COSLA
The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, COSLA, plays a representative role for Scotland’s 32 councils and so went on the hunt for a solution to their ageing telephone and IT structure.
They needed a new unified communications system that would deliver a more flexible and efficient service at low cost (and particularly lower running costs)
Its ageing IT and telecommunications infrastructure needed upgrading and replacement. Staff are using more flexible working patterns, including “hot desking” and working from home, and need solutions that can facilitate that trend.
“I was interested in Microsoft’s solution, including voice over IP (VoIP) and attended an informative event run by Exactive at Microsoft’s head office in Edinburgh. The main thing was to upgrade our existing systems, as well as reducing costs.” Tony McNair, IT Manager, COSLA
Exactive worked closely with Tony to review COSLA’s needs and recommended upgrading their old Exchange Messaging solution to Exchange 2007 with a key feature called Exchange Unified Messaging proposed as the natural replacement for the traditional voicemail system giving staff voicemails straight to their Outlook Inbox – and the introduction of Microsoft’s Office Communications Server 2007 R2, as the replacement telephone system.
“The transfer was seamless. This could have been an issue, given that we were introducing a new corporate desktop as well as making a big jump in the capability of our communications system. Exactive were extremely helpful with this, they showed a great understanding of our needs.
“To date, the signs are good. While it is too soon to discuss longterm RoI (return on investment), we are saving on maintenance and we have improved infrastructure support. We are very pleased with the outcome.” Tony McNair, IT Manager, COSLA