CITY GOVERNMENT SUCCESS STORY City of Oakland...
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CITY GOVERNMENT SUCCESS STORY City of Oakland Replaces PBX-Based Telephone System with IP Unified Communications Solution from ShoreTel CHALLENGE: • Oakland’s outdated PBX-based phone system was failing and a lot of its network equipment was nearing end-of-life. It was time to replace both the network and the telephone system. SOLUTION: • ShoreTel provided the IP Unified Communications system, including ShoreGear voice switches and ShorePhone IP telephones, while network partner Enterasys provided the network infrastructure equipment. BENEFITS: • Distributed architecture of the ShoreTel IP Unified Communications system gives the City of Oakland a solid disaster recovery plan for natural disasters such as earthquakes and mudslides, so calls can still get through during such an occurrence. • The ShoreTel IP Unified Communications system is easy to scale and manage, so the City is able to make its own changes and additions, rather than outsourcing these activities, saving the City time and money. • Rich feature set enhances employee productivity and call responsiveness. • ShoreTel and Enterasys work closely together and respond quickly to the City’s needs and requests. Rated by Forbes in 2002 as the 8th best city for business in the nation, Oakland is one of California’s most strategic locations for companies seeking to move goods and ideas quickly and seamlessly over air, water, land or cyberspace. Oakland has a solid, diverse mix of traditional and new economy companies. These companies are attracted to its excellent quality of life, comparatively lower business costs, extensive fiber-optic infrastructure, world- class seaport, vast inter-modal network, and highly skilled labor pool—which is ranked the 8th most educated in the nation according to a 2000 U.S. census. The City employs more than 5,000 people across 114 city facilities. Time for an Upgrade In 2003, the City had a Meridian PBX- based phone system, with approximately 1,700 analog telephones. The system had been installed starting in 1989 and was becoming outdated—at times, the system was undergoing some significant failures. At the same time, much of the Cabletron and Cisco network equipment was also nearing end-of-life. The City’s technology team, led by Chief Technology Officer Robert Glaze, determined it was time to replace the phone system and upgrade the network. The City issued a Request for Information (RFI) and received information from more than 25 vendors for Voice over IP (VoIP) solutions. A team was assembled to begin the evaluation, including employees from the telecommunications team, the PC team, and the network team. That team eventually narrowed the choice down to three vendors that met the organization’s top priorities, which included feature robustness, customer service and support, disaster recovery capabilities and ease of maintenance. Cost effectiveness was also a factor, according to Glaze. “As with most city budgets, ours gets stretched very thin, so our money had to go a long way with this telephone system.” The three vendors included Alcatel, Cisco and ShoreTel ® . The City then issued its Request for Proposal (RFP), at which stage each solution was brought in for a Oakland starts migration to IP Unified Communications with some of its city offices and plans to bring more online over the years.
Transcript of CITY GOVERNMENT SUCCESS STORY City of Oakland...
CITY GOVERNMENT SUCCESS STORY
City of Oakland Replaces PBX-Based Telephone System with IP Unified Communications Solution from ShoreTel
CHALLENGE:
• Oakland’soutdatedPBX-basedphonesystemwasfailingandalotofitsnetworkequipmentwasnearingend-of-life.Itwastimetoreplaceboththenetworkandthetelephonesystem.
SOLUTION:
• ShoreTelprovidedtheIPUnifiedCommunicationssystem,includingShoreGearvoiceswitchesandShorePhoneIPtelephones,whilenetworkpartnerEnterasysprovidedthenetworkinfrastructureequipment.
BENEFITS:
• DistributedarchitectureoftheShoreTelIPUnifiedCommunicationssystemgivestheCityofOaklandasoliddisasterrecoveryplanfornaturaldisasterssuchasearthquakesandmudslides,socallscanstillgetthroughduringsuchanoccurrence.
• TheShoreTelIPUnifiedCommunicationssystemiseasytoscaleandmanage,sotheCityisabletomakeitsownchangesandadditions,ratherthanoutsourcingtheseactivities,savingtheCitytimeandmoney.
• Richfeaturesetenhancesemployeeproductivityandcallresponsiveness.
• ShoreTelandEnterasysworkcloselytogetherandrespondquicklytotheCity’sneedsandrequests.
