George Best airport replaces PBX system with VoIP and Cloud

Airport is one of the first in the UK to replace analogue phone system with a VoIP and cloud-based solution

George Best Belfast City Airport has replaced its traditional phone system with a VoIP solution and cloud- based unified communication services from distributor 8×8 Solutions.

The Northern Ireland airport is believed to have become one of the first in the UK to adopt a solution of this type when it went live in January.

The airport’s increased staff and passenger numbers were putting too big a strain on its existing system while simple upgrades were racking up large engineering bills.

“After a thorough assessment, a decision was made to replace the airport’s

old PBX system with 8×8’s cloud-based communications solutions,” said chief executive of Outsource Solutions Terry Moore, whose company is in charge of the airport’s IT.

He added: “The challenge we faced was upgrading the technology during the airport’s normal day-to-day operations,

which saw over 2.5 million passengers using the facility in 2013 making it one of the busiest periods in the airport’s 30-year history.”

The new system is able to be scaled up as the airport expands and the airport is also able to analyse fuller call data than had been possible.