NSWRL shifts contact centre to Teams with rapid rollout

New South Wales Rugby League has migrated its contact centre to AnywhereNow's Tendfor platform, replacing its legacy PABX environment with a Microsoft Teams-based system.

The change followed a proof of concept in which the system went live within hours, helping shape the sporting body's decision to proceed.

Part of a broader technology update, the project introduced integrated voice and attendant functions designed to simplify daily call handling for staff while maintaining continuity for callers during the switch.

According to the companies, the previous setup relied on traditional telephony and more manual processes. The new arrangement moves contact centre activity into Microsoft Teams, allowing the organisation to manage calls through a platform already widely used for internal communication and collaboration.

Rapid rollout

A key feature of the project was the speed of the initial implementation. During the proof of concept, Tendfor was up and running within a few hours, demonstrating that a Teams-native approach could be introduced with limited disruption.

AnywhereNow said the system is built directly on Microsoft APIs, enabling voice routing within Teams without the session border controllers and workarounds often associated with older telephony integrations. That architecture was part of the case for replacing the existing PABX setup.

“Simplicity of implementation was critical and the speed at which the Tendfor solution was deployed, and how quickly it began supporting our day-to-day work, blew us away,” said Maurice Veliz, IT Operations Manager, NSWRL.

The migration was intended to improve responsiveness and reduce operational friction. For contact centre teams, that can mean fewer handoffs between systems and a more centralised way of managing incoming calls.

Early results

The first operating figures offered an early indication of performance. Within the first 48 hours, New South Wales Rugby League recorded an average call wait time of 17 seconds.

That followed a period in which wait times had varied depending on call volumes and the level of manual handling required. AnywhereNow said launch monitoring also showed a high volume of answered calls and rapid uptake among agents, despite the platform being newly introduced.

For organisations with public-facing service desks, early stability after a migration is closely watched because it can indicate how quickly staff have adapted and whether callers are seeing any drop in service. In this case, the companies said the transition maintained day-to-day operations as the new tools were introduced.

Project support

The migration was delivered through a joint effort involving New South Wales Rugby League, AnywhereNow and an implementation partner. The work covered preparation, configuration, go-live and post-launch optimisation.

Both sides described the support model as hands-on, with an emphasis on clear communication at each stage of the project. That approach matters in contact centre migrations, where technical cutovers can affect inbound service lines used by members, supporters and other stakeholders.

“We are proud to welcome NSWRL to the AnywhereNow customer community,” said Vaughn Madeley, Strategic Partner Manager, AnywhereNow. “Their commitment to transforming their communication environment, combined with a clear understanding of what they needed from a Teams-native contact centre, set the foundation for a smooth and effective deployment from the outset. With Tendfor we supported a rapid rollout focused on simplicity, reliability, and intuitive experience for both agents and callers.”

The project also reflects a broader pattern in enterprise communications as organisations move away from stand-alone telephony hardware towards cloud-based systems linked to collaboration platforms. In many cases, the shift is driven by a desire to reduce complexity, consolidate suppliers and give staff a single environment for both internal and external communications.

For New South Wales Rugby League, the immediate focus appears to have been practical rather than experimental: replacing legacy infrastructure, limiting disruption during the changeover and improving how quickly calls are answered.

The organisation said the new setup also provides a base for future changes as communication requirements evolve. Moving to a Teams-aligned contact centre can provide more visibility into call activity and make later configuration changes easier than in older fixed telephony environments.

Veliz said the migration had already changed internal operations. “This collaboration has transformed our operations and reaffirmed the power of trusted partnerships,” he said. “We appreciate the professionalism, dedication, and teamwork with AnywhereNow that made this migration a success and we look forward to building on this foundation as our needs continue to grow.”