Microsoft Office SystemCustomer Solution Case Study

Korean University Increases Productivity and Reduces Costs with Unified Communications

OverviewCountry or Region: KoreaIndustry: Education

Customer ProfileWith campuses in the Korean cities of Gwangju and Yeosu, Chonnam National University has approximately 36,000 undergraduate and graduate students and 2,100 faculty and staff.

Business SituationChonnam National University wanted to provide a more efficient means for faculty, staff, and students to communicate with each other and with colleagues outside the university.

SolutionChonnam National University deployed a Microsoft Unified Communications Solution to enable more efficient communication while also reducing costs and lessening the burden on its IT department.

Benefits Reduced costs Eased administrative effort for

“We estimate that faculty, staff, and students have increased their productivity by about 20 minutes per day, per person.”

Soon Pal Suh, Vice President for Planning, Chonnam National University

Chonnam National University, with campuses in Gwangju and Yeosu, Korea, has approximately 36,000 undergraduate and graduate students and 2,100 faculty and staff, all dedicated to academic excellence. Founded in 1952, the university remains committed to its goal to meet the demand for a highly-educated workforce. Today, providing that workforce means creating an environment that takes full advantage of technology that helps people increase their productivity—technology that can be costly and difficult to maintain. Chonnam National University and Microsoft Gold Partner UbiBase deployed a Microsoft Unified Communications solution and implemented communications-enabled business process (CEBP) built around capabilities like enterprise voice, presence, and robust conferencing to help it increase productivity, reduce costs, and lessen the burden on its IT department.

SituationOriginally founded in 1952 in Gwangju, Korea, Chonnam National University (CNU) was established with the support of local citizens who wanted to create a higher learning institute that would help meet the demand for an educated work force. As the result of a merger between five area schools, the university originally consisted of five colleges: Agricultural, Commercial, Humanities, Medical, and Engineering, along with a medical graduate school. Throughout the next three decades, CNU grew rapidly, managing major internal changes, building new facilities, and increasing academic programs.

In 2006, CNU merged with Yeosu University in Yeosu, Korea, and now encompasses seven administrative offices, along with 59 academic departments spread across 19 colleges and 11 graduate schools. In forming this integrated university, the school has committed to preparing students for what it refers to as the “Knowledge Information Era” and a workplace based around social networking, collaboration, and online research to help solve problems and create innovative ideas for the future.

Communication plays a critical role in university life: phones, e-mail, instant messaging, and the Internet have all become necessary tools for students and faculty alike. Along

with traditional analog telephony services, CNU provided an e-mail solution based around Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 for its faculty, and it used Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 to create a portal service for students registering for classes or looking for jobs. Realizing that instant messaging was also becoming a key communication tool for faculty and students alike, in 2007 the university deployed Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005. In 2008, CNU partnered with Microsoft Gold Partner Ubibase to upgrade its instant messaging and presence solution to Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and to deploy a pilot of Office Communications Server Enterprise Voice to evaluate a voice over IP solution that could help it increase communication and reduce telephony costs. It also implemented a Polycom solution for video conferencing.

Even with those deployments in place, several challenges existed for the university as its communication requirements became more sophisticated. As CNU expanded—such as with the integration of Yeosu National University—it increased the number of telephony systems it needed to operate and manage across its campuses. People were also using third-party instant messaging clients in growing numbers, resulting in an insecure

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environment prone to phishing scams and other issues.

CNU faced other challenges simply because it wanted to be more competitive as a university in a global economy. Professors wanted a better video-conferencing solution that they could use to share research and discuss issues with colleagues at other universities around the world, while academic officials were interested in increasing relationships with foreign companies who could provide research fellowships, grants, internships, and jobs for graduating students. Finally, the university also wanted to affirm its commitment to being a “green campus,” reducing travel both between the Gwangju and Yeosu campuses and to universities in other countries.

