Customer: Harlan Civic Center
Location: Harlan, Kentucky
Industry: Civic and Community Facilities
Original Telephone System: Nortel Norstar
Previous Cloud Platform: Mitel Connect Cloud (MiCloud Connect)
New Communications Platform: RingCentral
Deployment: 10 RingCentral user profiles
Implementation Partner: High Country Workplace Technologies (HCWT)
Overview
Community and civic facilities rely on dependable telephone communications to coordinate daily operations, respond to public inquiries, and support the activities that bring people together.
For Harlan Civic Center in Harlan, Kentucky, the path to modern cloud communications began with an aging Nortel Norstar key telephone system.
The organization originally discovered High Country Workplace Technologies through an internet search for assistance with its Nortel equipment.
What began as a request for legacy telephone system support developed into an ongoing technology relationship spanning three generations of business communications.
Nortel Norstar → Mitel Connect Cloud → RingCentral
Most recently, HCWT helped Harlan Civic Center transition from the discontinued Mitel Connect Cloud platform to RingCentral, deploying 10 user profiles and coordinating the shipment of replacement telephones.
The Original Challenge: An Aging Nortel Norstar Telephone System
Nortel Norstar systems were widely used by small businesses, municipal facilities, and community organizations throughout North America.
As these systems aged, finding qualified technical support and planning for eventual replacement became increasingly important.
Harlan Civic Center found HCWT while seeking assistance with its existing Nortel Norstar telephone system.
HCWT's experience with legacy communications technology provided an opportunity to evaluate the organization's longer-term communications requirements.
Rather than remaining dependent on an aging premises-based telephone system, HCWT recommended transitioning to Mitel Connect Cloud.
The First Modernization: Moving to Mitel Connect Cloud
Mitel Connect Cloud offered an alternative to the traditional Nortel key system, allowing Harlan Civic Center to move to a hosted business communications platform.
HCWT recommended the solution as part of the organization's transition away from legacy telephone infrastructure.
This initial migration represented an important change in how the organization obtained and managed its telephone communications.
However, communications technology continued to evolve, and Mitel Connect Cloud was eventually discontinued.
Harlan Civic Center needed a replacement platform and a practical approach to transitioning its users and telephone equipment.
The RingCentral Migration: 10 User Profiles
HCWT helped Harlan Civic Center move from Mitel Connect Cloud to RingCentral.
The new solution included 10 RingCentral user profiles, providing a cloud communications platform appropriate for the facility's deployment requirements.
The project also required replacement telephone equipment and coordination of the transition from the previous hosted service.
For a small civic facility, the ability to receive preconfigured telephones rather than independently preparing every device can simplify the migration process.
Preconfigured Telephones and Remote Deployment
HCWT managed the replacement telephone provisioning and shipment process.
The deployment included four principal steps:
- Telephone provisioning: HCWT configured the new telephones for the RingCentral environment.
- Equipment shipment: The replacement telephones were shipped to Harlan Civic Center in Kentucky.
- RingCentral cutover: The organization transitioned from Mitel Connect Cloud to RingCentral.
- Legacy equipment return: After cutover, the customer returned its previous Mitel telephones.
This deployment model allows HCWT to coordinate communications modernization projects for customers located well beyond its Colorado headquarters.
It also reduces the amount of telephone configuration work that customers must undertake themselves.
The Result: Modern Communications and a Continuing Customer Relationship
Harlan Civic Center completed its transition to RingCentral with 10 user profiles.
The project replaced its discontinued Mitel cloud service with a current cloud communications platform and included the provisioning and delivery of replacement telephone equipment.
The larger story, however, is the progression of the customer relationship.
Harlan Civic Center originally found HCWT because it needed help with a Nortel Norstar system. HCWT subsequently recommended Mitel Connect Cloud and later helped the organization move to RingCentral.
That progression demonstrates HCWT's ability to help customers navigate technology changes over time rather than focusing on a single product or manufacturer.
Why This Project Matters
Legacy Telephone Expertise Creates New Opportunities
Organizations still operating Nortel, Mitel, or Avaya telephone systems often need experienced technical assistance before they are ready to consider replacement.
HCWT's legacy communications experience helps establish a practical starting point for modernization.
Cloud-to-Cloud Migrations Require Planning
Moving from one hosted telephone platform to another involves more than changing service providers. User profiles, telephone devices, call routing, and cutover coordination must be addressed.
Small Organizations Deserve Professional Implementation
The Harlan Civic Center migration involved 10 user profiles, but the project still benefited from coordinated equipment provisioning, shipment, and deployment.
Geographic Distance Does Not Have to Prevent a Successful Migration
HCWT's remote deployment approach enables the company to serve organizations across the United States and Canada, including customers in smaller communities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can HCWT migrate a Mitel Connect Cloud customer to RingCentral?
Yes. HCWT has completed migrations from Mitel Connect Cloud to RingCentral, including the Harlan Civic Center project in Kentucky.
Can RingCentral replace an older Nortel Norstar telephone system?
Yes. RingCentral can serve as a modern cloud communications replacement for many Nortel Norstar installations. The migration requires assessment of telephone numbers, call handling, devices, and any specialized analog requirements.
Does HCWT handle small RingCentral deployments?
Yes. HCWT supports smaller organizations as well as larger enterprises. The Harlan Civic Center migration included 10 RingCentral user profiles.
Can HCWT provision and ship RingCentral telephones to customers outside Colorado?
Yes. HCWT can configure replacement RingCentral telephones before shipment and coordinate deployment with customers in other states and Canada.
What happens to the old Mitel telephones after migrating to RingCentral?
Equipment disposition depends on the customer's circumstances and the applicable equipment arrangements. In the Harlan Civic Center project, the previous Mitel telephones were returned after the RingCentral cutover.
Planning a Migration from Nortel, Mitel, or Another Legacy Telephone Platform?
High Country Workplace Technologies helps organizations evaluate, plan, and implement communications modernization projects.
Whether your organization operates a legacy Nortel key system, an aging premises-based PBX, or a discontinued hosted communications platform, HCWT can help identify an appropriate path forward.
Our services include cloud migration planning, RingCentral implementation, telephone provisioning, equipment shipment, and ongoing communications support.
From 10-user community facilities to large multi-location enterprises, HCWT delivers communications modernization services across North America.
Contact HCWT to schedule your migration to RingCentral