The phone network installed in Gresham's School, a private day
and boarding school in Holt, by APR Telecoms has saved the
organisation a massive £10,000 per annum. Gresham's pre-prep, prep
and senior schools are split between three sites and dozens of
different buildings, and with each site having its own phone system
[around eighty incoming lines in total] phone calls between sites
had to be paid for. It also ran a complex data network that
connected all the data for the campus via fibre optic cables and
direct IP connections.
APR Telecoms, based in Wymondham, Norfolk is one of East
Anglia's leading telecommunications equipment suppliers and
maintenance companies; as such, it was asked to provide a modern,
simplified phone system that would be more efficient and less
expensive to run.
Faced with updating such a complex and costly network, APR's
solution to Gresham's problem was to install a phone system in the
main admin office running traditional digital handsets, with other
buildings connected via the existing IP network using VOIP
handsets. Having completed this, the end result was that number of
incoming phone lines was reduced from eighty to ten and that all
internal calls became free of charge. Incorporated in the network
is call management software that enables staff to run off reports
on phone usage for every phone connected to the system.
APR Managing Director Andy Rackham comments: "To ensure that the
project was delivered seamlessly, APR firstly carried out a full
VOIP audit across the school's complex network by sending random IP
traffic around the system and collating the data to highlight any
potential weak spots. We identified two on the first audit - two
old hubs that would slow voice calls down. Once these were replaced
by up-to-date data switches, the system underwent further
tests.
"When we were satisfied that we could successfully run VOIP
across the network, APR firstly installed the main phone system
into the senior school administration office with digital
extensions attached. This meant that the hub of the system would
continue to work in the event of a data network failure. We then
rolled out the IP handsets to the other locations as
required."
Gresham's new phone network brings multiple benefits. Not only do
all three schools benefit by being connected by one phone system;
the return on the initial investment is less than four years, and
the school can now use the annual savings of £10,000 to invest in
other, more valuable areas within the school.