Microsoft Publishes New Case Study on Gold Systems UC Deployment
Gold Systems helps Alutiiq reduce costs and increase productivity with Unified Communications
Microsoft has just published a new case study on a Gold Systems customer deployment of a unified communications solution based on Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007. The deployment was for Alaska-based Alutiiq, a company that offers services such as construction, security, and training for projects around the world.
Click here to download the new unified communications case study.
Click here to view the new unified communications case study at Microsoft.com.
Situation
For interoffice and remote communications, Alutiiq had relied heavily on a distributed PBX infrastructure for voice communications and conferencing. Each company site had its own dedicated telephony hardware and required a complex dialing procedure because the systems weren’t linked. The system was also difficult to deploy and manage, and couldn’t scale to accommodate the company’s growth.
The company wanted an enterprise communications solution that would work with the telephony systems it already had in place and could be easily deployed to new sites. It also wanted to provide employees with more options for how they communicated, such as instant messaging and video conferencing.
Solution
Gold Systems presented the many benefits of a Microsoft unified communications solution to Alutiiq management, and ultimately the customer contracted Gold Systems to deploy a solution based on Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Enterprise Edition and Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 for presence awareness, instant messaging, VoIP, and conferencing. Gold Systems also deployed Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 with Unified Messaging, making it possible for users to manage e-mail and voice-mail messages from one inbox.
Gold Systems conducted an enterprise site survey and used the information to create and implement the solution architecture for Alutiiq. Gold Systems capitalized on the VoIP features of Office Communications Server 2007 to create a PBX-free environment. Office Communications Server 2007 connects to the PSTN through a media gateway, and an Office Communicator 2007 endpoint is used instead of a PBX phone.
Gold Systems conducted pilot testing to ensure stability and proper functionality, and the solution went live by June 2008. Because employees were already familiar with Microsoft software, training was minimal. Alutiiq was so pleased with the solution that it began working with Gold Systems in January 2009 to implement Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2, to take advantage of new features such as dial-in audio conferencing, cross-platform desktop sharing, and persistent group chat.
Benefits
Saved More Than $1 Million
By implementing Office Communications Server 2007, Alutiiq gained an enterprise communications solution that integrates with its existing PBX environment, helping the company to realize substantial savings. The new IT infrastructure is easy to manage, which helps Alutiiq save further.
Increased Productivity
Employees now have a stable communications infrastructure that unifies voice and data to be more productive. Employees can quickly check availability of those they need to reach and then initiate an IM conversation or voice call directly from their computers. They can also quickly escalate a conversation to an audio or video conference. In addition, Exchange Server 2007 UM gives employees the ability to receive voice- mail messages in their e-mail inboxes for easy retrieval and archiving. With enhanced communications capabilities, Alutiiq gives its employees the tools and resources necessary to help them stay on top of projects and meet customer expectations.
Reduced IT Hours by 85 Percent
For the IT staff, one of the best outcomes from implementing the Microsoft UC solution was a significant reduction in IT labor hours. The persistent phone issues for employees have become a thing of the past. Additionally, IT staff no longer must spend time deploying phone systems to new offices. Instead, they simply install the Office Communicator 2007 client on user desktops and configure them for voice and instant messaging.
Click here to learn more about Gold Systems unified communications solutions, and how they can help your company improve communications while reducing costs.
Tags: Microsoft, OCS, Office Communications Server, Unified Communications, Unified Messaging
