MEET THE COMMUNICATIONS TEAM

SAM HEBBLETHWAITE

Sam Hebblethwaite
Communications Director

I’ve been with Redcentric for nearly nine years, starting as a Finance Analyst in a junior role. During this time, I completed my accountancy exams to become a Chartered Accountant (ACCA). Initially, I worked within the management accounts team, once qualified I moved into the commercial finance team, gaining important experience in how to offer our customers value add products at competitive rates. Two years ago, I moved into the role of Commercial Finance Director for the Communications division reporting into David Senior, CFO. I am now the Commercial Director for the Communications division, responsible for overseeing all aspects of the division. I’ve been in this role for around 12 months now.

My role is to oversee the Communications division, which includes responsibility for commercials, product management, and solutions. This means ensuring we get the best prices from partners and suppliers, working on tenders to ensure we’re competitive, and managing the pricing on contracts. I also work closely with Paul Storey, our Product Manager, to agree on our product portfolio and future roadmap. Additionally, the solutions team reports to me, ensuring we design the best solutions for our customers’ needs.

Currently, I’m involved in overseeing the delivery of various customer projects to ensure smooth execution. My role does have a wide range of responsibilities and even though our delivery team will be providing the solution directly to the customer, I am still monitoring how that is going and ensuring everything runs smoothly.

As far as our Voice portfolio is concerned, we have a really comprehensive range of products covering just about every requirement our customers ask us for, but we’re always open to new requirements. We’re always aiming to deliver best of breed solutions at the right price point, and we aim to stay abreast of where the marketplace is heading, ensuring we’re bringing the most innovative products to market for our customers.

One initiative we have been working on is onboarding Microsoft Teams Direct Routing which enables Redcentric to offer seamless integration of Microsoft Teams with our customers’ existing telephony systems. This service allows businesses to make and receive calls directly within the Teams interface, using their existing phone numbers and infrastructure. For users, this means they never have to leave their familiar Teams interface, for the IT team, this reduces costs associated with maintaining separate telephony and collaboration systems. To date we’ve deployed to over 3,700 users and customer demand is growing.

We’ve recently signed a contract with a high street brand to provide headsets for their staff, allowing seamless communication within their restaurants. These headsets function like walkie-talkies and can also handle inbound calls, enabling staff to answer calls without leaving their tasks. This project is set to roll out in the next five to six weeks.

We are heavily involved in delivering telephony solutions to GP surgeries, currently managing around 20 ongoing projects. Over the years, we’ve successfully delivered solutions to approximately 350 surgeries, mainly in the Birmingham area, West Yorkshire, Stratford, and Telford. These projects improve communication within surgeries, ensuring efficient and reliable service for patients and staff.

By focusing on structured delivery and customer-specific needs, these projects aim to provide high-quality communication solutions and improve overall customer satisfaction.