Evolve IP helps people work from anywhere. With around 500,000 users at midmarket and enterprise organizations, customers rely on the company’s Work Anywhere™ platform, Evolve IP Workspaces, for an omnichannel contact center, integrated voice communications, and even identity management.

It’s that comprehensive approach that sets them apart from their competitors and makes their customers value them so much.

“We provide integrated solutions so employees can have a complete remote and hybrid work experience. This means our clients don’t need to waste time managing and tweaking solutions from multiple vendors. Then, we back up our services with a fanatical focus on training and support.”

John Fisher, Senior Business Analyst, Evolve IP

An established partnership & shared culture

Bandwidth and Evolve IP had been working together since 2018, when Evolve IP brought us on to provide voice services and number management. The partnership grew out of a shared approach to how we both partner with customers and employees.

“Our culture is what makes us special,” said Kenny Stringer, Senior Manager of UC Activations and Client Training. “It’s the heart of our company.”

“People come back for the people,” added Mike Hamilton, VP of Product Development. “You can get technology anywhere, but the people are what make the difference. The expertise and transparency that we bring, and that Bandwidth does as well, is what made our partnership a natural fit.”

During Evolve IP’s onboarding process, Bandwidth’s Account and Implementation teams went on-site to the Evolve IP office to walk their team through everything: the use of the Bandwidth Dashboard, answers to any migration questions, and giving the Evolve IP team real-time feedback as they used the Dashboard to make sure they were confident in the new systems and processes, and would be successful managing their numbers.

“You’ve become our preferred vendor. We have deals with other carriers, but they’re all backups. You’re my go-to. We actually enjoy using the dashboard,” added Kenny.

Evolve IP trusts Bandwidth for RespOrg and E911 technology

Evolve IP had been managing their own toll-free voice, acting as their own RespOrg. But, following the loss of their internal manager for toll-free, they were faced with the reality of having to find a new plan for managing their toll-free voice—train and certify a new employee to maintain their own RespOrg, or choose a trusted RespOrg provider to move their toll-free traffic and numbers to.

John Fisher put it in stark terms: “We were ready to get the management [of toll-free] out of our hands. Once our circumstances changed, we realized we didn’t want to be a RespOrg anymore.”

But letting go of managing their RespOrg wasn’t the only change Evolve IP was facing. They were also in search of a new E911 provider.

“We wanted to move on from our current provider,” added John Fisher. To solve both of these needs, they turned to their existing, trusted relationship with Bandwidth.

Evolve IP turns to Bandwidth to expand partnership

Evolve IP turned to Bandwidth to help solve two specific challenges. The first was moving their toll-free voice to Bandwidth’s RespOrg so they’d no longer have to focus on managing both their toll-free numbers and network operations.

Evolve IP saw this as an opportunity to maintain their toll-free carrier redundancy through a single, strategic vendor relationship with Bandwidth while getting peace of mind by eliminating their concerns about a single point of failure on their team, all while giving them back the time and resources they were spending managing toll-free to focus on growing and innovating for their customers.

The second challenge was a desire to find a new provider for their E911, as they were unhappy with who they were using and saw an opportunity to streamline the number of vendors they used while working with someone they already knew they could trust.

Turning to an experienced RespOrg

After losing the member of their team that allowed Evolve IP to act as their own RespOrg, they decided to get the management of their toll-free out of their hands, turning to Bandwidth to act as their RespOrg. Over the course of a few months, Bandwidth worked with Evolve IP to transition their toll-free numbers and voice to Bandwidth’s RespOrg.

“It was a very smooth transition. There were no stumbling blocks. It was easy, which is what you want,” said John Fisher.

The move to Bandwidth as their RespOrg gave Evolve IP the results they were looking for—operational efficiency.

“There wasn’t a cost savings, but there wasn’t a cost increase either. We had a single point of failure before and now we don’t, and that’s given us operational efficiency that we were looking for,” said John.

While Evolve IP moved to Bandwidth as their RespOrg, that didn’t mean they were giving up control of their toll-free. While the day-to-day management, the management that Evolve IP no longer wanted, was taken on by Bandwidth, our partnership approach to working with our customers meant they were still involved and consulted as decisions were made, ensuring they had a clear picture of what was being done with regards to the management of their toll-free.

A new E911 provider

In addition to moving their toll-free voice to Bandwidth’s RespOrg, Evolve IP was in the market for a new provider for their E911. Building on our established relationship from previous projects, Bandwidth’s innovative Dynamic E911 for Microsoft Teams solution was a key differentiating factor.

“Unlike other providers, Bandwidth’s solution was a fully baked solution before the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Mike. “Being integrated with Microsoft Teams made it an easy choice for us.”

Using Bandwidth’s SIP and Dynamic E911 products, Evolve IP is able to provide their customers with a comprehensive Microsoft Teams solution. This solution is made easier because of our deep integrations with Microsoft, a result of years of partnership with the industry giant.

“You had a great cost structure,” added John Fisher. “We already had an established relationship and trust from previous projects, so it was a natural fit.”

The 911 migration was a team effort, with Bandwidth’s experts working with Evolve IP to answer questions and make the transition as smooth as possible.

“The migration was more difficult than toll-free, but that was a result of it being 911. Whenever there was a hurdle you were there to help us through it,” said John of the migration.

Looking to the future

Evolve IP and Bandwidth have grown their partnership over the last two years, and while turning to Bandwidth to be their RespOrg and E911 provider is a big step, that doesn’t mean that we’re done. Evolve IP has their eyes set on new growth and products in the coming years, and they see Bandwidth as a critical partner for achieving their goals.

“We’re looking to add new products, such as SMS, and we’re going to rely on Bandwidth to help us power them,” said Mike Hamilton.

“We want to stay ahead of the curve,” added John Fisher. “We want to continue to build new products, move with the market. Bandwidth is going to be a part of that.”

An evolving partnership

Evolve IP and Bandwidth’s partnership has grown and changed over the years, but it all centers around our shared values—taking care of our customers. From the small questions to the big projects, Bandwidth’s approach with Evolve IP is the same one we take with all our customers, and it’s what’s allowed our relationship with Evolve IP, and customers, to grow.

“The daily interactions are always positive,” said Kenny Stringer. “Whatever project comes along, whether it’s a big one like the 911 migration or having Bandwidth take over our RespOrg, or a small one like porting a single number that you’ll make a penny on, you’re always here to help.”