Carrollton Bank
Case Study
Microsoft Teams Phone elevates communication and client support
Support and customer experience challenges drive cloud-calling upgrades
Carrollton Bank prides itself on best-in-class financial and customer service. They have been providing commercial financial services in the southwest Illinois and the St. Louis areas for nearly 150 years. When the bank’s phone system couldn’t keep up with customer service demands, CIO Brenda Emerson knew it was time for a change.
The bank’s existing cloud-calling setup had limited telecom support, scalability challenges due to aging hardware, and expensive re-licensing fees.
Long-time AVI-SPL partner Fran Culbertson helped Emerson explore a modern cloud-based voice solution that could grow with the bank’s customer-first mission.
Finding a future-ready cloud-calling solution with AVI-SPL
Culbertson and AVI-SPL professional services experts Mike Schrock and John Bantner assessed Emerson’s pain points and goals.
Mike Schrock, AVI-SPL Sr. Solutions Architect, shared, “I hosted calls with Brenda and her team to examine their current state, features, challenges, and what they would like in a new phone system.”
Schrock, Bantner, Culbertson, and Emerson collaborated closely to tailor a solution for Carrollton Bank.
“Fran and team really helped me evaluate the value of different cloud-calling solutions,” said Emerson.
Given Emerson’s needs and goals, a Microsoft Teams Phone solution quickly emerged as the ideal fit.
“In our consultative process, we discovered the team was using the Microsoft Teams desktop platform for chat and team presence awareness,” said Culbertson. “It made sense to transition to Teams Phone.”
Additionally, Schrock quickly identified SMS text and cloud fax as essential tools for Carrollton Bank’s regulatory compliance and customer communication requirements.
Considering SMS text and cloud fax, Schrock proposed Microsoft Teams-certified options, including CallTower’s Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams.
Ultimately, Carrollton Bank selected the CallTower solution to pair with Microsoft Teams Phone.

Why Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams?
Familiarity
Microsoft Teams is a widely adopted platform in many organizations. Since Carrollton Bank employees are already familiar with the platform, managing change remains simple and stress-free.

Features
CallTower’s Operator Connect solution seamlessly integrated Microsoft Teams with the SMS text and cloud fax capabilities Carrollton Bank required.
This enhancement allows the bank to meet regulatory compliance and communicate easily with staff, customers, and other stakeholders.
Flexibility
The Microsoft Teams – CallTower solution also allows employees to support clients without desk phones. The Teams Phone soft client enables employees to support clients from home, the office, or on the go, using a PC or mobile device.
“Another part of CallTower’s Microsoft Teams solution Carrollton Bank liked is its failover features,” Schrock said. “In the unlikely event Microsoft Teams goes down, IT can transfer numbers to user phones.”
Managing a seamless migration to CallTower
Upon approval, AVI-SPL services teams led the transition to CallTower.
AVI-SPL Project Management Manager Jenna Sanders facilitated working sessions with CallTower and Carrollton Bank to ensure a stress-free migration.
“This project could not have gone smoother,” said Sanders.
AVI-SPL deployment teams ensured Carrollton Bank environments were voice-enabled, connected to Microsoft and CallTower, and that phone numbers were successfully ported.
CallTower’s Senior Director of Global Alliances, Bryan Green, praised the collaboration, “We are a PSTN provider. And [AVI-SPL] has a deep bench of experienced engineers. They understand [CallTower’s] product. When you combine the PSTN and AVI-SPL professional services, it cuts through the clutter.”

Results: Flawless adoption, standardized communication, and elevated client support
“I’ve been adopting new phone systems since 1999,” Emerson said. “This was literally the best I have ever had. It’s great to see how technology has improved – it’s simply an amazing experience all around.

Employees quickly adapted to Microsoft Teams Phone, taking full advantage of its mobile-friendly features. CT Text SMS services and CT Cloud Fax solutions allowed Carrollton Bank to stay current with regulatory standards while improving efficiency.
Access to Microsoft Teams, text, and fax simplified communication across branches and enhanced the bank’s signature customer experience.
“We are over 40 days into the transition. Everybody has been really responsive,” Emerson noted.
Considering a cloud calling or contact center upgrade? Our voice experts and professional services teams are ready to help you find and customize a solution that grows with your organization. Let’s chat about how we can make your transition as simple as Carrollton Bank’s. Reach out to us today!