Key Business Challenges
A major hospital in Colorado needed to upgrade its aging unified communications infrastructure. By updating the infrastructure’s hardware and software components, the hospital hoped to reduce time spent on maintenance and free up IT staff for other critical tasks. Additionally, the hospital needed to add efficiencies throughout the system and better comply with security standards.
Special Requirements
The hospital sought an experienced IT partner to perform the upgrade and ensure a smooth transition to the new infrastructure. The hospital could afford only 20 minutes of total downtime for its mission-critical communications system and needed to have the entire migration completed within 48 hours. Plus, cost constraints required the organization to keep its large project on-track and on budget at all times.
Sales/Engagement Process
GTRI had a strong relationship with the hospital, having served as a trusted advisor on previous projects. As a result, the hospital turned directly to GTRI without seeking bids from other providers. GTRI assessed the hospital’s existing unified communications infrastructure and provided recommendations for moving forward.
GTRI Solution
First, GTRI worked with the hospital to determine the optimal software and hardware components for the new infrastructure. GTRI replaced the hospital’s existing Cisco CallManager Version 4.1 software with Cisco Unified Communications Manager 6.1.2 software; Cisco IP Contact Center 4.0(3) with Cisco Unified Contact Center Express 5.0(2); and Cisco Unity 4.0(5) with Unity 5.0(1). For the hospital’s ten-server hardware platform, GTRI selected Cisco MCS 7835 and Cisco MCS 7845 media convergence servers.
Next, GTRI began the implementation process, copying over the hospital’s databases, building the servers, and testing devices. An initial dry run validated the functionality of the new technology. After a second dry run to validate processes, GTRI worked closely with the hospital to ensure readiness for the cutover, helping the hospital update its Windows Active Directory in preparation. With all elements in place, GTRI performed a smooth, successful cutover to the new system. GTRI had the hospital’s basic call services—for 1300 devices and 12 primary rate interfaces—up and running within five minutes.
Benefits
Throughout the engagement, GTRI employed its project management expertise to keep the hospital’s venture on-track and within budget. Regular project update and steering committee meetings kept the project on course, while precision planning enabled GTRI to comply with, and often significantly reduce, established timelines. GTRI used only a quarter of the hospital’s allotted 20-minute cutover window to go live, keeping downtime to a minimum. And by employing detailed testing and scripting plans, GTRI completed the entire migration within a single day, cutting the hospital’s projected implementation time by half.
By performing two dry runs with the new technology, GTRI thoroughly tested the hospital’s new infrastructure prior to launch and provided the hospital with an invaluable training opportunity. The hospital’s employees became acclimated to the new technology in a beta state and were prepared to use the updated infrastructure when launched.
The updated unified communications infrastructure integrates the hospital’s systems more tightly, enhancing efficiencies and fostering better communication. It strengthens security by enforcing stricter user sign-on and password policies and it provides a robust platform for this major hospital to explore new technologies, including wireless IP communications, Cisco Unified Mobility, and Cisco Unified Presence. Finally, the infrastructure allows the hospital to perform more sophisticated tracking within its customer call centers, ultimately resulting in enhanced customer service.
