Cisco with Channel Partners Transform City of Honolulu’s Communication System to Provide Enhanced Public and Government Services.
Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com
HONOLULU, (Cisco Partner Summit 2008), April 7, 2008 - Highlighting the value of improved communication and collaboration, Cisco today announced that Cisco channel partners enVision Networked Solutions and Hawaiian Telcom, have worked with the city of Honolulu to help deploy a gigabit fiber network and 3,500 Cisco Unified IP phones. This citywide network overhaul, part of a multi-year project to transform Honolulu’s communication and collaboration capabilities, includes the delivery of Cisco Unified Communications capabilities to Mayor Mufi Hanneman’s office.
The city of Honolulu’s revitalization efforts were plagued with a severely outdated public branch exchange (PBX) system that featured 14 separate PBX and key systems, including the main PBX system that was 30 years old and costing the City $250,000 per year to maintain. The city of Honolulu’s network quickly became an important issue. The result was the creation of a network upgrade that began two years ago.
"In my first State of the City address we identified our phone systems as a major barrier to achieving our goals for the city. For example, it had multiple prefixes, it was unreliable and yet it was the main communication vehicle to the public, creating a number of issues including public safety that needed to be addressed," said Hanneman. "Three years later we have made significant advancements. Our first responders are now on one reliable network system, improving public safety through enhanced communication and collaboration. And, by no longer investing in old technology we have been able to build this new network infrastructure without increasing our budget."
Drive Akamai Website & Pothole Hotline
A side effect of Honolulu’s network revitalization is a better way to manage traffic congestion. To help inform citizens of the work being done and to minimize its impact, the city has created a website, driveakamai.org and a traffic information advisory hotline that is updated daily using Cisco Unified Communications technology. These systems give motorist advisories to help them avoid areas where road construction is taking place throughout Honolulu.
In addition, the Pothole Hotline utilizes Cisco Unified Messaging technology, allowing citizens to call and have a voicemail sent to the road crew in the form of an email, which expedites the work order. This accelerated process has enabled the city to commit to its citizens that it will fix a pothole within five days of notification. Since 2005, the city of Honolulu has patched 176,000 potholes, which is the equivalent of resurfacing 111 lane miles using 51,000 tons of asphalt.
Honolulu’s Trusted Advisers
enVision, a Cisco Premier Certified and Advanced Unified Communications Specialized Partner, and Hawaiian Telcom, a Cisco Silver Certified and Advanced Unified Communications Specialized Partner, both based in Honolulu, worked closely with the city to recommend and deploy a networking solution that would address current as well as future needs.
"Both enVision and Hawaiian Telcom are instrumental in ensuring a smooth deployment," said Gordon Bruce, city of Honolulu’s chief information officer. "Our goal is to complete the transition from the disparate, outdated systems to the Cisco Unified Communications system within the next 18 months. This is an aggressive goal requiring trusted advisors and suppliers, like enVision and Hawaiian Telcom, who provide local as well as Cisco Unified Communications expertise. We are over half way there already."
