Alcatel-Lucent has announced that the Irish National Parliament (Oireachtas) has deployed an Alcatel-Lucent converged IP network to improve the communications services that can be delivered to users - irrespective of their location. The installation, which was designed and implemented out by Alcatel-Lucent business partner NextiraOne Ireland, involved converging an Alcatel-Lucent telephony solution with an Alcatel-Lucent data solution at Leinster House in Dublin, home of Dáil Eireann and Seanad Éireann - the two houses of the Oireachtas.
NextiraOne based the organisation's new telephony solution on an Alcatel-Lucent OmniPCX Enterprise communications system which is now fully integrated into the Alcatel-Lucent local area network (LAN), allowing the Oireachtas to take advantage of technologies such as VoIP within the organisation. In order to reduce costs and improve interaction between staff, the ICT unit examined the potential to build on this solution and utilise IP communications as a way of effectively integrating remote sites and users - giving them the same functionality as employees based in Leinster House. The solution has therefore allowed for the connectivity of 200 remote sites across the wide area network (WAN) back to the Houses of the Oireachtas.
The NextiraOne solution allows for the introduction of unified communications technology in order to facilitate easy access to voicemail and fax messages, and further enhance internal communications across the organisation.
"Members of both Houses of Oireachtas and staff at the Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas will now be able to enjoy even further improvements in working practices, including improved real-time voice and data communications through the use of unified communications tools," said Ron Maher, general manager for NextiraOne Ireland. "The Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas has recognised the business value of IP telephony for further increasing productivity and reducing communications overheads."
"Alcatel-Lucent has achieved considerable success in the Irish marketplace during the last 12 months, and our efforts have now culminated in one of the biggest convergence installations seen so far in the country," said Eamon Connaughton, sales manager for Alcatel-Lucent enterprise activities in Ireland. "Effective communication is absolutely vital to any modern legislature, and the Oireachtas has now equipped itself with a solution that will enable increased internal and external efficiency and productivity for many years to come."