Inverclyde Council deploys IP telephony to offer flexible
working practices across more than 100 sites
Inverclyde Council has successfully
deployed the first phase of an IP Telephony platform across all of
its sites with ntl:Telewest Business, part of the Virgin Media
group. Once completed, the new system, which has been rolled out to
the area’s schools, nurseries, leisure centres, council
administration buildings and social workers, will improve
communication between the council’s 5,000 staff and its citizens.
It will also provide members of staff with the flexibility to work
from any of the council’s offices.
The IP Telephony project is part of
Inverclyde Council’s major ICT modernisation programme and builds
on the capabilities of the high-speed Ethernet Virtual Private
Network (VPN) implemented by ntl:Telewest Business in 2007. The
network provides the council with a reliable and durable
communications infrastructure on which it can roll-out the latest
technologies. All internal switches on the Local Area Network (LAN)
have been upgraded to support the new IP Telephony system.
The flexible telephony system will
enable Inverclyde Council to launch a new IP contact centre, giving
staff swift and secure access to information held centrally,
enabling them to deliver a consistent level of customer service to
the area’s 82,000 residents.
"Following the upgrade of Inverclyde
Council’s Wide Area Network (WAN) and LAN, our ICT infrastructure
is now ranked as one of the best amongst local authorities," said
Allan McDonald, Support Team Leader, ICT & Business
Transformation at Inverclyde Council. "The IP Telephony project is
grounded in the network’s reliability and stability. It will
significantly upgrade the way in which we can communicate with our
citizens. Once the council has its single contact number in place,
it will be far easier for the community to get in touch with us and
efficiency will be significantly improved. Due to our longstanding
partnership with ntl:Telewest Business, we completely trusted the
team to deliver a high quality solution that met all of our
needs."
"In the current economic climate,
local authorities need to drive greater operational efficiency.
Technology has a key role to play in improving efficiency,
productivity and service to local communities," said Martin
Smith-Campbell, Public Sector Sales Manager at ntl:Telewest
Business. "The IP Telephony platform strengthens Inverclyde
Council’s 21st Century communications system and it will
benefit both the staff and Inverclyde community."
