Discussion:
The current city hosted VOIP phone system is very antiquated and is in high priority need of replacement. The current system and servers are 10+ years old, has increasingly limited software version updates and security patches, limited hardware support including the current servers and desk phones, and is missing many of the enhanced features of today's modern phone systems. The goal of this project to is get all staff in the best position to get their work done in a cost-effective and efficient manner today and for years to come with a new supportable phone system.
Features of the new software selection include:
Mobility - Allows employees to take their desk phone number with them on almost any device through softphone functionality. Situations such as Covid highlighted and reinforced the need for flexibility in where and when we work and our current system does not fit this need. **A softphone is just a replica of the look, feel, and functionality of a physical phone in software form on your computer or mobile device.**
Redundancy and robustness - The new software will be hosted in Cisco's robust enterprise cloud infrastructure. Cisco is a market leader in the phone system segment. Many phone systems and offerings come and go in the market and may not offer future upgrades, support, or security patches that Cisco has a proven track record of providing.
Reduce support and hardware replacement costs - With this rollout, and with leadership support, IT is going to strive for having physical desk phones only where applicable and replaced with application-based softphone access. Over time, physical phones fail and need to be replaced due to new software version requirements. Software based phone access allows the phone to be used wherever the employee is located on their desktop computer or mobile device and is upgraded with a simple software update. Support costs will be reduced by having an up-to-date system, reduced number of physical phones to support, and not having on-site servers to manually maintain, patch, upgrade, replace, and backup.
New features and functionality – Along with its mobility and flexibility, the new phone system has an improved front desk style console with additional features allowing staff to see with greater detail who is in and who is out of the office when transferring calls increasing customer service. This is a feature requested by staff to help improve call routing. Webex is also included to increase collaboration and meeting flexibility with internal and external stakeholders. It is a true unified communications tool.
$61,000 of the project cost is due to the replacement of approximately 244 physical phones. The project goal is to reduce that cost by 50%, with leadership support, by having employees use their softphone applications exclusively and not having to purchase a physical phone. There are locations, such as shared desks, conference rooms, standalone phones, and other potential physical limitations that will require a physical phone. The goal is to get those to a minimum to leverage a proven technology. A simple $15-30 headset can replace a $250 telephone at most desk locations. This is a long-term trend at many workplaces and is not anything new in the marketplace of phone systems. Softphones originated in the early 1990s.
$18,000 of included estimated project costs is to incorporate our current analog phone lines used for such connections as fire alarm panels, elevators, fax machines, and credit card terminals. Our goal is to reduce this cost to a minimum by leveraging other technologies to handle these type of communication connections. Investigation into replacement communication technologies is already underway as telecom companies are trending downward on their support of these analog connections.
16 cities currently leverage Cisco phone software and service through Logis. During the decision process, IT contacted Edina, Minnetonka, and Maple Grove and confirmed their satisfaction with the software and support through Logis. Purchasing through Logis allows us to leverage our current technical partnership with their phone system expertise for installation, configuration, long-term support, and their direct relationship with Cisco to get issues resolved quickly with as little business impact and interruption as possible. Continued partnership with Logis allows us to keep a consistent support model if and when city IT employees leave or move to other roles to help keep our systems up and running.
There are what seems limitless options for phone vendors. The staff choice to select Cisco through Logis is based on current customer satisfaction, overall supportability, leveraging volume licensing costs, our current Logis partnership with technical assistance of several other areas of technology, and a proven long-term product record within the unified communications market.
An implementation and cutover date of September is projected if approved and placed on Logis’s project list by March. A majority of the project management and installation costs of $25,000, involve working with each city department during the planning process to evaluate the current and future state of their communication needs. Logis will also be on-site for the cutover that will take place after hours on the mutually decided upon date which is included in these presented costs.