 for Education Facilities: Lynn University Case Study

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E911 for Multi-Campus Schools: Hamilton/Clermont Cooperative Association Case Study

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