Pure IP comms provides functional infrastructure

Point to Point Technology (PTP) was established in Melbourne and is a distributor for a wide range of mobile communications accessories and after-market products. Within a relatively short time, the company established a Sydney sales office and expanded into New Zealand. Furthermore, PTP was moving into the lucrative US market, with further international representation planned in the medium term.

“We were expanding very quickly and our communications and IT requirements were also increasingly complex,” said Brett Haysom, Chief Executive Officer of PTP. “Customer service remains a constant focus for us, so it was important that our communication capabilities matched our physical growth.”

But like most SMEs, PTP did not have the luxury of a dedicated IT department. The challenge was finding a global communications system that was easy to maintain, reliable and scalable.

“We knew that a large integrated network communications system could achieve the desired outcomes, but they were prohibitively expensive,” said Haysom. “What we needed was a communication system capable of providing ‘large corporate’ functionality, yet scaled to suit a smaller operation and which was ready for rapid expansion to multiple points across the world.

“Not to mention our mobile workforce - finding a way to enable travelling executives to still be contactable via their landline and mobile extensions was also vital.”

To overcome these challenges, PTP sought out Aria Technologies to provide an integrated solution that utilised LG-Nortel’s iPECS pure IP system. iPECS sub-systems or iPECS RSG (Remote Service Modules) have been installed in New Zealand and Sydney, while an iPECS subsystem in Delaware, USA, was added to the PTP global network. Each location is connected to a broadband service as well as ISDN, which provides a back-up connection should a local ADSL service be interrupted - to which the system automatically re-routes calls.

The iPECS implementation provided significant benefits for PTP from the beginning.

“The decision to install pure IP communication technology has provided us greater efficiency, better customer service and cost savings,” said Haysom. “We’ve eliminated the need to duplicate communications infrastructure and personnel, as we can now service our customers from PTP’s Centre of Excellence, a 24/7 global support centre based in Melbourne.

“Calls to extensions now ring on the desk handset, while the call also simultaneously rings to our mobiles, with the system connecting the first device answered. Voicemails are also answered promptly, as employees are either notified by email or can retrieve their voicemail from any extension.”

Employees on the road can also connect back to the company system with their laptop computer and a Wi-Fi hotspot to make local and international calls, download emails or respond to messages on their landline back home.