Carrier Access

Case Study

Web-based Product | Internal Portal | Customer Portal

At a Glance

Client
Carrier Access, Inc.

The Project
Design, build, maintain and support a portal to handle orders, opportunities and cases, process commissions, and serve as a customer portal and communications platform.

Services Provided
UX Blueprint, UX Focus Sprint, roadmapping, quality assurance, project management, custom web app development, ongoing support.


Services Provided

  • UX Blueprint

  • UX Focus Sprints

  • Project Management

  • Quality Assurance

  • Security Management

  • Roadmapping

  • Custom web app development

  • Custom carrier API integrations

  • Ongoing support

1 Million + Messages Handled

Routed securely between customers and the internal team.

$100 million+ commissions processed

Routed securely between customers and the internal team.

The Client

Carrier Access, Inc. is an award-winning, leading carrier-neutral telecom advocate working with 100+ providers across the United States. From procurement to full lifecycle service and support, they are a single point of contact invested in the client’s long-term success.

The Situation

Carrier Access, Inc. maintains a competitive advantage through its unwavering commitment to superior customer service. While the telecom industry averages a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 31, Carrier Access has achieved an impressive NPS of 84—far surpassing the industry benchmark. In today’s fast-paced landscape, delivering that level of service requires not only hiring great people but also equipping them with the right technology to work efficiently and stay organized.


When we first met the Carrier Access team, they were evaluating whether to move away from NetSuite, one of the largest ERP systems in the world. While powerful, the platform wasn’t tailored to their specific workflows, which introduced inefficiencies and left room for error. Given the volume they handled on a daily basis, those errors weren’t just inconvenient—they were unacceptable.

Another pressing challenge was client communication. Enterprise customers often had dozens of open cases simultaneously, making it impractical to manage updates through email alone. The team needed a streamlined, client-facing solution that could surface key case information in a clean, organized format—while still controlling visibility based on user permissions.
They also needed to process commissions across tens of thousands of transactions each month, accurately and efficiently, despite constantly changing data formats from multiple vendors. And they had to do it all within a system that was secure, compliant, and easy for their team to use.

Take this with you

For even more screenshots and details, download the free PDF.

The Solution

Carrier Access knew an owned platform gave them more control over their technological future.

We performed a UX Blueprint and subsequent development effort, including:

  • Conducting stakeholder research sessions

  • Designing key flows for orders, projects, opportunities and cases

  • Implementing important security measures such as MFA

  • Imagining and building a new customer portal with marketing capabilities

  • Building in SMS and email communication channels
    Integrating with a variety of APIs and tools

  • Creating an upload SmartEngine to handle ever-changing carrier data formats

  • Support and roadmapping along the way to keep the platform running strong for over 12 years

The Results Up Close

Results: In the client’s words

“The flexibility and convenience of just a few clicks allows us to see exceptions and the delta between expected receivables versus actual so we know where to find the money.  The accuracy of this process frees up time calculating our sales rep commission statements each month.” 

Kelly Scothorn
Chief Operating Officer
Carrier Access, Inc.

Security and compliance

Carrier Access knew a secure, compliant solution was critical to achieve trust from brands and social media platforms. That’s why we partnered with them to secure the platform so they -- and their users -- could feel confident.

A listing of our available services is provided below. We do not share specifics of particular clients’ security posture.

HIPAA Compliance

We’re fluent in HIPAA requirements and design our applications to protect personal health information from the ground up.

From secure authentication flows to careful handling of user data, our team is trained to recognize and respect protected health information (PHI) throughout the product lifecycle.

Medical backpack icon with a cross symbol

ADA Compliance

We follow WCAG 2.2 guidelines to ensure accessibility is built into every screen we design—not retrofitted later. Our designers and engineers are trained in accessible interface practices, and we routinely test for keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, and color contrast to make sure your app works for everyone.

Accessibility icon of a person in a wheelchair descending stairs.

Security

Security isn’t just a checklist—it’s part of our engineering culture. We implement secure coding standards, have every pull request double-peer reviewed, and integrate with trusted identity providers. Our team is trained in secure development practices and routinely collaborates with client IT and compliance teams to meet or exceed enterprise security standards.

Shield icon with half purple and half white on a white background.
Illustration of a dog wearing a space helmet and a spacesuit, sitting among clouds with a cosmic background and planets visible, suggesting an outer space theme.

What sets us apart

Clients come back again and again because we offer:

  1. Speed of delivery: We offer startup pace, with enterprise quality.

  2. Empathetic UX research: We are skilled facilitators and researchers who will make the process easy for you.

  3. Interdisciplinary collaboration: We emphasize a collaborative approach, bringing together UX, operations, security, compliance, marketing and data teams to quickly iterate on the best solutions.

  4. Onshore development team: We are a fully remote team proudly located 100% in the United States.

  5. Design QA discipline: We QA not only for functionality, but also for smoothness of use and aesthetic beauty. You deserve to be proud of your application.

  6. Security & Compliance rigor: Security and compliance are an integral focus of our training and design from day one.