The university realized it needed a scalable unified communications solution that could help it reduce the burden on its IT department, while still providing robust communication across both campuses. It also wanted to find a way both to expand its wireless capabilities and reduce telephony and travel costs—and stay “green”—without sacrificing the important relationships it was trying to build with universities and businesses in other countries.

SolutionIn November 2009, CNU began deploying a full Microsoft Unified Communications solution to help

resolve the challenges it faces as it continues to grow. The university initially considered unified communications solutions from Samsung, Cisco, and Nortel, but it ultimately realized that none of these solutions offered the functionality it required. “When we considered introducing a unified communications solution, the most important thing for us was that it would integrate easily with our existing systems,” explains Deokjai Choi, Director of the University Computing Center at Chonnam National University. Because much of the network infrastructure at CNU was already based around Microsoft technology, the university also believed that trying to integrate multiple vendors into the network would increase the management burden for its IT department, a burden it specifically wanted to reduce.

Working again with Ubibase to plan and deploy the solution, CNU upgraded to Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 to take advantage of the improved voice over IP capabilities, as well as the audio, video, and Web conferencing capabilities. It also deployed Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, to take advantage of Unified Messaging. To help lessen the administrative effort of its IT organization, CNU implemented Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2, which administrators can use to view state, health, and performance

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“With the video and Web conferencing capabilities in Office Communications Server, our professors can reduce the frequency of their business trips not only between campuses, but to other universities. We estimate that we have been able to cut travel expenses by around 40 percent.”

Deokjai Choi, Director of the University Computing Center, Chonnam National University

information for server operating systems through a single interface. As of April 2010, the university has deployed the full Unified Communications solution to 2,000 users.

CNU used Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 to deploy a communications-enabled business process (CEBP) solution that helps improve services for students, faculty, and staff. For example, the IT team’s help desk developed an entirely new troubleshooting process based around capabilities in Office Communications Server. Students or faculty members who are having problems can see which help desk operators are available through presence, start an instant messaging session, and describe their problem. If the help desk employees need more information, they can use the click-to-call feature in Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 to call the person having problems and open a desktop sharing session to take control of the desktop and determine and solve the issue.

Faculty and students at CNU are taking advantage of the audio, video, and Web conferencing capabilities to improve many of their tasks. Professors use audio conferencing to meet with graduate students who need guidance about research, or they use it to conference in remote faculty members who cannot attend

meetings in person. The university has started using video conferencing to interview prospective faculty members, or to meet with professors at other universities to discuss research and academic programs. When they need to share materials during a meeting, professors and students can use the Web conferencing capabilities to meet and review documents. Because CNU has also implemented the Office Communications Server 2007 Web Scheduler, students, faculty, and staff can all manage and view their conferences on the Web or through Microsoft Office Outlook messaging and collaboration client.

CNU has also developed a CEBP solution for its SharePoint portal on the Web. If students go to a department portal and sees that a professor is available, they can also use the click-to-call capability to start an instant conversation and get answers to their questions directly.

Because CNU has also integrated enterprise voice through Office Communications Server with Microsoft Active Directory, people can find each other easily through a quick search in Office Communications Server, and immediately see contact information and presence. “Before, people spent too much time looking for telephone numbers, and then calling a number only to find the person they wanted to reach was

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“With the search and presence capabilities in Office Communications Server, they can easily find who they are looking for, and if that person is out, they can either leave a message, or search for someone who is available.”

Sungkuk Kim, System Manager of the University Computing Center,

out. With the search and presence capabilities in Office Communications Server, they can easily find who they are looking for, and if that person is out, they can either leave a message, or search for someone who is available,” explains SungKuk Kim, System Manager of the University Computing Center.The university enabled Exchange Unified Messaging, so people can receive and manage both voice mail and e-mail messages through Office Outlook. With Unified Messaging, faculty and staff members have the option of a single-number capability, meaning that they can share only one contact number with coworkers and colleagues. When they receive calls through this number, all enabled phones—desk phones, softphones, or mobile phones—will ring when the incoming call arrives.

