u.s. army corps of engineers success story shoretel...

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS SUCCESS STORY

ShoreTel Speeds VoIP Installations and Eliminates Complexity for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

CHALLENGE:

• U.S.ArmyCorpsHuntingtonDistrict’sCentrex-basedvoicesystemhadbecomealiability.Itwasexpensiveandinflexible,andtheserviceprovidertypicallytooktwoweeksormoretoprocessordersforsimplechanges.

SOLUTION:

• AsingleShoreTelVoIPsystemisdistributedacrossheadquarters,remotesites,andamobilerepairfleet,andiseasilymanagedfromanywherebytheinternalstaff.AnintuitivePersonalCallManagerinterfacewithOutlookintegrationgivesusersextensivecall-handlingoptions;otheradvancedfeaturesincludeenterprise-widehuntgroups,andbuilt-inconferencingwithintegrateddocumentsharing.

BENEFITS:

• Monthlyrecurringcostswerereduced70%,resultinginan18-monthROI.Easyimplementationandmanagementenablesimmediatein-housechangesandacookie-cutterrolloutprocessfornewofficesordisasterrecovery.UsersareempoweredwithPBX-typecallcontrolandlocationindependence,streamliningcommunications,facilitatingmobility,andboostingproductivity.

TheU.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineershasbeenthenation’sengineeringproblemsolversince1775,andtheHuntingtonDistrictleadstheCorpsintheconstructionofflood-controldams,levees,andfloodwalls.TheHuntington,W.V.-basedDistrictisalsoleadingtheconvergencechargewithadistributedShoreTelIPtelephonysystemthatdeliversadvancedvoiceservicesacrossitsfive-stateterritoryandmobilerepairunits.

CommunicationiskeytovirtuallyallArmyoperations,andby2003HuntingtonDistrict’sTDM-basedvoiceinfrastructurehadbecomeadistinctliability.Theinfrastructureexpertneededabettervoiceinfrastructureforits45,000squaremiles,whichcovermorethanhalfofWestVirginiaandOhio,aswellasportionsofKentucky,Virginia,andNorthCarolina.AbouthalfoftheDistrict’s1,000employeesareintheHuntingtonheadquarters,withtherestspreadacross49remotesitesandonefloatingrepairvesselfleet.

HuntingtonDistrict’slegacyvoicesystemconsistedofISDNlinesconnectedtoCentrexservice.Itwasn’taflexiblearchitecture,andthephonebillforthedistrictofficealonewasexceeding$30,000permonth.“WewerepayingVerizonforCentrex,plustheGSA[GeneralServicesAdministration]wastakingitscut,”saysRobertHall,coordinatorofvoiceanddatacommunicationsforHuntingtonDistrict.“Itwasreallyeatingusup.”

Sowasthetimeittooktogetthephonecompanytomakeanychanges.Theaveragewaitwastwoweeks,andsomeweremuchlonger.HuntingtonDistrictdecidedtoinstallitsownISDNPRIsfromacompetitivecarrierandfindaphonesystemthatcouldbemanagedinternally.

AnupgradedTDMinfrastructurewassoonrejectedinfavorofaconvergedplatformusingIPtelephony.HuntingtonDistrictevaluatedVoIPsolutionsfromNortelandCiscobeforeselectingtheShoreTelsystembecauseitwassignificantlylessexpensiveandmuchsimplertoimplementandmanage.

U.S.ArmyCorpsdeliverscallsregardlessoflocationsupportingitsmobileoperations

ShoreTel and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers PAGE 2

“AsyouconfigureaCiscosystem,itgetsverycomplexveryquickly,”observesHuntingtonDistrictcomputerspecialistAnthonyEstep.“Thatwasahugefactor.”

AnotherkeyfactorwastheruralnatureofHuntingtonDistrict’sterritory.Mostofthefieldofficesareinremoteareaswherethelocalcommunicationsinfrastructureisnotexactlystate-of-the-art.

