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SOA/WEB SERVICES FEATURE ARTICLES


June 22, 2007

Business Communications Platforms for the Public Sector

By Alan Rosenberg, BlueNote Networks


Government IT organizations are challenged to continuously improve service levels and meet ever-greater business demands while holding the line on costs. To meet these demands, forward-looking government agencies are turning to business communications platforms (BCPs) to modernize their telecommunications services without ripping and replacing their existing systems.

 
BCPs deliver voice services as reusable software components in an IT application architecture. BCPs also enable governments to incrementally add IP telephony capabilities to incumbent communications systems to better serve the public, lower operations costs, and improve worker productivity in a variety of applications:
 
Unifying Disparate PBX Infrastructures
 
Many government voice systems are islands of independent installations. In some administrations, purchasing decisions are made at the agency or department level. Each department is free to choose the solution and vendor that best meet its budget and needs. As one might imagine, this approach leads to huge inefficiencies.
 
One state CIO once told me that his state included more than 300 suppliers on its approved vendor list. Each department selected its own equipment and negotiated its own network services. Two government employees sitting in adjacent offices often communicated over the public telephone network. Workers were unable to transfer calls between departments; unable to share common receptionists, auto-attendants or electronic directories; unable to forward voice messages; and unable to take advantage of any other features that users of an integrated telephone system might enjoy.
 
Business communications platforms allow organizations to interconnect incumbent systems to construct a unified telecommunications complex with a common dialing plan, and integrated voicemail, conferencing, and attendant services. Furthermore, BCPs enable governments to consolidate PSTN trunks and exploit the Internet to reduce telecommunications costs and to more economically connect remote workers and offices.
 
Telecommuting Initiatives
 
Environmental concerns, overcrowded highways, increasing oil prices, terrorist attacks and disaster-preparedness initiatives are prompting all levels of government to draw up work-from-home policies. The Bush administration has made telecommuting a central component of its Continuity of Operations Planning and is encouraging state and local governments to include teleworker plans in their disaster recovery and business continuity strategies.
 
With business communications platforms, government workers access their office communications services from home using a broadband Internet connection—without any special home equipment or software. Home workers can answer their office phones, transfer and forward calls, and access other system features just as they would from their offices. Outbound calls are backhauled to the government facility and carried over central trunk pools to eliminate personal and cellular telephone reimbursement.
 
Plus, BCPs include office telephone numbers in Caller ID information, so homebound workers appear office-resident when calling the outside world. BCPs also permit governments to maintain normal operations during emergency situations and allow government workers to lead more productive lives.
 
Outbound Notification
 
Many Business Communications Platforms offer automated outbound calling capabilities that can be used for public service announcements. Local authorities can leverage BCPs to remind the public of upcoming community events such as local elections, town meetings, blood drives, or flu shot clinics; or to notify the public of school cancellations, road closings, public water supply contaminations, hazardous material spills or other emergency situations.
 
311 Services
 
Many local governments are introducing 311 services for government information and non-emergency services. Business communications platforms can be used to quickly and easily add one-click 311 dialing to government Web sites and to more efficiently direct Web visitors to personnel that can best help them answer a particular question or solve a particular problem.
 
BCPs also pass contextual information to help desk personnel so that they have relevant information at hand to better serve Web visitors. With BCPs, citizens enjoy a better Web site experience and an improved level of public service, and governments make more efficient use of contact center resources by reducing call transfers and average call times.
 
Public Kiosks
 
Business communications platforms include thin client telephony technology that can be used to embed voice capabilities into kiosks in town halls, community centers, civic auditoriums, transportation centers or other public locations. Public kiosks can provide electronic directories to connect to government services and local businesses. Governments can even offer click-to-talk advertisements to generate supplemental revenue.
 
Conclusion
 
Business communications platforms address a wide variety of applications at any level of government. Innovative government CIOs are looking to BCPs to help lower operations costs, extend the life of incumbent systems, and deliver new and compelling voice-embedded applications. BCPs also enable governments to better serve the public while improving the productivity of the government workforce.
 

To learn even more about business communications platforms, check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents free to registered users.

 
Alan Rosenberg is director of Product Line Management for BlueNote Networks (News - Alert). With BlueNote SessionSuite platforms, enterprises, ISVs and partners can quickly and easily embed interactive real-time communication services into a range of commercial or custom software applications, Web sites and internal business processes using industry-standard interfaces and technology. He can be reached at [email protected].

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