Honda turns the corner with IP comms

In 2009, Honda Australia Motorcycles and Power Equipment (MPE ) turned to Dimension Data to provide cost-effective monitoring of its mission-critical IP telephony network and ensure the system is always running and revenue is protected.

In early 2006, Honda MPE rolled out an IP telephony system to replace an ageing PABX system and to streamline voice communication between its offices. This network was supported by a three-year maintenance agreement with a third-party maintenance service provider. During this time, the company was dissatisfied with the service provided by the company.

“We did not have the skills in house to manage an IP telephony network, so we needed a new service provider to offer a more cost-effective and consistent service,” said Craig Bassett, Senior Information Technology Manager, Honda MPE.

Honda MPE’s IP telephony network is based on two Cisco Media Convergence Server appliances: Cisco Unified Communications Manager, which handles call routing, and a separate server for the IPFX software, which integrates with the company’s existing Lotus Notes email system.

The IPFX application routes voicemail messages to email inboxes and provides ‘presence’ capabilities that indicate the call status of each staff member at any point in time. Around 120 Cisco 7940 IP phones are scattered across all sites.

Dimension Data has provided registration and support services for Honda MPE’s range of Cisco networking devices such as routers and switches. All services are covered under one support agreement and are delivered under a joint offering between Cisco and Dimension Data called ‘Uptime Powered by Cisco Services’.

Initially, Dimension Data conducted a review of Honda MPE’s existing voice network and identified areas where support services could be added and improved.

Dimension Data mapped out a low-risk upgrade path and provided a system that met the company’s exact requirements. Under the managed service, Dimension Data set up a frame relay link to monitor Honda MPE’s network around the clock from Dimension Data’s Melbourne-based Global Services Centre. Honda MPE’s voice network is under constant surveillance and network issues are identified and resolved remotely by Dimension Data.

Honda MPE needed to upgrade to the latest version of Cisco Unified Communications Manager 7.0 as its existing version was no longer being supported by Cisco and it wanted to take advantage of performance improvements. During this upgrade, Dimension Data created an environment to test the new software configuration and managed the rollout across the company’s offices.

“The upgrade was done by Dimension Data engineers off site over a period of about two to three weeks,” said Bassett. “The service provided by Dimension Data during this time was exemplary; they have skills that we don’t have in the Cisco voice and data area, which is valuable.

“We take comfort in knowing that our network is being monitored remotely,” said Bassett. “We can rely on Dimension Data’s engineers to identify and resolve issues almost instantly or at least within a few hours. If issues happen overnight, they can be resolved before the business day begins on the next day.

Honda MPE relies heavily on its telephone system; around 25% of all its orders are placed over the phone or by fax. The company also fields around 300 customer support calls per month. With the monitoring service in place, there is no risk that the phone system will be offline for a long period of time in the event of a system failure.