As CNU moves forward with its Unified Communications solution, it hopes to deploy Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile, so people can access Office Communicator features from their mobile phones any time or any place. In addition to the capabilities it has already deployed, this will help extend its “green” initiative by enabling users to use mobile telephony networks to access university contacts and information from any location. CNU will also extend its training programs and look for productive new ways to extend unified

communications across its campuses.

BenefitsBy deploying a Microsoft Unified Communications solution that includes enterprise voice and integration with existing Microsoft technologies like SharePoint Server and Unified Messaging, CNU can remain competitive with other universities around the world, while also opening up more lines of communication for faculty, staff, and students to connect with one another. As the university continues to grow, a unified solution will make it easier to keep costs down, manage complex IT systems, and create a more efficient environment.

Reduced CostsOne of the main areas where CNU expects to experience reduced costs is travel. “With the video and Web conferencing capabilities in Office Communications Server, our professors can reduce the frequency of their business trips not only between campuses, but to other universities. We estimate that we have been able to cut travel expenses by around 40 percent,” says Choi. It reduced the expense of conducting interviews for prospective faculty members as well by using video conferences instead of flying candidates into town.

The overall implementation for its unified communications solution

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cost the university less than a having to integrate multiple solutions from other vendors, because it integrated seamlessly with existing Microsoft technologies, like SharePoint Server and Exchange Server. CNU also reduced costs by replacing its Polycom video conferencing solution with the native solution in Office Communications Server.

Reduced Management Burden for ITBy deploying the Office Communications Server enterprise voice solution, CNU was more easily able to integrate the telephony services between campuses, with the added benefit of reducing the management burden on the IT staff. Administrators can use the System Center Operations Manager to monitor and manage the system from a single interface, which means they spend less time traveling between campuses to resolve issues.

Help desk operators in the IT department have also reduced the time it takes to resolve issues by using desktop sharing. Because they can open a desktop sharing session and take control of a user’s computer to resolve a problem, they spend less time traveling around campus or on the phone trying to understand an issue. This means they can solve problems more efficiently, and also focus on other areas of network

management that need more attention.

Increased Productivity for Faculty, Staff, and StudentsSoon Pal Suh, Vice President for Planning explains, “We estimate that faculty, staff, and students have increased their productivity by about 20 minutes per day, per person.” With the integration of Office Communication Server features like presence and instant messaging in other applications like SharePoint Server and Outlook, people can quickly locate available contacts and initiate communication, whether through instant messaging or click-to-call.

Professors and students can communicate more efficiently and effectively using video or Web conferencing, and faculty members can easily collaborate with colleagues at other universities without taking the time to wait in long security lines at the airport of fly long distances to meet in person. The Web Scheduler add-in makes it easy for students and faculty members to set up conferences without conflict, so nobody wastes time trying to coordinate schedules. Professors who do travel can more easily stay in touch with colleagues and students back on campus, even delivering lectures from remote locations. With Unified Messaging, faculty members and staff also have an easy way of keeping up

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with important messages and prioritizing their responses. With Microsoft Unified Communications, CNU is creating a campus environment that shows real commitment to advancing both technology and “green” initiatives, while remaining aware of the needs of its faculty, staff, and students.Microsoft Office SystemThe Microsoft Office system is the business world’s chosen environment for information work, providing the programs, servers, and services that help you succeed by transforming information into impact.

For more information about the Microsoft Office system, go to: www.microsoft.com/office

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For More InformationFor more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers in the United States and Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:www.microsoft.com

For more information about Ubibase products and services, call (82) (70) 7117-8000 or visit the Web site at: www.ubibase.com/eng

For more information about Chonnam National University products and services, call (82) (62) 530-5114 or visit the Web site at: www.chonnam.ac.kr

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published June 2010

Software and Services Microsoft Office

− Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2

Microsoft Server Product Portfolio

− Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Enterprise Edition

Partners Ubibase

Hardware Plantronics Blackwire 210

headset AudioCodes Mediant 1000 media

gateway