Rochdale Sixth Form College, ranked among the top 1% of colleges nationally, needed a modern communication system to match its high standards. Their existing Cisco telephony setup was holding them back—causing inefficiencies and limiting scalability.
Creative Networks implemented a robust 3CX solution, improving internal communication, building in resilience, and creating a future-ready framework that can now be replicated across the wider academy trust.
About the Company:
Rochdale Sixth Form College (RSFC) is a high-achieving institution dedicated solely to A-Level education. Since opening its doors, RSFC has rapidly gained a reputation for academic excellence, consistently ranking in the top 1% of sixth forms and colleges across the country. With a strong student-first ethos, the college combines outstanding teaching with a supportive environment, setting the standard for post-16 education in the region.
What were the challenges?
RSFC struggled with a rigid telephony system which was inflexible. This was key as RSFC needed an agile, flexible system. They found they couldn’t scale up/down when needs change, which happens very often. Furthermore, integration was limited and the system couldn’t be configured quickly enough to reflect the needs of the college. Ultimately their current system wasn’t fit for purpose and restricted RSFC to grow, provide a high level of communication and maintain the fantastic and enviable reputation they had.
What were the solutions?
After speaking with Creative Networks and discussing the challenges that they were facing, RSFS were introduced to 3CX. We set them up with some equipment which meant that they could carry out all the necessary internal testing. Our team was also at hand to support and help configure the system to meet exact requirements.
The 3CX system setup and install was carried out by ourselves within the given time frame, was tested to meet requirements and was ready to go live well in advance of the deadline. The 3CX system would tackle all the challenges that RSFC faced and provide a completely effective and easily manageable solution.
Cloud-Based Device Management
CN implemented Microsoft Intune & Azure Active Directory (AAD), eliminating on-premises server dependency and enabling remote security management, software deployment, and system updates.
RSFC were thrilled at the flexibility and agility of the 3CX system. Not only could they scale quickly and efficiently, they could also now confidently adapt the phone system to meet their ever-changing needs.
Key Outcomes:
Creative Networks transformed Rochdale Sixth Form College’s outdated Cisco system into a high-performance, future-proof network. This upgrade improved connectivity, reduced downtime, and enhanced IT efficiency, ensuring seamless access to digital resources.
As a result, RSFC continues to uphold its reputation for academic excellence with a reliable and scalable IT infrastructure.
RSFC have now laid the blueprint of how a telephony system should look like. As part of a larger academy they can quite easily roll this out to the other schools and colleges with full confidence in its resilience and functionality.
Furthermore RSFC have further developed their internal systems around 3CX and built in disaster recovery and business continuity.
Experts in IT solutions
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