Jump to Content
Customer Stories

How COCHA modernizes travel and cuts costs with Google Workspace and Google Voice

December 18, 2024
https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-cloudblog-publish/images/cocha.max-2500x2500.png
José Luis Gutierrez

Infrastructure and Network Manager, COCHA

Google Workspace Newsletter

Keep up with the evolving future of work and collaboration with insights, trends, and product news.

SIGN UP

"Everything we have been able to achieve with Google’s solutions, both Workspace and Voice, has helped improve our operational efficiency, internal communication, and the customer experience.” 

José Luis Gutierrez, Infrastructure and Network Manager, COCHA

Snapshot: As one of Chile’s leading travel agencies, COCHA has a long history of delivering high-quality, personalized travel services such as flights, hotels, and vacation packages. Discover how COCHA used Google Workspace to:

  • Become the first company in Chile to implement Google Voice 

  • Cut physical equipment costs by 90% and call expenses by 20%

  • Achieve a 50% reduction in infrastructure costs with Google Voice

  • Increase productivity by 20%, enabling faster responses and improved client interactions


    Origin story

    For over 70 years, COCHA has been a leader in the Chilean travel industry, committed to making travel simple, reliable, and accessible. We provide a wide range of personalized services, including flights, hotels, vacation packages, cruises, car rentals, and more. 

    Our mission is to help people and businesses travel better, and at the heart of this is our dedication to delivering excellent, timely customer service. However, as customer expectations grew and the industry became more competitive, our outdated on-premises systems began to hinder our ability to stay connected and responsive, both internally and externally.

    Our legacy telephony infrastructure limitations were clear. Cross-team collaboration was difficult and inefficient because each department operated on isolated tools that didn’t communicate with each other. Instead of a centralized meeting point for customer issues, we had disconnected communication channels, which often resulted in delayed responses, particularly for 24/7 emergency support. 

    Cost was another big challenge. The old system required a big physical infrastructure from hardware maintenance to regular upgrades. This setup was costly and left us dependent on equipment located in the office, which didn’t support the flexibility our employees needed to work remotely.

https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-cloudblog-publish/images/DSCF1937.max-1700x1700.jpg
Cocha’s leadership is focused on cutting infrastructure costs with the help of smart tools like Google Workspace and Google Voice.

The switch to Google Workspace and Google Voice

Recognizing that we needed a technological shift, we partnered with Google Workspace for the solution, and with Axmos Technologies for their knowledge and deployment skills. Flexibility was a huge deciding factor: We needed a system that would let our team work seamlessly from anywhere, and the scalability required to adapt to changing market demands. 

Security and reliability were just as essential, and the quick feedback we received allowed us to build trust in choosing Google over other solutions. 

Our move to Google Voice was a game-changer and, as the first company in Chile to implement this solution, we were stepping into new territory. Transitioning from physical phones to a cloud-based system allowed us to make and receive calls from anywhere with internet access — whether on a laptop, mobile device, or tablet. This shift has been invaluable in supporting hybrid work and ensuring that personalized agent support can operate without being tied to a desk.

Of course, adapting to the new system came with some challenges, especially for our long-time employees who were used to the old way of doing things. To make the transition smooth, we focused on change management, offering training sessions and continuous support. Within a week, most employees had adapted, and by the end of the second week, Google Voice was fully integrated into our daily routines.  The ease of use and intuitive interface helped everyone adjust quickly, allowing us to discover new possibilities within our old processes.

For example, with the old system, we sometimes had issues like call delays — even if it was just two or three seconds, you would notice it. Now, a call center manager can get information on which calls came in, who handled them, and how long they lasted. We gained access to all that information that was previously, so to speak, in a black box.

Beyond modernizing communication, Google Voice also brought us significant cost savings. After the transition, COCHA has achieved a 20% reduction in telephony costs, a 50% reduction in infrastructure costs, a 10% reduction in licensing costs, and a 90% reduction in physical equipment costs. 

It also contributed to an overall 20% increase in productivity, which led to another major benefit: a cultural shift toward more collaborative and efficient work practices. Because Google Workspace integrated seamlessly with the tools already in use at COCHA, this allows our employees to collaborate in real time, share documents, and communicate effectively across teams. A question you might normally ask when you run into someone in the hallway, now you can ask via Google Chat and get an immediate answer.

https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-cloudblog-publish/images/DSCF1800.max-1700x1700.jpg
Cocha is using Google Workspace and Google Voice to help their team work together and stay connected.

Looking ahead

Partnering with the Google Workspace team and with Axmos Technologies has not only modernized our internal operations, but also helped position COCHA as a leader in the Chilean travel industry’s digital transformation. Our focus is now on pushing the boundaries of what Google Workspace can do to further increase productivity and innovation. 

We’ve already seen that the integration with Voice was very natural and very fast. So, we want to keep leveraging that ease of integration, having a single hub of tools that allows us to move faster and support our mission: to provide exceptional travel experiences for our customers and offer expert travel advice to make travel dreams a reality.

Posted in