The Municipality of Zaanstad supports “The New Way of Working” with private GSM network and IP telephony

The Municipality of Zaanstad supports “The New Way of Working” with privateGSM network and IP telephony

Summary:--

Following an extensive public tender, the municipality of Zaanstad selected Dimension Data to
supply an innovative Private GSM network and Avaya IP telephony environment. These solutions were required because Zaanstad was having a new town hall constructed where almost all of its services were brought together, whereas previously employees were working at three different locations. Together with opting for a new town hall at one location, Zaanstad also chose
the New Way of Working. This new and flexible office concept enables the majority of staff
members to work independently of location, inside and outside the new building. Thanks to the
new and innovative Dimension Data telephony environment, they can be reached throughout
the entire building by their smartphone. And thanks to the Private GSM technology installed,
the reachability and cover in and around the new town hall are first rate. 

Business challenge:-

In view of establishing a new town hall, the Zaanstad municipality chose a telephony environment that supports the New Way of Working. The municipality introduced this concept in order to work both more effectively and more efficiently, and with the New Way of Working the majority
of staff do not have a fixed workspace.On arrival, employees themselves look for somewhere to work. Only Customer Contact Centre and secretarial staff have landlines at their disposal. When the new town hall went into operation, the rest of the staff could choose from various types of smartphones. 

Solution delivered:-

Dimension Data designed and built a private GSM network that has been fully integrated with an IP-telephony based IPcommunication platform. This integration makes broad Unified Communications functionality available on employees’ smartphones. For mobile communication outside the building, the municipality entered into a contract with Mobile Virtual Network Integrator Private Mobility, which connected the private GSM network to Vodafone’s public mobile network. This means that even outside the building, part of the employees are still available on their fixed phone number.
A component of the IP telephony solution is an Avaya Aura contact centre that handles all incoming calls to the central 14075 number. 14075 is the municipality’s
general number that citizens can use for any questions they have. Dimension
Data based the private GSM network on Quortus technology.

The result:-

The Zaanstad municipality boasts a telephony environment that provides reliable and flawless communication by means of an internal GSM network. Employees who are often working
outside the building – and who have to be available – are able to roam between the private GSM network and the public network without any problem. However, this is not the only major advantage of GSM. This approach ensures a robust environment, whereby fewer access points are needed than with a DECT or WiFi network. With a Private GSM environment, employees experience the benefits of proven GSM technology, yet they are not dependent on the public GSM network, over which the municipality has no control, and which can become overloaded.

The solution:-
• Delivery and implementation of the Private GSM and IP telecommunication infrastructure              (according to planning and within budget).
• Maintenance: 24x7 Uptime, so that Zaanstad’s provision of services is guaranteed at all                  times.

Value derived:-

• Employees work with a smartphone of their choice. Based on Choose Your Own
         Device, there is a choice from iOS (Apple iPhone) or Android (HTC or Samsung).
• Employees who also work outside the town hall and who must be available roam without any            problems between the private GSM network and the national mobile network.
• The private GSM network offers better coverage throughout the building with
         fewer access points than DECT or WiFi.
• Increased availability, since employees do not depend on public GSM networks and
        are thus at less risk of poor availability due, for instance, to the public network overloading.