ShoreTel to Supply Salvation Army Sites with Communications Solutions

The Salvation Army was founded in London, England in 1865, and since has grown to more than 126 countries around the world running a wide range of charities. With 150 years of service, it has survived by adapting to changes in society in order to continue delivering the help people need, this includes using the latest technology. The Australian branch of the organization, which has been there since 1880, is upgrading its communications solution at the new Sydney head office and 60 sites for The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory. To make this possible, it selected ShorTel, provider of phone systems and unified communications (UC) solutions for the cloud and premises.

According to ShorTel, the project, which will include the deployment of more than 1,700 ShoreTel IP telephony handsets to more than 60 Salvation Army sites in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory, was proposed by HP: one of its partners.

In addition to the phones, the company will be providing ShoreTel Unified Communications, Contact Centre and Mobility solution across the entire Salvation Army operation. One of the criteria of the project is to integrate IBM Notes, a collaboration platform used globally by the Salvation Army.

As Wayne Bajema, IT Manager, The Salvation Army (Australia Eastern Territory) said, “Telephony integration with our messaging and applications environment will improve how we do business. For example, when we deploy UC in our Salvo Stores contact center, our agents will be better able to use the smarts in our IBM Notes customer management system to manage calls.”

The first deployment will be at the new headquarters in Sidney, which will consolidate up to ten current offices. ShorTel will have its UC platform ready when the office opens, giving all employees the flexibility to work from the office or out in the field by integrating mobility solutions.

Bajema added, “We want to give our staff the ability to work anywhere, and not necessarily be fixed to a desk.”

The hardware/software hybrid solution for The Salvation Army was designed by HP based on ShoreTel Unified Communications, Enterprise Contact Center and Mobility products. This will give the headquarters, branch offices, contact center, retail stores and aged care facilities mobility capabilities.

The data center in Sidney and Brisbane will support the core of the UC system, which will be virtualized as an active/active dual deployment. The company stated facilities that require on premises services, such as the center for the aged, will have the physical ShoreTel phone appliances.

“The simplicity and modularity of the ShoreTel UC platform delivers what the organization needs today and enables The Salvation Army to easily take advantage of future technology developments, including the adoption of cloud applications and infrastructure,” said Frederic Gillant, Vice President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific, ShoreTel.

As the Salvation Army continues to help people around the world, it will need to adapt to the latest technology to ensure it survives another 150 years. The ShorTel platform will future proof the communication needs of the organization as new solutions come into the marketplace.