“IfwecangetthereliabilityofastandardtelephonelineandstillinstallthiskindofVoIPsystem-extremelyreliable,simpletouse,andeasytoconfigure,install,andsupport-it’sawin-winsituation,”explainsEstep.

Operation VoIP BeginsHuntingtonDistrictbeganitsVoIPmigrationatthebeginningof2003bymovingtheITgrouptotheShoreTelvoicesystem.Thispilot,involvingasingleShoreTelVoiceSwitch,convincedtheorganizationtoconvertitsentiredistrictheadquartersfacility-some630phones-toShoreTelVoIP.

“Wechangedoutthephonesduringbusinesshours,takinganaverageofabout5minutesperphoneuser,”recallsHall.“Inanofficewith30people,wewereusuallydonebynoon.Theinstallationwentevenmoresmoothlythanweexpected,andjustabouteveryoneinthebuildingcommentedthatitwasthemostpainlessupgradewe’veeverdone.”

Theimplementationteamshadfourpeople:Onedidthecomputerwork,twoinstalledthephones,andafourthwaschargedwithmovingthewiringclosetconnectionsfromthelegacykeycomputerlinestotheShoreGearboxes.Theteamstartedat8a.m.andbylunchtimewasusuallyreadytopulltheoldconnectionandpluginthenewone.Theinstallationwascompletedwithin-housepersonnel,anddidnotrequireanyoutsidecontractsupportexceptforanoccasionalcalltoShoreTel.MostofthecallstoShoreTelweremainlyfeaturequestions,andfewtechnicalcallswereneed.

Infact,thebiggestproblemsweretracingtheexistingwires,pullingthelegacysystems,anddoingallthepaperworkthatcancelingtheoldISDNlinesrequired.Throughthe

headquartersimplementationexperience,HuntingtonDistrictdevelopedawell-oiledprocessthatisbeingfurtherrefinedfordoingnewfieldofficeinstallations.

Theprocesswasputtothetestwhenalighteningstrikedamagedtheoldsystematoneofthefieldsitesandleftitbarelyusable.TheofficewasmovedtothetopoftheShoreTelmigrationlist.

“Inourenvironment,communicationsareourtoppriority,”statesEstep.“Ifwehaveacatastrophicevent,wecanbeonsiteandputinanewsysteminaday.Thatisphenomenal.”

Duetofundinglimitationsitispossibletoupgradeonlyafewsiteseachyear.BecausemostofHuntingtonDistrict’ssitesarelocatednearbodiesofwater,andareheavilypronetolightingstrikes,theITteamhasdevelopedanemergencyinstallationkit,includingShoreTelphonesandswitches,forsituationsrequiringanimmediateresponse.Ifacallcomesinat8a.m.,teammembersareon-sitewithallnecessaryequipmentbynoonandstarttracinglinesandpluggingthingsin.Ifnecessary,thefirstphonecangenerallybeupandrunninginsideoftwohours.Similarly,asitewithlegacyvoicesystemcanbeupgradedandcutovertoShoreTelinaslittleastwobusinessdays.

TheeaseofimplementationhastheHuntingtonDistrictITteamwonderingjustwhathasbeentakingthetraditionaltelecommunicationscarriersandvendorssolongandcostingsomuchalltheseyears.

“Itdoesn’thavetobesocomplex,”concludesHall.“TheShoreTelVoIPsystemisincrediblyeasyforustoadminister,andwemakechangesontheflyallthetime.”

The New Infrastructure: A Work in ProgressHuntingtonDistrictusesShoreGear120/24switchestoprovisiondesktopconnections.Externally,ShoreGearT1switchestoconnecttosixPRIs-fiveforlocalaccessandoneforlongdistance.AnAdtranAtlasISDNswitchallowsthevoicePRIstobesharedwithmultiplePolycomvideoteleconferencingsystems.

“The installation went even

more smoothly than we

expected, and just about

everyone in the building

commented that it was

the most painless upgrade

we’ve ever done.”

