Opera Australia has signed a two year deal with a telecommunications provider to supply voice, data and mobile services and an IP-based PBX to support its migration to VoIP.
The new network, to be integrated by NSC enterprise solutions, will replace the company's 14 year old ICT infrastructure following an audit last year.
Timeliness of installation is also critical as the company enters its busiest period, with its Sydney and Melbourne call centres between them expecting to serve about 700 enquiries daily.
Opera Australia IT manager Grant Cresswell said the high speed network will incorporate its VoIP plans and its existing CRM database Tessitura.
"[The network provides] a low risk, cost effective and flexible method of refreshing our communication technology to expand the range of applications available within the organization," Cresswell said.
The VoIP network will use Avaya communication manager 3.1 running on an S8300 media server with G700 gateways along with about 150 IP phones.
A virtual client/server solution will replace the complex inter-PBX/LAN/WAN networking currently in use, which will reduce communications costs.
Data centre and disaster recovery benefits will be provided via centralization of applications and servers for voice. The Melbourne site will be configured for local survival processing as part of the company's business continuity plans.
Macquarie Telecom will provide high speed bandwidth with its metro access network while also delivering in-bound, out-bound, national and international voice calls, together with mobile services and its online fleet management tool FleetView.
Creswell said the VoIP network will reduce both communications costs, by replacing voice with data, and administration costs, by consolidating up to 10 separate bills into one.
"The minimal infrastructure, reduced points of failure, single central point of administration and cheaper cost of data compared to using standard lines will help us realize cost savings quickly," he said. "Now we enjoy a single bill and a single point of control for voice, mobile and data - this will bring about massive savings from an administrative point of view."
