South Yorkshire Police is deploying a Siemens
SIP-basedunified communicationssoftswitch
system to converge its voice and data network
applications.
The system, using the Siemens OpenPath Transform methodology,
will provide a smooth transition to IP telephony across 90 sites,
tailor-made to the requirements of the police force.
The software-based platform will lay the foundations for the
force to easily add unified communications applications. It was
chosen for its compatibility with the existing infrastructure, and
its cost and productivity benefits.
As an open communications system, it will reduce the management
costs and complexity of communications for the force.
The core softswitch server hardware will be hosted at two
Sheffield facilities to ensure resiliency.
South Yorkshire Police recently implemented a new data network
and selected the Siemens HiPath 8000 technology to converge voice
and data.
"Selecting the HiPath 8000 is the first significant procurement
of an IP telephony system," said Kevin Battersby, network manager
at South Yorkshire Police.
"We wanted to maximise our return on our data network investment
by adding
IP voice capability, which is critical to our operations.
Bringing voice into this environment will considerably reduce
costs, both in telephony, management and administration
outlays."