Arup builds on VoIP

The benefits of voice over IP (VoIP) are becoming better understood. We know that the technology brings reductions in capital and operational expenditure and better collaboration, and that it supports new working practices such as remote working and hotdesking.

So why has every network manager not torn out the organisation’s old telephone exchange and replaced it with a shiny new VoIP system?

The simple answer is that migrating communications onto an IP-based network can be complicated if you have a lot of infrastructure.

Not everyone can afford to rip out and replace their legacy architecture, so it is vitally important to take a strategic approach so that the organisation achieves maximum return on investment.

Arup is a global firm of designers, engineers, planners and business consultants providing a diverse range of services to clients around the world.

It has more than 7,000 staff working in 70 offices in more than 30 countries, and while it has already migrated the whole of its European and UK operations onto Cisco IP communications – 3,500 users over two years – it has had to integrate and phase the deployment because of the huge scale and complexity of the implementation project.

Other firms with a global presence will need to take a similarly structured approach to avoid potential pitfalls.

Arup adopted a six-pronged strategy, which it continues to deploy as it expands its IP communications-enabled user base.

First, the company developed a strategic vision and overall plan to align the project with its business goals.

The firm carried out a return on investment justification based on any quantifiable benefits of hotdesking and rewiring.

It is critical to stack the project’s strategic vision against your overarching business objectives: improved responsiveness to customers, a mobile sales force and improved collaboration with partners supported by a converged IP communications infrastructure.

Once an overarching plan is in place, a pilot programme is key. Such a project will be easy to establish if you have the necessary skills in house. If you do not, it will give you an indication of the level of support you can get from your partner, and in some cases from the suppliers.

Arup worked closely with Cisco and one of its partners to sanity check the Lan design of its headquarters. The next step was to migrate the head offices to IP communications.

New headquarters gave the firm the luxury of a greenfield implementation. There was no legacy gear to worry about, and no lease contracts – just a new building and free reign to make it work. Getting the head office onto IP communications was a powerful endorsement.

Following the successful pilot, the next step had nothing to do with physically implementing any communications technology, but instead promoted the success of the initial implementation.

An awareness of the statistics showing progress and return on investment goes a long way to supporting the business case for IP communications.

Once Arup’s head office was up and running with the core IP communications technologies, the company deployed mobile and home worker facilities to its key employees, thereby extending the system beyond cheaper calls and into new working practices.

Being able to conference into a team meeting from a home broadband link, with no operational costs or mobile phone bills, not only brings a financial benefit but indicates to staff that the company respects their needs and has taken them on board.

The final and most complex phase of any phased IP migration is assessing each remote site, regional office and branch location, and gauging readiness to join the overall IP communications network.

If the office is due for relocation in the next 24 months, then it is probably not one for the shortlist.

Other questions worth considering are: has the regional branch just had a Lan refresh that does not support power over ethernet? Have you just signed a new lease on a PBX at the site that would cost more to buy out than you could save from an IP communications deployment?

If the answer is yes, then these sites should not be on the shortlist.

Network managers will need to ensure that all potential variables are appreciated if the potential benefits of VoIP are to be realised.

Keith Ali is global network manager at Arup

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