Robert HallCoordinatorofVoiceandDataCommunications,HuntingtonDistrict


ThedistrictofficekeepsvoiceanddataonseparateLANs,usingEnterasysEthernetswitches.TheShoreWareserverandallShoreTelVoiceSwitchesplugintotothemainEthernetbackboneswitch.ItisonthemiddlefloorofthebuildingandlinkedviafibertoasecondEthernetswitchonthefirstfloor.ThisswitchisattachedtoHuntingtonDistrict’smainCiscoWANrouter,whichhasDS-3portsprovidingaccesstoaframe-relayWAN.

Inthefieldoffices,eachhousing8to18people,voiceanddatatrafficsharethesameLAN.TheseremoteLANsarebasedonunmanagedNetGear10/100EthernetswitchesattachedtoCiscoWANroutersthatconnecttothedistrictofficeviatheframe-relayWAN,whichdidnothavetobeupgradedtoaccommodatethevoicetraffic.

About850usersacrosstheDistrictarenowonIPtelephony,butmostofthemarestillusingtraditionalanalogtelephonesets.

“OncewesawhowsmoothlythePCCallManagerclientsoftwareworkedwiththeAP-100analogphones,wedecidedthatwasmorethanenoughformostofourusers,”saysEstep.“Thisenabledustorealizeadditionalcostsavings.”Thereareabout15IPphonesthroughoutthenetworkbeingusedforspecialpurposes,andtheplanistoexpandtheIPphonepopulationgradually.

IPphonesaresometimesthebestsolutionwhentherearenoexistingcopperpairsrunningbetweentwobuildingsthatarebeingnetworkedtogetherviafiber.

SevenofthepermanentremotefacilitieshavenowbeenmigratedtoShoreTelIPtelephony,alongwiththefloatingrepairfleet.Liketheregularremotefacilities,therepairfleethasitsownroutableaddressesandCiscorouter,but802.11bwirelesstechnologyprovidestheship-to-shoreWANlink.Wirelessaccesspointsaresetupateachlockanddamsitewherethefleetdocks,providingdirectconnectiontothemainnetworkandallservices,includingvoicemail.Permanentphonenumbersareassignedtostaffmembers,followingwhereverthefleetgoessotheydon’thavetoborrowsparephonelinesateachdockinglocation.

“AtonepointweconsideredjustdeployingIPphonesonthefleet,”recallsEstep.“However,installingasubnetwithaShoreTelVoiceSwitchandanalogsetsseemedlikeabettersolution.ItenablesustoaddphonesmoreeasilyandwithoutusingupvaluableIPaddresses.”

UsingtheoldTDMinfrastructure,HuntingtonDistricthadtorunahardwirefromtheboattoaphonelineatthesiteitwasservicing.Heavyequipmentisoftenbeingmovedaroundinthesebusy,floatingindustrialrepairshops,andthecableswereconstantlybeingcutordamaged.

Someofthefieldofficesarestillservedbylegacyvoicesystems,butHuntingtonDistrict’sVoIPmigrationcontinues,andthreemoresitesareslatedforupgradinginthenearfuture.Asthelegacyequipmentwearsoutorrequiressignificantmaintenance,itisbeingreplacedwiththeShoreTelplatform.

Productivity Gets a BoostShoreTel’saward-winningPersonalCallManagerapplicationbasicallyputsaPBXoneveryone’sdesktop,andrepresentsacompletelynewtelephonyparadigmforusers.TheinterfaceissointuitiveanditsbenefitsaresoobviousthatHuntingtonDistrict’semployeesarehavingnotroublewiththetransition.VirtuallyeveryoneinthedistrictofficeisnowusingthePCM,andpeopleinthefieldarequicklyfollowingsuit.

Foronething,peoplecanseewhoiscallingandusetheinformationandthepoint-and-clickinterfacetoprioritizecallhandling.

