We are pleased to announce that UrtheCast has integrated RingCentral’s phone system into its business.
UrtheCast is developing the world’s first high-definition full-color video feed of Earth from space. Two cameras on the International Space Station will stream video, which will be displayed on Urthecast’s web platform or distributed to customers and partners.
UrtheCast view of the coast of Venezuela.
A basic account with UrtheCast will be free, giving access to anyone who wants to see how Earth is changing. The company currently has 80 employees and is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia.
It is important for UrtheCast to have a business phone system that can keep up with constant changes. With its previous phone service provider, adding a new user to the system would take one to two days. With RingCentral, new users can be set up within one to two hours because the phones come preconfigured.
As a continually growing company, UrtheCast needs to provide its employees with a reliable business phone system that can be centrally managed and scaled quickly. The firm’s two original offices had different service providers. As the business grew, IT staff member Alvin Punzalan knew it was time to find a complete telecommunications solution—a system that all UrtheCast employees could use with ease and without complications.
“We expanded from two to four offices and needed to unify our phone system,” says Punzalan. “With RingCentral, we were able to centralize our telecommunications and easily manage it as well.
UrtheCast view of the Sea of Cortez off the coast of Baja California, Mexico.
Employees at UrtheCast also utilize features that enable employees to be mobile. Giving employees the ability to change their own settings—such as call forwarding and voicemail configuration—is convenient and requires less support from the IT staff in the event of any last-minute plans such as travel.
“The flexibility and mobility that RingCentral provides is great and allows seamless internal connectivity. Additionally, our communication with clients has become stress-free,” Punzalan says. “The system is user-friendly—especially for our employees who travel frequently, sometimes at the last minute. They can use the mobile app, the softphone on their laptops, and even have calls forwarded.”
The employees at UrtheCast utilize the practical features offered by RingCentral, such as direct extensions to contact colleagues and call queue settings, to ensure all customer calls are answered.
“RingCentral is constantly changing and showing continuous improvement. I notice that bugs do get fixed,” Punzalan says. “If I put in a help desk ticket, I receive a response saying that it will be changed in the next release and I do see the changes. It is good to know that the developers have taken my ticket into account.”
As a young and growing company, UrtheCast strives to set high standards for its customer service. UrtheCast hopes to address customer issues in development and keep customer wait times low on the phone.
Sven Cowan, Director of Customer Experience, says, “I’ve been very pleased with the high level of customer service that RingCentral has provided. UrtheCast also strives to provide a positive customer experience that echoes the same caliber of service. The commitment that both companies have to customer service is a great synergy.”
RingCentral is happy to elevate this exciting company to an “out of this world” level.
UrtheCast underwater video technology.
Originally published May 20, 2014, updated Aug 27, 2020
