Nortel and Commander unified communications solution for RMIT University

Nortel and Commander in conjunction with RMIT University are developing a multi-million dollar, campus-wide unified communications and multimedia network to serve more than 3,500 staff and 60,000 students. The Nortel solution will be jointly managed by Nortel and channel partner Commander Australia.

RMIT University will benefit from phone number portability, integration with desktop 'soft phones' to enable communication without handsets, and voice and video conferencing from desktop and laptop computers.

“The overall investment includes upgrading the network infrastructure, various campus facilities and other related services. Our aim with this project is to keep the University well ahead of the curve for the new generation of technology savvy students and to support innovation in teaching, learning and research,” said Allan Morris, executive director IT Services, RMIT University.

Nortel Multimedia Communications Server (MCS) is also being trialed by the university and there is the possibility of future implementation of advanced services such as desktop video conferencing and unified communications.

“We're currently trialing Nortel's MCS unified communications product to determine the impact of click-to-call and instant desktop messaging on staff working across multiple decentralised campuses, and how it might change the way they work," said Morris.

“Just like e-mail changed behaviour in the workplace, we are keen to see the effects that collaboration, presence and other technologies can have on workplace behaviour and productivity, and what new opportunities they present.”

The new network will be rolled out in phases over the next two years, the first being the deployment of 5,000 Nortel IP telephony handsets to the University’s faculty and administration staff, which is already underway.

“Large, distributed organisations like RMIT University are not in the market for off-the-shelf solutions,” said Mark Stevens, managing director A/NZ, Nortel. “The challenge for Nortel is to simplify the network to the point where the evolution of an IP communications network to unified communications is completely transparent to the user.”