“YoucanputavendoronholdandtaketheColonel’scall,”saysHall.“Youdon’tkeepthecommanderwaiting.Andyoucanalsoconferenceinthirdpartiesontheflywhenevertheycanenhanceaconversation.Thisreallyaddstoourproductivity.”

HuntingtonDistricthasbeenmakingextensiveuseofShoreTel’scollaborationcapabilities,andisintheprocessofupgradingitsworkgroupstothenewhuntgroupsofferedinShoreTel5Release2.

CollaborationandcommunicationarefurtheraidedbyShoreTel’sbuilt-inConvergedConferencingbridge,which

“The ShoreTel VoIP system is

incredibly easy for us

to administer, and we

make changes on the fly

all the time.”



providesamoreconvenientandcost-effectiveforumthantheconferenceserviceproviderHuntingtonDistrictusedtoemploy.Certaingroupshavepermanentlyscheduledconferences,andtheuseofsuchvirtualmeetingsisspreading.

NowShoreTel5Release2supportssix-lineconferencingfromthedesktop,smallerconferencescanbeoffloadedfromthebridge.HuntingtonDistrictisalsostartingtoexploitShoreTelConvergedConferencing’sdocument-sharingcapabilities.Somegroupshavebeensendingslidesaroundinadvanceoftheirconferences,butintegrateddatasharingisamoreefficientsolutionthatalsokeepsthevoiceanddatainputsynchronized.

Thefleetengineersarebasedinthedistrictoffice,buttheyspendalotoftimeoutinthefieldworkingonrepairs.WiththeShoreTelIPtelephonysystem,theysimplylogintothenetworkfromanywhere,andtheircallsfindthemasiftheyweresittingattheirdesksinHuntington.ThesameappliestotheITstaff.

“BobHallusesasoftphoneinfield,redirectinghisDIDnumbertohislaptop,”saysEstep.“Nomatterwhereheis,evenifthereisnoShoreTelsystemlocally,hehasaphoneaslongashislaptopisconnectedtothenetwork,”saysEstep.“Withthinnerbudgetsandfewerdollarsforhiringcontractorstoinstallcablingandfixequipment,wearespendingmoretimeinthefieldthanweusedto,andthesoftphonehelpsusgetthecallswedon’twanttomiss.

“Wearenowconsideringsoftphonesasatemporarysolutionwhenextraphoneshavetobeaddedatfieldsitesduringemergencysituations.Thisworksparticularlywellforindividualsinthedistrictheadquarterswhoaretemporarilyrelocatedtothefieldduringsuchevents.”

User-Defined Call HandlingAllofHuntingtonDistrict’smobileemployeescanusethePCMtosetuptheirowncall-handlingmodes.Callscanbeimmediatelyforwardedtotemporarydesksorcellphonesorhomephones,withoutcontactingtheGSAorVerizonandrequesting-andthenwaitingfor-thechange.

ThisillustratesafundamentaldifferencebetweentraditionaltelephonyandVoIP:Phonenumbersareassociatedwithpeople,notdevicesatparticularlocations.Staffmembersbasedonthemobilerepairfleetcanhavepermanentphonenumbers,andtheircallsautomaticallyfollowthemastheymovearound.

ShoreTel’sOutlookintegrationfurthereasescall-handlingchanges.Whenacallcomesin,theShoreTelsystemcanmakeroutingdecisionsbasedontheintendedrecipient’sOutlookcalendarandvariousindividuallydefinedcall-handlingoptions.Callsthatgounansweredwhentheuserisscheduledtobeintheofficetypicallybouncetovoicemail,butotheroptionsincludeforwardingtoanassistantorcolleague.

Similarly,userscansetuphandlingoptionsforcallsthatarrivewhentheircalendarsindicateanout-of-officemode.

Thereisalsoacustomcall-handlingmodethatcanbeusedtomeetmoreextemporaneousneeds.Individualswhosuddenlyrealizetheyaregoingtobeawayfromtheirdesksforawhilecansimplyflipthecall-handlingmodetocustomandhavecallsautomaticallytransferredtocellphones,forexample.

