Skip to content
Contact Us
Contact Us

Diggers Hotline: Introduction to Implementation in 30 Days — Zero Downtime

Wisconsin's state-mandated underground utility safety hotline replaces an aging Cisco contact center with ShoreTel Enterprise Contact Center — cutting costs, simplifying operations for 100 agents, and executing the cutover in 30 days without missing a single call.

The Challenge

Diggers Hotline's Cisco VoIP system had reached end-of-life, and continuing with Cisco would require purchasing new Linux servers and upgrading software at a cost roughly equivalent to buying an entirely new system. Reliability and simplicity were non-negotiable for a 24/7 contact center that processes half a million calls per year by state statute.

The Solution

CTPros implemented ShoreTel Enterprise Contact Center for 100 agents in 30 days — cutting over without disrupting the 24/7 operation, reducing support costs, and delivering the reliability and simplicity Diggers Hotline required.

About Diggers Hotline

Diggers Hotline is a Wisconsin nonprofit established in 1976 to protect underground and overhead utility infrastructure and ensure public and worker safety. Wisconsin state statute requires that anyone planning to excavate must contact Diggers Hotline before digging — making the organization a legally mandated part of how construction and utility work happens across the state. The contact center processes approximately 500,000 call requests annually, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from professional excavators, utility companies, and homeowners. The organization's service level target is to answer 80% of calls within 30 seconds — a standard the team regularly exceeds, with service levels in the 90th percentile.

End-of-Life Notice, an Expensive Support Contract, and No Room for Downtime

Mike Meyer, Manager of IT Services at Diggers Hotline, had been managing a Cisco VoIP system and ASC call recorder solution since 2005. The setup had never been more than adequate — and then the end-of-life notice arrived. Moving forward with Cisco would mean purchasing all new Linux servers and upgrading software at a cost that Meyer quickly realized was roughly equivalent to buying an entirely new system. The support contract already in place was expensive. The math didn't add up.

The requirements for a replacement were clear: reliability above everything, ease of use and administration for a team that couldn't afford complexity, dependable support, and the ability to maintain 24/7 hot desking for 100 agents through the cutover without interrupting call operations. Wisconsin state statute requires Diggers Hotline to be operational around the clock — downtime isn't an inconvenience, it's a compliance failure.

Meyer evaluated solutions from ShoreTel, Avaya, and Cisco before connecting with CTPros, a ShoreTel Certified Gold Partner. The first conversation made the case clear.

30 Days. 100 Agents. Zero Downtime.

CTPros managed the full implementation — ShoreTel Enterprise Contact Center, ShoreTel IP Phones, ShoreTel Voice Switches, OAISYS call recording integration, and IEX workforce management integration — from introduction to go-live in 30 days. The OAISYS integration included a custom script that creates incoming call ticketing identification within the recording, which sends a link back to Diggers Hotline's ticket management system — a custom solution built for a nonstandard operational requirement.

The cutover was executed while 100 agents were standing by, ready to log back in immediately after the switch. ShoreTel's architecture and the preparation CTPros put into the deployment meant the transition happened without affecting the contact center's ability to receive calls.

Lower Costs, Simpler Operations, and an IT Team That Can Make Changes Themselves

The outcomes at Diggers Hotline were immediate and tangible. Support costs dropped significantly compared to the Cisco contract. Capital equipment and operational expenditures both came down, reducing the total cost of ownership across the board.

On the operational side, supervisors gained the visibility and control they hadn't had before — dashboards, on-demand reporting, presence features, and screen pops with caller details that simplify high-volume contact center management. The IT team can now make most configuration changes themselves without external support involvement.

The 30-day implementation — for a 24/7, 100-agent, state-mandated contact center — is itself a result worth noting. The reliability issues and complications of the previous system are gone. The workforce management system works. The call recording integration works. And the organization hit go-live without missing a call.

Contact Us

Fill out the form and a member of the CTPros team will be in touch within one business day.