Talkative applications boost IP impetus

When administrators at Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) nearly lost out on a $250,000 donation thanks to a failing phone system, the Nampa ID-based based school knew it was time for some new communication equipment. But that was only the beginning.In fact, the new gear would provide the foundation for some advanced communication applications. Eric Kellerer, NNU's executive director of IT, explained the current situation at VoiceCon in Orlando on March 7.The school installed a new Inter-Tel Inc. 7000 VoIP platform when the legacy PBX started dropping voice mail messages, including one from a benefactor who wanted to donate a quarter of a million dollars. (He followed through with the gift nonetheless.)The IP-PBX provided an application path. The school used it as the starting point for computer-based softphones - not only for on-campus users, but also for parents. Softphones installed on their computers let them phone kids for free. This helps NNU recruit international students whose parents might otherwise balk at the idea of their children studying so far from home.NNU also used the IP-PBX to improve emergency services. Calls to 911 through the old PBX wouldn't specify a location. Callers could be anywhere on the 15-building campus. Now, 911 calls point to specific buildings. Kellerer said NNU's insurance provider is pleased.The key to getting users excited about communication applications is tying their needs into the infrastructure, but that isn't always easy, Kellerer said. His department sometimes meets with user groups and outlines the options - unified messaging, presence, mobility. "About half way through they get this glazed look that says, ‘I'll never be able to use half of that,'" he explained. "We just want them to understand what the possibilities are."Tim Oliwiak, voice systems analyst at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga ON, knows all about possibilities. Another VoiceCon speaker, he described the new IP-based zone paging system that the hospital installed in the cardiopulmonary and rehabilitation units.In the past, connections between the reception areas and therapists working in the units were tenuous. Receptionists would call therapists' extensions, but the therapists were often attending to duties away from their desks. Short-reach pagers helped somewhat, but therapists occasionally left them in drawers, or the batteries would die.To fix the communication problem, the hospital purchased a zone-paging appliance from Citrix Systems Inc. Now receptionists can page therapists with messages zoned to particular areas of the hospital. The pages flow through the Nortel IP phones.The system is flexible - it goes wherever the Nortel phones go. This was useful when the hospital had to move some therapists to another area for construction. Oliwiak's team simply moved the phones to the new location and the paging system followed.The therapists respond quicker than they used to, thanks to the zone paging system. This has resulted in increased efficiency: therapists are seeing more patients.Such quantifiable gains are important, especially when money is tight. "Quite often when there's a shortage, technology is overlooked," Oliwiak said. Proof points ensure that future IT budgets are healthy. "We have to show results."Patients dial 911 for blankets, steal phonesOliwiak described some of the stranger things patients do with phones. Some dial 911 from their beds, seeking blankets, water or other comforts, even though the nurse call system would put them in touch with more appropriate people. As well, the hospital is reluctant to upgrade the analog phones in patient rooms because people often steal the devices. Credit Valley losses 800 phones a year to theft and breakage. Imagine the cost if those were feature-rich IP phones.

Talkative applications boost IP impetus

News | April 2, 2007

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