RatedbyForbesin2002asthe8thbestcityforbusinessinthenation,OaklandisoneofCalifornia’smoststrategiclocationsforcompaniesseekingtomovegoodsandideasquicklyandseamlesslyoverair,water,landorcyberspace.Oaklandhasasolid,diversemixoftraditionalandneweconomycompanies.Thesecompaniesareattractedtoitsexcellentqualityoflife,comparativelylowerbusinesscosts,extensivefiber-opticinfrastructure,world-classseaport,vastinter-modalnetwork,andhighlyskilledlaborpool—whichisrankedthe8thmosteducatedinthenationaccordingtoa2000U.S.census.TheCityemploysmorethan5,000peopleacross114cityfacilities.
Time for an UpgradeIn2003,theCityhadaMeridianPBX-basedphonesystem,withapproximately1,700analogtelephones.Thesystemhadbeeninstalledstartingin1989andwasbecomingoutdated—attimes,thesystemwasundergoingsomesignificantfailures.Atthesametime,muchoftheCabletronandCisconetworkequipmentwasalso
nearingend-of-life.TheCity’stechnologyteam,ledbyChiefTechnologyOfficerRobertGlaze,determineditwastimetoreplacethephonesystemandupgradethenetwork.
TheCityissuedaRequestforInformation(RFI)andreceivedinformationfrommorethan25vendorsforVoiceoverIP(VoIP)solutions.Ateamwasassembledtobegintheevaluation,includingemployeesfromthetelecommunicationsteam,thePCteam,andthenetworkteam.Thatteameventuallynarrowedthechoicedowntothreevendorsthatmettheorganization’stoppriorities,whichincludedfeaturerobustness,customerserviceandsupport,disasterrecoverycapabilitiesandeaseofmaintenance.Costeffectivenesswasalsoafactor,accordingtoGlaze.“Aswithmostcitybudgets,oursgetsstretchedverythin,soourmoneyhadtogoalongwaywiththistelephonesystem.”
ThethreevendorsincludedAlcatel,CiscoandShoreTel®.TheCitythenissueditsRequestforProposal(RFP),atwhichstageeachsolutionwasbroughtinfora
OaklandstartsmigrationtoIPUnifiedCommunicationswithsomeofitscityofficesandplanstobringmoreonlineovertheyears.
ShoreTel and City of Oakland PAGE 2
demonstrationandanactualpilotinstallationwiththeexistingnetwork.TheCityCouncilmemberslookedverycarefullyateachpilottestbecauseVoIPwasverynewtothemandpoorvoicequalitywasaconcern.
Alcateldidnotoperateverywellontheexistingcitysystem.CiscorequestedthattheCityevaluateanexistingsmallsysteminstalledatalocalpoliceprecinct,andShoreTelinstalleda25phonepilotrequestedbytheCity.ShoreTeldidwellinthisinitialpilot;however,sincetheCityCouncilhadneverheardofShoreTel,alargerdemonstrationwith500IPphoneswasrequested.ShoreTelcompliedanddeployedalargerpilotwith500phonesandkeptitrunningfor30daysasrequested.Itransmoothlyandin2004,attheendofthepilottestphase,ShoreTelwaschosenastheCity’sIPUnifiedCommunicationsvendor.
Switching To An IP Unified Communications SystemInMarchof2005,ShoreTelprovidedtheCityofOaklandwith14ofitsShoreGear®T1voiceswitchesand37ofitsShoreGear120voiceswitches,alongwithmorethan1,500ShorePhone™IPtelephones,mostofthemmodel560s.Sincetheinitialdeployment,severalmoreswitcheshavebeeninstalled,andtheCitynowhasapproximately2,000IPtelephonesdeployedineightofthecity’sbuildings.Theeightlocationsincludecityhall,twoadministrativeannexes,themuseum,municipalservicecenter,emergencyoperationscenter,animalshelter,andfamilycriminaljusticecenter.
DuringtheShoreTelimplementationphase,theCitywasalsodeployingitsnewnetworkingequipmentfromEnterasys,aShoreTelpartner.Whilethismadeforabusytime,theentiredeploymentwentverysmoothly.ThefactthatEnterasyswasaShoreTelpartnerwasimportanttotheCitybecauseitwouldminimizeanyissueresolutionhavingtodowitheitherthenetworkorthephonesystem.
