The three-year project will see Unify replacing the University of Oxford’s existing iSDX and Cisco Call Manager telephone exchanges with OpenScape Voice and OpenScape UC application. Managed services will play an important role in the transformation – providing lifecycle services, Service Delivery Manager and a dedicated call receipt desk - ensuring that collaboration and engagement move forward uninterrupted.
In the first phase of the roll-out, which commences in December, Unify will deploy full collaboration services, including voice, video, instant messaging and presence to an initial group of staff and students. The introduction is supported by Unify’s ‘OpenScape UC Adoption Programme’, which provides a range of change management activities, including UC awareness, creation of change champions and blended learning - all designed to facilitate and drive cultural change with regards to communications.
On completion, the University plans to implement full Unified Communications to approximately 40,000 students and staff over potentially in excess of 100,000 devices, across 38 self-governing colleges and financially independent institutions. Through this transformative approach, University of Oxford will significantly enhance the user experience, enabling staff and students to collaborate in a more effective way, enhance the existing bring your own device (BYOD) programs and further establish new ways of working from anywhere.
Trevor Connell General Manager West/ East Region at Unify, commented “The best universities were founded on the principles of innovation and learning and in today’s competitive market the best education institutions continue to strive to provide their students world-class experiences in this regard. Collaborative technology is at the heart of innovation as the ways in which we work and consume information are rapidly changing. Our leading OpenScape software will provide a more integrated and collaborative working experience whereby, regardless of location or device, staff and students will be able to engage and better collaborate with each other. Business continuity is central to what we will deliver and risk is mitigated by managed services and a flexible software model while costs are driven down and productivity increased. The University of Oxford is taking great strides in making its vision of innovation and collaboration come to life in a smarter way, and we’re very proud to be partnering with them on this journey."