Education

Modernizing Schools with UC

Out with the Old, In with The New - Modernizing Schools with UC

Educational institutions must continually find innovative ways to improve processes with reduced funding. Implementing IP communications gives school administrators access to effective technology tools that help to modernize their network infrastructure and achieve goals for enhancing communications/responsiveness, improving dissemination of information, increasing safety and security, enhancing productivity and reducing costs/lowering cost of ownership. Currently installed in hundreds of school networks, the Zultys MX IP PBX with UC securely merges voice, data, video, chat, presence and mobility applications onto a single platform and includes collaborative solutions to reduce costs and improve communications and productivity. Along with a wide range of IP phones and compatibility with wireless, mobile and softphones for administrative offices and classrooms, Zultys solutions are reliable, affordable, easy to implement, preserve investment in existing legacy equipment and scale for future growth.

Benefits Of Cost Effective UC Solutions in Education

Built using SIP open standards, the fully featured Zultys MX system with UC is all schools need for customizing their communications in a distributed network environment. Implementing Zultys cost-effective IP-based UC solutions delivers a quick return on investment (ROI) along with these other benefits:

Lower Total Cost of Ownership/Increased Cost Savings

Zultys offers private schools, K-12 school districts, and post-secondary colleges and universities the flexibility to invest in a single IP phone system to streamline communications across a dispersed network of multiple school locations, distance learning, remote and mobile personnel. This drastic reduction in required phone system and ancillary hardware at each location offers these savings:

SIP trunks replace analog lines. Fewer lines = reduces costs
Lower capital investment in IT infrastructure equipment – eliminates need to purchase separate voicemail, fax server, ACD, router, presence server, PBX instant messaging server, etc.
Online web collaboration/conferencing - teachers don’t have to travel for meetings and professional development sessions thus reducing travel time/costs and substitute teachers’ salaries
Centralized system reduces phone lines and monthly long distance access fees
One touch provisioning of IP phones reduces IT personnel at each site

Improved Productivity/Responsiveness

Centralized applications gives teachers and administration 24x7 access to features for better productivity and responsiveness with colleagues and parents like never before like:

Microsoft Outlook integration
Voicemail / fax to e-mail - manage calls from parents and other teachers from office or from home, or from smartphones
Allows for operators to answer from home during snow days or an emergency
Presence and chat via PC screen shows teachers availability to take calls
Supports remote phone extensions for users outside of the classroom
Built-in conference bridge allows multiple teachers to hold telephone meetings

Ease of Management

When deployed as a district-wide implementation, IT staff can maintain and program all campuses with one single admin tool
Centralized web based management allows IT to quickly change calling privileges for teachers, guidance counselors and other staff from an easy-to-use interface
Move a phone from room to room without IT assistance
Ability for reporting on internal/external communications at no cost

Improved Communication and Collaboration

Effective communications foster a unified team of employees and satisfied parents having easy access to teachers and administrators. The MX250 IP PBX’s robust feature set elevates call management by easily handling large volumes of calls, transferring calls across the network using with 4-digit extension dialing and allowing personnel to work remotely while appearing at school. Using UC Presence, IM and Collaboration tools promotes better accessibility of staff and whether they are available to take calls with colleagues and parents.

Using Auto Attendant/IVR, call handling can be customized by school or uniform across a district. Parents and other callers can press a button to reach the correct department without waiting for a staff member to answer. This is convenient to report an absence, request a transcript or get directions.
Simplifies collaboration within and between schools including web collaboration with students, parents, and other teachers/staff along with secure IM with other faculty from smart phones and desktops.

Improved Mobility

Providing people access to shared information everywhere, at anytime, fosters a cohesive work environment. Using UC Presence, IM and Collaboration tools, calls are never missed. Employees are reachable with one number. Calls across the network can be transferred between locations and to mobile phones. Regardless of their location, school employees have access to their email, voice mail and more.

Mobile app (iPhone, iPad, Android) allows faculty to make calls to parents. They can also see their call log, change their status, even secure IM to other teachers or administration while roaming the halls, lunchroom etc.
Wireless connects personnel outside the building or mobile staff like security or maintenance to school administration and teachers, and enables effective communications during events, for receiving urgent messages, etc.

Integration with 3^rd party SIP solution providers

The SIP-enabled Zultys MX250 easily integrates with school bells, paging, intercom, and emergency notifications:

Play school bells, announcements, and music over existing PA or intercom system
Send live pages and trigger emergency notifications from SIP phones
Send live pages for emergency notification to network audio players and client PCs and Macs
Send text and audio to IP message board/clock units

Increased Safety & Security

Ability to react to situations and communicate immediately. For example, administrators can press a button on phone and connect to built-in speaker on a classroom phone.
Wireless and mobile support safeguards employees/students in and around building
In the event of an E911 emergency at any school, the Zultys system automatically notifies school authorities that a 911 call has been placed. Notification includes building location along with room/extension of 911 call to drastically improve emergency response time.

Zultys – A Hallmark of Success in Education

Previously, schools had to purchase a plethora of separate, expensive hardware equipment to deploy a communications network with capabilities they can get today with a single IP PBX. This is vital for educational institutions forced to add services and do more with less funding. With a rich heritage of partnering with schools so more time and resources can be spent on teachers teaching and students learning, Zultys is your partner in delivering powerful, reliable IP-based communications solutions.