New Edge Helps SALA Streamline Communications and Increase Productivity

The standard office environment in today's market no longer exists. More and more organizations are operating with a mix of office workers, mobile professionals and teleworkers that challenges the standard infrastructure, demanding the implementation of new technologies that support a new way of doing business.


This was especially true for Southern Arizona Legal Aid, Inc. (SALA). This organization has served the Arizona community since 1951, offering free, civil legal aid to qualified, low-income individuals in nine Arizona counties and on 11 Indian reservations.

With seven offices across Southern and Southeastern Arizona, SALA consisted of a workforce that included office workers, teleworkers and mobile professionals who work on the road to enroll new applicants within their communities. To get the job done right, all of these individuals needed access to the client database.

To get the job done in the past, SALA had a Wide Area Network (WAN) with low bandwidth at each rural office. Those working in these offices experienced poor telephone communication between staff; very slow downloading of large files; and time outs would occur while trying to access file connections.

The organization needed to improve communication among staff members, deliver better access to consolidated databases and gain access to remote files in real-time. To meet these needs, SALA turned to New Edge and its proposed MPLS solution based on a competitive price and positive customer recommendations.

To improve SALA's communication environment, New Edge implemented an MPLS-T1 solution at its headquarters in Tucson. This implementation helped to strengthen SALA's network with its seven branches, while also providing more bandwidth at lower costs. Remote requests no longer time out and SALA's legal advocates can go into the community to enroll new clients for legal aid in real-time.

Overall, the MPLS solution improved the Quality of Service (QoS) required to run its Avaya (News - Alert) VoIP system, delivering additional cost savings for the non-profit as it reduces long distance charges. SALA also uses a fully-featured Web portal from New Edge, known as MyEdge, which provides 24x7 centralized access and management to its network data and account information.

"New Edge takes care of everything. The MPLS solution provided the Voice quality and bandwidth we required and New Edge's customer services has been great," said Maria Gonzalez, Information Technology lead overseeing SALA's networking services. "Our

dedicated account manager is very proactive and the MyEdge portal provides easy access to our network information which has reduced the demands on IT."

The New Edge MPLS solution has been in place now for more than a year and SALA is now focused on implementing more applications across its network, including a secondary backup server for data redundancy and video conferencing. As SALA sets out to add new offices, they can easily and quickly integrate into the MPLS network and be online to service new customers as needed.