One of the easiest ways to provide telecommunications at schools is through the use of Centrex services, but you or a customer may be dealing with stacks of these bills every month, battling over questionable charges and sizable ongoing costs. The idea that a school should displace these analog lines with new IP or even older digital PBX phones is daunting. If the solution uses all new telephones this can represent more than 50 percent of the cost.
Use the following guidelines for making the leap to IP telephony and unified communications.
Consider the dorms, administrative and academic offices and other locations that use analog services. Make the transition transparent for users and incorporate existing telephones to save costs.
Try to utilize existing network infrastructure and challenge vendors to show creative ways to derive a more cost-effective solution.
Don’t accept a centralized solution that requires expensive re-wiring. New solutions should allow distribution across the entire campus. This includes the analog connections, which should be modular devices that easily fit into existing wire closets.
Consider new carriers for trunk circuits and having service from multiple carriers delivered to different locations on campus. This gives you a negotiating edge and provides a natural backup in the event of failure of one of the trunks.
The newest approach to communications is software-based, allowing you operate on standard servers and systems for which there may already be a purchase program. Schools can use their buying programs for these components and better coordinate support and maintenance agreements.
Make sure the system offers the ability to add new communications services in the future.
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