VoIP System Upgrade

Goal 3 Sustainable

Delivered FY 2014/15

Deliver viable IT solutions that are flexible, scalable and maintainable: In these economic times, it is more important than ever to be responsible stewards of our limited resources. This means Sacramento will do more than deliver projects, we will also deliver value. Managing for effectiveness means exceeding expectations, meeting commitments, and implementing best practices. Achieve financial stability in IT Operations.

Project Overview: In alignment with the City’s Digital Strategy this initiative ensures the integrity and reliability of the Voice over IP (VoIP) system by replacing the equipment and upgrading to the latest software versions. The following components were upgraded together to protect their interdependencies in the operations of the VoIP system:

Call Manager (VoIP phone system) upgraded from version 7.1.5 to 9.12
Cisco Unity Connection (voice mail system) upgraded from version 8.0.2 to 9.12
Emergency Responder (911 integration) upgraded from version 7.1 to 9.1
Unified Attendant Console (receptionist call distribution) upgraded from version 7 to 9.12
Unified Contact Center (call center system) upgraded from version 7 to 9.04
Agent Desktop (workstation application) upgraded 125 workstations from version 7 to version 9

In addition to the software upgrades, the VoIP and call center environments were virtualized. The number of physical servers went down from 15 to 6 which results in less power consumption, lets thermal output and cheaper hardware support costs.

The network and telecom engineers saved the City an estimated $300,000 by performing the labor in-house. They spent the past few months planning and testing the upgrade in a parallel environment. Their preparation allowed the work scheduled for a 48 hour window to be completed successfully in 5 hours and 30 minutes with very little disruption to city services.

Over the past two months, the Cisco IP Phones in City Hall have been replaced with new equipment. The new Cisco phones replaced their older versions once they exceeded their lifecycle. This is an ongoing upgrade of the phone inventory and will span the next three years as the older IP phones approach their end of life.