Mario Cuello, CEO, Epygi

Primary, secondary, and higher education environments alike depend on the proper functioning of communication systems. The adoption of VoIP in these settings has a multitude of benefits as it allows for more cohesive communication between teachers and the staff in other buildings, increased mobility for those teachers traveling around campus, and the ability to utilize more security applications. Though progressing more slowly compared to that of universities, the VoIP adoption in K-12 is on the rise. Furthermore, according to two surveys from Market Data Retrieval, 37% of K-12 public schools (from “The College Technology Review”) and 70% of colleges and universities (from “Technology in Education”) report that they do use wireless networks. Furthermore, VoIP technology offers increased flexibility and security, while providing cost savings for schools.

Large education campuses have looked at a hosted solution for their telephony needs. The decision was either made to reduce the stress on the internal IT staff or to shift the cost to an operation expense. With today’s technology and the ability to leverage the data network, management and deployment of a VoIP PBX is much less complex. The return on investment for VoIP systems that are competitively priced, usually yield a higher ROI versus a hosted solution within a year. Additionally, the institution will own the solution and can have greater control on the behavior of their telephone network and advanced features. Certain solutions even offer free software upgrades allowing the campus to stay on the cutting edge without an additional investment a year down the road.

Since faculty may spend a large portion of their time traveling to other classrooms, they need to be reachable wherever they go. While cell phones may be implemented as a solution, they have proved problematic for most schools because they are expensive and difficult to regulate.

Epygi Technologies’ IP PBX line creates the optimum mobility for this setting. The mobile handsets are essential for groundskeepers and security personnel who have to be outside of the campus, while also staying in close contact with staff inside the buildings. Teachers can also take advantage of the flexibility created through the shared handset in common areas, allowing the teachers to check their voicemail on it.

The strong mobility coupled with Epygi’s ability to integrate with an analog or IP-based paging system is fundamental for improving safety on campuses. School management and security can quickly warn teachers and staff about possible threats through silent visual warnings via the IP handsets. Additionally, Epygi supports video pass-through for free, thus allowing schools to integrate a VoIP surveillance system with video footage from the IP cameras streaming to a computer or video phone. Door entry access can be managed from multiple devices on the telephone network. This allows limited security personal the ability to grant access even if they are mobile.

The growing trend of VoIP adoption in schools will continue to develop in the future, because it simplifies communication on campus, increases safety and mobility. Epygi provides customers with these benefits, while also making the change from analog to VoIP easy and affordable. Epygi’s large variety of features at an affordable price makes the decision for institutions to change to VoIP very easy.

Reference:

The Journal. 1 March 2005. 1 November 2011 <http://thejournal.com/articles/2005/03/01/integrating-voice-into-the-school-network-benefits-of-wireless-voip.aspx>.

Mario Cuello, CEO, Epygi, marketing@epygi.com