Consolidated Communications’ Award-Winning ProConnect Enables Transportation Logistics Company to Quickly Adopt Remote Work During Pandemic

Unified Communications solution enables Cerasis employees to serve customers remotely and collaborate using online tools with minimal IT intervention.

MATTOON, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Consolidated Communications (NASDAQ: CNSL) recently assisted Cerasis, a third-party transportation logistics provider based in Eagan, Minn., with the transition of its workforce to remote operations across three states. When the COVID-19 pandemic demanded that nearly the entire Cerasis team work remotely, Consolidated helped 90 percent of that workforce start telecommuting in less than a week. This quick transition involving about 200 employees enabled Cerasis to maintain business continuity so the organization could support customers during a time when it was essential to keep the supply chain moving.

Cerasis uses data and technology to help its customers drive shipping efficiencies, gain visibility and support growth. To keep customers shipping and protect the supply chain, Cerasis must be able to serve customers without interruption.

For years, Cerasis has relied on Consolidation Communications for dedicated Internet access. More recently, the transportation management company implemented Consolidated’s ProConnect Unified Communications (UC) solution. The centrally managed voice solution cuts capital expenditures and maintenance time for the IT team. It also comes with enhanced messaging and the much-needed flexibility and scalability that the pandemic demands. “We liked the idea of the plug-and-play functionality of cloud-based voice service, and the flexibility of it,” said Darwin Porter, manager of IT systems for Cerasis.

With the infrastructure already in place when the pandemic began, Consolidated immediately activated more licenses and trained the new at-home users so they could use ProConnect’s advanced collaboration features. ProConnect offers integrated HD audio and video, conferencing, messaging, screen sharing and file sharing available on PCs, browsers, tablets and mobile phones. The solution also allows Cerasis to easily onboard new employees.

“We had a disaster recovery plan in place before the pandemic and we were able to put it in motion quickly,” Porter said. One of the reasons is unified communications and ProConnect. I really appreciate the work Consolidated Communications has put into their systems to make this possible.”

While working remotely, employees can forward calls to their cell phones and use the ProConnect UC-One app on their mobile devices or via the softphone on laptops and desktops. Employees can log into the Consolidated Communications portal without IT assistance. The IT and call center teams can easily change the company’s recorded message to update inbound callers about business changes. They also adjust call trees on the fly. “With our previous phone system, it wasn’t that easy to make changes to call trees,” Porter said. “Having the ability to do those things made a night and day difference.”

Tom White, chief technology officer at Consolidated, said the company’s network performed well under the increased demands of data and voice traffic. “Our network is designed to scale with the bandwidth needs of our customers and we continually monitor and augment our network to support their needs,” White said. “Our fiber backbone and built-in redundancy combined with our 24/7/365 monitoring and proactive support helps customers maintain business continuity.”

TMC, a global, integrated media company, recently named ProConnect a recipient of the 2020 Unified Communications Excellence Award presented by INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine.

Learn more about Consolidated’s ProConnect Unified Communications solutions at https://www.consolidated.com/bizoffer/proconnect/proconnectyourteam.

Read the complete Cerasis case study and others at https://www.consolidated.com/business/resources/collateral/case-studies.

About Consolidated Communications

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSL) is a leading broadband and business communications provider serving consumers, businesses, wireless customers, and wireline carriers across rural and metro communities in a 23-state service area. Leveraging an advanced fiber network spanning 46,300 fiber route miles, Consolidated Communications offers a wide range of communications solutions, including high-speed Internet, data, phone, security, managed services, cloud services and wholesale, carrier solutions. From our first connection 125 years ago, Consolidated is dedicated to turning technology into solutions, connecting people and enriching how they work and live. Visit www.consolidated.com for more information.