The background
South West Communications Group provides National Star College with an extended cost-effective and flexible telephony solution that could cope with its redevelopment programme and reuse much of its existing equipment.
National Star College, in Ullenwood near Cheltenham, is an independent specialist residential College for 148 young people (aged between 16 and 25) who have physical disabilities and associated learning difficulties. It offers a full educational programme that prepares its students for life both in work and socially.
The challenge
National Star College’s site had become overstretched and out-dated so it had embarked on a £15.4million redevelopment programme to provide the best possible facilities for its students. This meant that staff would have be moved and housed in temporary accommodation on the estate while the ongoing building work took place.
The College already had an Alcatel-Lucent OmniPCX Office telephony solution in place but it was full to capacity and it needed to be developed to take account of the new buildings and additional staff it would serve.
The solution
South West Communications Group upgraded National Star College’s telephone system to the larger Alcatel-Lucent Omni PCX Enterprise solution together with an OmniVista 4760 operating platform which are designed to cope with larger organisations. The solution provided the following:-
- Cost-effective expansion as 90% of the existing system could be reused
- Introduction of Internet protocol (IP) telephony
- Automated attendant as a back up to reception
- Virtual pigeon holes with voice messages sent to email
- System management software tool for moves and changes
- Capacity for modular, cost effective growth
- On-going support
For more on this case study, please click here
