Speech Technology - June 2008 - (Page 34) PHOENIX’S CITY HALL IS NOW HOME TO AN AVST UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM. >> SUCCESS STORIES But keeping that level of service was getting increasingly difficult with its out-of-date voice messaging and communications system. So about a year ago, realizing that its existing voicemail system was rapidly reaching the end of its life, the city began to consider its options for supporting the mission-critical communications needs of 14,000 employees scattered throughout 40 city departments and agencies. It needed to deploy a robust, highly scalable, and cost-effective solution in a short period of time and with minimal disruption to workers or the public. By September, city officials had selected Applied Voice & Speech Technologies (AVST), based in Foothill Ranch, Calif., as the vendor to replace Phoenix’s outdated system from Octel Messaging (a division of Avaya since 2000) with a next-generation unified communications solution. By January, AVST’s flagship unified communications solution, CallXpress, was in place at two locations. One is housed at a central location for most city agencies and the other is at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. “It was a pretty aggressive schedule, but the city decided about a year ago not to renew its licenses with Octel, and we were anxious to get [something else] in place,” says Linda Henderson, the city’s IT supervisor. Because its Octel system was old and outdated, “getting support and maintenance was close to impossible,” Henderson says, “and Octel couldn’t upgrade it.” Maintenance for the new system is provided by AVST reseller Black Box Network Services, based in Lawrence, Pa. The company supports the entire system with a staff of six dedicated onsite employees. Also problematic for the city was the old system’s escalating licensing fees for each new mailbox, amounting to tens of thousands of dollars each year. When the city started with Octel, the licensing fees were about $17 per box each year. www.speechtechmag.com Mission-Critical Communications Phoenix’s new unified communications solution supports 14,000 city employees | BY LEONARD KLIE ith a population of more than 1.5 million and a surface area of 517 square miles, Phoenix is one of America’s fastestgrowing cities. It is the nation’s fifth-largest city overall and the most populated of all 50 state capitals. It is Arizona’s largest employer and has been recognized nationally for a positive economic climate and a skilled and diverse workforce. Its local government has been honored with numerous awards for efficient operations and superior customer service. 34 | Speech Technology JUNE 2008 http://www.speechtechmag.com
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