RACV chooses NEC for unified comms
NEC Australia has secured a five-year contract with the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) to replace the company's existing telecommunications systems with a new unified communications service.
NEC will overhaul the company's existing data and voice networks — mostly NEC technology — across operational headquarters, clubs, six resorts in Queensland and Victoria as well as 40 retail outlets, covering over 2500 employees.
RACV had decided to upgrade as there were multiple systems in use in the back office, in the clubs and in the roadside assistance team.
RACV general manager of information technology and communications Martin Byrne told ZDNet Australia that the company had chosen NEC after a tender process involving around 10 vendors.
Four SV8500 communications servers will be installed at the RACV's operational headquarters in Noble Park, with full redundancy backup at the corporate headquarters in Melbourne.
Two of the four servers will be used to support a Genesys system for a contact centre that employs 550 staff. Byrne said this system was chosen because it combines multiple forms of communication. He said customers who sign up for insurance policies with the company generally need multiple points of contact be it online, by phone or by fax. The system also includes new communication methods through social media such as Twitter and Facebook.
The club's 40 retail outlets will use a remote gateway to link to the communications servers at the head office.
NEC will build a new data network using Cisco-based kit and will replace server infrastructure with a virtual server farm of IBM redundant servers. The aim is to reduce the time it takes for staff to access applications, pooling memory and processing power to boost critical applications.
Implementation is expected to begin next year.
In a statement, recently appointed NEC Australia managing director Alan Hyde said that the new system would improve efficiency and reduce costs for the company.
"Our robust and reliable voice and data equipment facilitates RACV's long-term telecommunications roadmap, which will be fully supported locally by NEC Australia."
The implementation of the new system is expected to take two years, and NEC will provide services and support to the RACV for five years.