Technology Planning & Priorities Committee
June 9, 2011
Present: Joel Cooper, Nathan Grawe, Joe Hargis, Bev Nagel, Paul Thiboutot, Jim Fergerson
Fred Rogers, Hudlin Wagner, Steve Spehn
Absent: Laura Chihara
Agenda:
1. Approval of 5/25/11 minutes.
2. Discussion of phone system features list and how to proceed with replacement of voice mail system/PBX.
Approval of Minutes:
The minutes from the 5/25/11 meeting were approved with no changes.
Discussion of phone system features list and how to proceed with replacement of voice mail system/PBX.
Fred Rogers and Steve Spehn gave the committee an overview of the proposed telephone system upgrade and the list of features available as part of the base project or at additional cost. Our current phone system software was last upgraded in 2000 and is no longer being supported by the vendor (Nortel). If we experienced a software failure, Nortel may not be able to assist us. The PBX hardware central processing unit is also very outdated and due for an upgrade. Carleton shares a voice mail system with St. Olaf that was installed in 1988, has not had any updates, and is at the end of its life. The voice mail system is the most at risk for failure and should be a priority for replacement. There’s no longer an advantage for us to share a system with St. Olaf and we’d benefit from having additional flexibility for future decisions. The voice mail system can be replaced independently of upgrading the PBX if the College is not ready to fund the PBX at this time. The new voicemail system would have additional features and cost an estimated $22,000.
Updating the PBX hardware and software offers the following advantages over other options:
· Least costly option.
· Leverages previous investments in campus phone equipment; wiring, infrastructure hardware and phone handsets.
· Continues to run on separate wiring infrastructure bring level of redundancy.
· Brings new features people typically associate with VoIP options. Easy to add additional features.
· Easily supports other systems such as FAX server.
· Requires least amount of retraining for those supporting the telephone systems.
· The upgraded PBX system is voice over IP ready and will support it. Changing to VoIP would also involve replacing all the phone handsets and converting the phone service to run over the campus data network.
Total estimate for the PBX upgrade and software replacement is $225,000. Fred noted that Northfield Hospital completed this same scope of upgrades last summer and St. Olaf is in the same planning stage as Carleton.
An alternative to these two options is VoIP. Organizations are not transitioning to VoIP until they have a strong business and economic reason to do so. With this option Carleton could use our existing PBX server and change the way the phones are connected to the server.
Advantages are:
· Eliminates need to install (if not already) or maintain separate wiring for phone service. Separate copper wiring is still needed for analog modems, FAXs and some alarms.
· Utilizes existing data network wiring and infrastructure.
· Utilizes the existing, upgraded PBX servers.
Disadvantages are:
· Would not be a level of redundancy between phone system and computer network access. During network outages both phones and computers would be out of service creating interruption and risk.
· Added cost of replacing all handsets to support VoIP.
· Consumes more electrical power than current system.
Estimated cost of this option is $750,000.
There are lots of options, but what’s the best investment for us right now that gives us flexibility in the future?
After considerable discussion, the committee decided to move ahead this summer with installing a new voice mail system. The committee also decided to allocate funds to purchase a new PBX phone switch. We will first see how the upgrade goes at St. Olaf before moving forward. More details need to be figured out about implementation, compatibility, and integration with our systems. Fred and others will also schedule a site visit to the Northfield Hospital to check out their system.
Meeting adjourned at 2:50pm
Submitted by,
Candyce Lelm