Disaster Recovery and ReliabilityAkeyfeatureoftheShoreTelIPUnifiedCommunicationssystemisitsdistributed
architecturedesign,whichmakesitidealformulti-siteorganizationsthatspanmultiplelocationsandisalsomorereliablethanserver-centricsolutions.ThisappealedtotheCitybecausedisasterrecoveryissuchapriority.Inaddition,ShoreTel’scallcontrolsoftwareisdistributedtoeveryShoreGearvoiceswitch,whicheliminatesanysinglepointoffailure.InthehighlyunlikelyeventaShoreGearvoiceswitchfails,theotherswitchesonthenetworkautomaticallytakeonthecall-processingload.ThiswasespeciallyappealingtotheCitybecauseofitspastdisasters,suchasearthquakesandmudslides.Inthecaseofthesenaturaldisasters,oftenworkershavetoberelocated.WiththedistributednatureoftheShoreTelIPUnifiedCommunicationssystem,itiseasytoreroutecallsandcontinuebusinessasusual.
“Withourpasthistoryofnaturaldisasters,disasterrecoveryisanimportantfactorinourtechnologysolutions,”saidGlaze.“ThefailoveroftheShoreTelsystemisaperfectfitforusandwillbebeneficialwhetherwehavetorelocateonebuildingtoanothercitybuildingorafewbuildingstotemporarybuildings.Wecankeepourcommunicationssystemupandrunning.”
Tools for ProductivityShoreTelIPUnifiedCommunicationssystemsareeasytouse,simpletomanage,flexible,andreliable.WiththeShoreTelsysteminplace,allCityemployeesarenowonthesamephoneandvoicemailsystem,using4-digitdialingtoreachco-workersanddialingco-workersbyname.IntegrateddirectlywithMicrosoftOutlook®,theShoreTelsystemprovidesemployeeswithintegratedmessaging,suchasdirectorydialing,contactscreenpop,andcalendarintegration.ShoreWare®PersonalCallManagerenablesemployeestomanagealloftheircommunications—voicemail,e-mail,faxes—centrallyontheirdesktop.WithPersonalCallManager,employeescanquicklybrowsecontactsandmakecallsfromlocaldirectoriesorMicrosoftOutlook.
“TheintegrationoftheShoreTelsystemwithOutlookisgreat,”saidGlaze.“AllofourusersareintegratedwithOutlook—it’satremendousfeatureandeverything
“The integration of the
ShoreTel system with
Outlook is great. Everything
I’ve heard is positive about
it. People just love it.”
Robert Glaze CTO,CityofOakland
ShoreTel and City of Oakland PAGE 3
I’veheardaboutitispositive.It’sthenumberonefeature,allowingemployeestopullupcontactsanddialwithoutknowingthenumber.Peoplejustloveit.”
WithPersonalCallManager,voicemailmessagesarealsostoredintheindustry-standardWAVAudioforWindowsformat,allowinguserstoplaythemonmultimediaPCs,attachthemtoe-mailmessagesandforwardthemtocolleagues,orembedtheminotherdocumentsaswellaskeeppermanentrecordsonfile.TheabilityoftheShoreTelIPUnifiedCommunicationssystemtotrackphonecallsandexportanddistributevoicemailsasWAVfileshelpscontinuallymonitorandimproveresponsiveness.Inaddition,Cityattorneysappreciatetheabilitytoattachthesevoicemailmessagestofoldersforlaterreference.
Mobileworkersarealsoabletogettheirmessages,bothvoicemailande-mailmessages,ontheirBlackberryhandhelddevicesinthefield.Theyseethattheyhaveamessageandonlythendotheyneedtodialinfortheirmessageorreadtheire-mail.
Finally,ShoreTel’sWorkgroupcapabilityenablestheCityofOaklandtodedicateaspecifictelephonenumbertoaworkgroup(therearecurrentlyworkgroupssetupfordepartmentssuchasIThelpdesk,publicworks,developmentservices,OaklandersAssistanceCenter,etc.).Callstoaspecificworkgroupareroutedtothenextavailableagent.Productivityisenhanced,andcallersgetmoreconsistentandthoroughcare.
