How Oxfordshire County Council is Closing the Digital Divide with Acceleraate & Zoom

Client Overview

Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) is an ambitious, forward-thinking Local Authority, committed to delivering top quality services and value for money on behalf of its 600,000+ citizens. Recognising the strategic importance of customer experience, the council invested in Zoom Contact Center and Zoom Virtual Agent as a next-generation platform to modernise and enhance its customer service operations.

However, like many organisations undergoing digital transformation, the council knew that technology alone wouldn’t deliver the change they envisioned. They needed a trusted partner that could help unlock the full potential of their platform investment. Enter Acceleraate with CX as a Service (CXaaS).

The Challenge

Like most local authorities in the UK, the Council is under pressure to do more with less, and whilst Zoom provides a market-leading platform for CX efficiency and innovation, OCC have limited internal resources available to execute the improvements and roadmap they had identified. The council needed a partner that not only understood the nuances of local public sector but could also bring best-in-class Zoom CX consulting, technical expertise and product leadership to the table.

The Solution: Acceleraate CX as a Service

Acceleraate was engaged to provide continuous, specialist support through our CX as a Service model – a flexible, outcome-driven partnership designed to drive long-term value. Unlike the traditional CCaaS model where vendors and partners step back after go-live, we embedded our team into OCC’s to guide, iterate, and deliver their transformation journey.

Specialist CX Consultancy:

• Dedicated CX consultants aligned to the council’s strategic roadmap, enabling better planning and prioritisation

• End-to-end solution design and best practice consultancy, helping the council continuously evolve their CX strategy

• Ongoing training and enablement to help the council maintain control of their Zoom solution, with help and guidance every step of the way

CX Engineering Expertise:

• Zoom Virtual Agent voice bot and chatbot configured and optimised

• Knowledge management to centralise information and intelligence for AI and human agents

• Email channel enablement to consolidate technologies

• SMS & WhatsApp channel enablement to improve citizen access

• Zoom Quality Management configured, optimised, and operationalised

• Call recording and compliance configurations aligned with OCC’s governance needs

• Bespoke performance reporting delivered via Acceleraate IntegrationHub

• Phased roadmap delivery, ensuring business outcomes are consistently being achieved without disruption

The Impact

Acceleraate’s engagement with Oxfordshire County Council is ongoing, however the council has already reported significant advantages for its residents:

Big Reduction in Wait Times: Dropped from 5.23 minutes to 2.37 minutes

Faster Resolutions: Average Handle Time slashed from 14 minutes to 4.42 minutes

Smoother Journeys: Internal transfers for services like Adult Social Care decreased by 30%

We engaged with the team at Acceleraate in early 2025 shortly after deploying Zoom. We knew the platform had extensive functionality and we had limited knowledge, capability and resource. However, we had big ambitions to make improvements to the customer experience which is where the team at Acceleraate have been invaluable. From our first meeting where we explained our proposed roadmap, it was clear that their approach was to enable us to be sustainable and this has carried throughout the partnership we’ve had. They have empowered us to build out new functionality and continuously improve while training us along the way. They have offered technical and best practice advice gained from their vast practical experience and expedited our progress immeasurably. We would not have been able to achieve what we have and at the pace we have, without Acceleraate.

Clare Martin, CX Strategic Improvement Lead, Oxfordshire County Council

Why CX as a Service works

Organisations like Oxfordshire County Council are not short on ambition, but they often lack the capacity, bandwidth, or deep expertise to continually optimise modern platforms like Zoom Contact Centre and Zoom Virtual Agent. Acceleraate CX as a Service bridges that gap by:

• Embedding Zoom CX subject matter experts directly into client teams

• Providing ongoing strategic and technical guidance, long after go-live

• Driving down reliance on costly third-party contractors

• Empowering internal teams through agile, collaborative delivery

• Delivering phased value, ensuring ROI at every step of the journey

Oxfordshire County Council is proof that when visionary public sector organisations are supported by the right partner, technology becomes a true enabler of transformation. With Acceleraate CXaaS, OCC continues to drive real outcomes, build internal capability, and deliver better experiences for the citizens they serve.

Working with Acceleraate has been a game changer for Oxfordshire County Council. Their ability to seamlessly work alongside our CX Team has delivered an improved customer experience at pace. Zoom technology, combined with Acceleraate's development and delivery expertise is a winning formula.

Richard Merritt, Operations Manager, Oxfordshire County Council

About Acceleraate CXaaS

Acceleraate’s Customer Experience as a Service is a flexible, expert-led partnership designed for ambitious organisations looking to make continuous progress, maximise ROI, and lead with CX. Put simply: we become an extension of your team, delivering the vision, execution, and momentum required to transform customer experience.