HuntingtonDistrict’sofficeusersliketheextrafunctionalityandefficiencytheygetfromthePCM,andthesingledistributedsystemthatletsthemdo4-digitdialingacrosssites.TheobviousbenefitsoftheShoreTelsystemarealsoappreciatedbytheoperationsandconstructionpeoplewhohavetosetuptemporaryfieldsites.

“Theycan’tseewhywe’dwanttosetupafieldofficewithanythingelse,”reportsHall.“Ifaphonesystemneedstobeinstalled,itwillbeShoreTel.That’sthecurrentpolicy.Youbuywhatworksandgivesyougoodvalueforyourmoney.

“Theoveralleconomicsandmanageabilityofthissystemareunbelievable.Whenyouhearsomeonedescribethistechnology,yousay,‘Showme-itcan’tbethisgood.’Butitis.”

“You can put a vendor on

hold and take the Colonel’s

call...you don’t keep the

commander waiting. And

you can also conference

in third parties on the fly

whenever they can enhance

a conversation. This really

adds to our productivity.”


WORLD HEADQUARTERS 960 Stewart Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94085 USA. shoretel.com and shoretelsky.com

+1 (800) 425-9385 Toll Free +1 (408) 331-3300 Tel. +1 (408) 331-3333 Fax for ShoreTel

+1 (646) 230-5000 Tel. +1 (646) 230-5001 Fax for ShoreTel Sky

EMEA +800 408 33133 Freephone +44 (1628) 826300 Tel.

ASIA PACIFIC +61 (0)2 9959 8000 Tel.

Copyright © 2012 ShoreTel. All rights reserved. The ShoreTel logo and ShoreTel are registered trademarks of ShoreTel, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other copyrights and trademarks herein are the property of their respective owners. Specifications are subject to change without notice.

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

Quick ROI InstallinganewphoneonalegacyphonesystemwouldcosttheDistricthundredsofdollarsandimposeanaveragetwo-weekdelay.Incontrast,anewShoreTelphonecanbeinstalledinminutes,anddoesn’trequireaphonesystemsprovider’struckrolltothesite.HuntingtonDistrictnolongerhastodependonanoutsidepartyandthenwaitdaysorweeksforasimplechangethatactuallytakesafewminutes.

Additionalsavingscomefromtollbypass.TheregionspansmultipleLATAs,andabout80%ofthelong-distancecallsmadebythefieldofficesaregoingtothedistrictheadquartersinHuntington.TheseinterofficecallsnowridetheIPWANforfree,bypassingthelong-distancecarriernetworksandreducingrecurringmonthlycosts.

EstepandHallreckonthenewIPtelephonysystemhasreducedrecurringmonthlycostsby70%.Anup-frontcost-benefitanalysisledthemtoexpecta2-yearreturnoninvestment,buttheShoreTelsystempaidforitselfinsideof18months.TheyalsodiscoveredtheycaninstallaShoreTelsysteminafieldofficeforabouthalfofwhataNortel,Cisco,orAvayaVoIPsolutionwouldcost.

“Thathasfreedupmoneywecannowuseonotherthings,”sumsupEstep.“Thissystemletsusdomorewithless.Inthistimeoftightbudgets,Idon’tknowwhymoreorganizationsaren’timplementingaShoreTel-typesolution.”

TheHuntingtonDistrict’sITteamanduserscontinuetoplumbthedepthsoftheShoreTelVoIPsystemandexploitmoreandmoreofitsfeatures.Oncethebasicmigrationiscompleted,theylookforwardtoadditionalintegrationofvoiceanddata,andtheadvancedapplicationsthatIPtelephonyenables.

“The overall economics and

manageability of this system

are unbelievable. When you

hear someone describe this

technology, you say, ‘Show

me-it can’t be this good.’

But it is.”


u.s. army corps of engineers success story shoretel...

Documents