The new midsize business model calls for convergence – not just convergence of voice and data, but also the elimination of network boundaries so enterprises can generate new revenue opportunities, reduce operating expenses, enhance customer service and improve productivity.

Midsize business networks are as diverse as the people that use them. What might be an ideal solution for one line of business may prove to be detrimental to another. What midsize business networks need is a convergence architecture based on flexibility and choice. One size does not fit all.

The following midsize businesses represent three different vertical markets, yet all of them were able to deploy a converged network and realize tangible benefits. Here are their stories of success:

House of Blues - Leading Entertainment Company serves customers and staff better with IP telephony and converged network strategy

Challenge: Booking agents needed faster, better access.
Focused on improving customer service, House of Blues Concerts Canada was looking for ways to give musical artists and their agents in other locations “local” access to staff and employees. By “making the world smaller,” they could also lower their telephone access charges and get skyrocketing long-distance expenses under control.

Solution: IP telephony solution that works with existing digital phone sets.
A converged voice and data solution made it easier for booking agents to connect with staff. By supporting both digital and IP telephony, the solution provided a smooth migration path and ensured investment protection, while significantly lowering the company’s telephone access and long-distance costs.

The company’s growth and success in recent years had resulted in a tremendous amount of long-distance calls. Calls between company locations, coupled with calls between House of Blues offices and talent agents across the country, were often the lifeblood of business, but they also were one of the company’s greatest expenses. By giving HOB Vancouver booking agents IP telephones and networking them over the IP network to the Toronto office, talent agents can easily access the Vancouver resources via a local Toronto number. “There is quite a buzz in Toronto about accessing the Vancouver booking agents locally,” explained Howie Gold.

Administaff is taking care of business - eBusiness innovator relies on converged network infrastructure

Challenge: Growth outpaced the network infrastructure.
It’s the kind of problem that every company should have: substantial growth and increased business across a broader geography. At Administaff, it meant taking action to maintain and improve communications among employees, suppliers, and customers.

Solution: Seamless integration of branch offices for better customer service.
A converged voice and data network brought seamless integration of communications inside Administaff, directly impacting worker productivity and satisfaction and resulting in improved customer service.

Robert Armstrong, Administaff ’s manager of infrastructure planning, testing, and integration, said the goal of the network upgrade was “seamless communication” throughout the company. The all-in-one converged branch office solution allows Administaff to seamlessly network its branch offices with the central office and permits cost savings in hardware and training by retaining all of their digital sets from their previous key systems and PBXs.

Erlanger Health System - Healthcare leader for a four-state region chooses a converged voice and data network as a platform for advancing patient care

Challenge: Replacing separate voice and data networks in a healthcare/critical care environment to reduce costs and complexity while addressing vendor support issues.

Solution: A converged network integrates separate voice and data networks, offers cost savings in several key areas, simplifies network management, and is ready for future applications and technologies as they unfold.

Information technology at Erlanger is essential to efficiently delivering patient care for both routine and critical situations. According to John Haltom, network director at Erlanger, “It’s important that necessary information is made available when and where it’s needed to facilitate
clinical and business decisions. This means providing a variety of communications services among our several campuses, departments, disciplines, and care teams, as well as to our patients and their families.”

“Our goal,” Haltom continued, “for about five years has been to put in place a common infrastructure for all voice, data, and video services provided and then take advantage of converging technologies as industry standards became established and adopted. When we took a serious look at a converged voice and data platform, it was obvious that it was not only a nice fit for our organization, but ultimately and most importantly would greatly reduce the cost of providing services to our staff and community.”

Three midsize businesses, three stages of business evolution, one converged network
House of Blues, Administaff and Erlanger Health System understand the challenges of developing stronger customer relationships, and the critical role of IT and the Internet in serving business objectives. The information management framework is no longer an adjunct support structure; it is the essential foundation for corporate performance. How information is obtained, validated, stored, accessed, distributed are issues central to organizational survival and profitability.

That’s why a converged network is so important; it eliminates boundaries by providing midsize businesses with one network and a world of choice so they can unleash their true potential. Whether it is circuit or packet switching, wired or wireless, local or remote, convergence allows the midsize business to adopt technologies that make sense for them today, while future proofing them for tomorrow.

Nortel Networks is working with customers today in eliminating these boundaries to help improve our customers’ profitability and competitive advantage, by enabling easy access to personalized multimedia communications that are secure, robust, adaptable and available anytime, from anywhere. And Nortel Networks will continue to redefine conventional business models, reinventing the way business gets done, with an emphasis on leveraging today’s networks while providing cost-effective evolution to the networks of tomorrow.

Click here to learn more about Nortel Networks Converged solutions.