SavingsShoreWareDirector,ShoreTel’sbrowser-basedmanagementinterface,allowstheCity’sITstafftogainaccesstothesystemfromanywhereonthenetwork,allowingthemtomanagetheentiresystemfromin-house.ThroughShoreWareDirector,everysiteandfeaturecanbemanaged,includingthevoicemail,automatedattendantanddesktopapplications.Whenanewuserisadded,anadministratorsimplyclicks“addnew”andenterstheuser’sname;this,inturn,automaticallyupdatesthecentralizeddatabaseandvoiceswitches,createsa
newmailbox,andupdatestheautomatedattendantdial-by-nameandnumberfeatureandonlinedirectories—allinamatterofseconds.
TheCityisalsosavingbysimplyusingIPtelephonyoveritsoldanalogsystem.AccordingtoGlaze,“WeleasedtheShoreTelphonesystemandtheEnterasysnetworkequipment,andthemoneywesavebyusinganIPUnifiedCommunicationssystemovertraditionaltelephoneservicesactuallypaysforthemonthlyleaseontheEnterasysandShoreTelequipment.Inotherwords,itcostsusnothingextraandwehaveamuchbetterphonesystemandnetworkinplace.”
TheCityofOaklandhasalsointegrateditsTapitCallAccountingSoftwarefromTrisyswiththeShoreTelIPUnifiedCommunicationssystem,whichallowstheITdepartmenttochargebacktelephonecostsandbillindividualdepartmentsfortollcharges.TheITdepartmentsimplyrunsamonth-endreportforbillingbydepartmentandaddsinthecostsforcalls.
“TheShoreTelsystemisflexibleenoughtointegratewithourcallaccountingsoftwareandcreateanykindofreportweneedwheneverweneedit,”saidGlaze.“Theintegrationpossibilitiesareinteresting,consideringhowflexibleShoreTelis.”
TheShoreTelIPUnifiedCommunicationssystemisalsoeasilyscalable,whichisimportanttotheCitysinceitplanstobringadditionaldepartmentsandsitesonlineincrementally.“Theothersystemswe’vehadinthepastwerenotscalable,”saidGlaze.“WiththeShoreTelsystem,it’seasywhetheryou’readdingaphoneoranentiresite.WeactuallymovedMayorJerryBrownoutofhisofficeandbackinagain,andalsomovedMayorRonDellums–bothmoveswereeachdonewithinaday.”
ShoreTel Lives Up to Its PromisesThedistributednatureoftheShoreTelIPUnifiedCommunicationssystemandtheabilitytorelocateemployeesquicklyandeasilyandkeepcommunicationsupiscrucialtotheCity.TheShoreTelsystemhasmetthoseneedsandmanymore.Employeesaremoreproductive,callerresponsivenessisimproved,andsavings
“The ShoreTel system
has improved our
communications and
productivity. We are also
now ready with a disaster
recovery plan in place
because of the distributed
nature of the system, and
ready to scale and add new
sites. ShoreTel has prepared
us for the future.”
Robert Glaze CTO,CityofOakland
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About ShoreTel
ShoreTel is a provider of business communication solutions whose brilliantly simple unified communications platforms, applications and mobile UC solutions promise a new rhythm of workforce engagement and collaboration. With costly complexity eliminated by design from its award winning, all-in-one IP phone system, UC and contact center solution, and its industry leading hosted business phone system, workers enjoy a freedom and self-reliance that other providers can’t match. Users have full control to engage and collaborate, no matter the time, place or device, for the lowest cost and demand on IT resources in the industry. ShoreTel is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and has regional offices and partners worldwide. For more information, visit shoretel.com or shoretelsky.com
havebeenandcontinuetoberealized.TheCityofOaklandishappywithitschoiceofShoreTelforitsIPUnifiedCommunicationssystem.GlazealsonotesthatthenetworkpartnershipwithEnterasyshasbeenatremendousbenefitbecausethecompanieshaveworkedverycloselytogetheraspartnerstomeettheCity’sneeds.
“ShoreTelisalwaystherewhenweneedthemandtheproducthasliveduptowhatthecompanypromised,”saidGlaze.“ShoreTelalsoreallylistenstoitscustomersintermsofenhancementsitmakestothesystem.OurusersreallylikethenewShoreTelsystemandit’simprovedourcommunicationsandproductivity.Wearealsonowreadywithadisasterrecoveryplaninplacebecauseofthedistributednatureofthesystem,andreadytoscaleandaddnewsites.ShoreTelhaspreparedusforthefuture.”
