Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. Telecommunication Systems Division

Scott Lowe, CIO of Westminster College, oversees the college’s business communication systems and was responsible for choosing a new business telephone system. He said, “After many years with a telephone system that was costing us thousands of dollars in maintenance costs, we made the decision to buy a new, state-of-the-art system.”

Lowe wanted to have an ultra-reliable system with little to no operating and maintenance costs and wanted to bring current telephony capabilities, such as caller ID and call accounting, to the users at the university.

Robert Hymes, president of CTI, recommended the Toshiba Strata® CIX™ IP business telephone system. He said, “Absolutely no one can beat Toshiba for reliability. The college needs a system that won’t go down, won’t require maintenance, and provides an exceptional level of durability. Only a Toshiba system can do that.”

But reliability was only part of the goal. Westminster College also needed an affordable system that would save money. Hymes bundled the system lease together with Toshiba’s seven-year manufacturer’s warranty that allows the college to pay one monthly bill for everything for

Solution: Toshiba Strata CIX Delivers Reliability, Functionality, and Extensive Features for 1,000+ Users
Installed by CTI, Westminster College has a Strata CIX1200 IP business telephone system with a remote fiber cabinet. The system has a mix of Toshiba IP, digital and analog desk telephones, as well as Toshiba SoftIPT® softphones for mobile and remote workers. Toshiba attendant consoles are used for operator stations.

The system includes Toshiba’s Strata ACD Call Center Solution with two ACD groups, one for fundraising and the other for admissions. Calls are monitored using Ultimate Call Accounting to track calls, agent status, and ensure smooth handling of more than 20,000 incoming calls each month. The system also includes Toshiba’s Strata MAS (Media Application Server), which allows multiple applications to reside on a single server, thus saving costs and reducing maintenance requirements. Running on the Strata MAS are the college’s Strata ACD Call Center Solution, Network eManager® remote administration and Stratagy® Voice Processing solutions.

The system supports more than 1,000 ports spread across 28 buildings on campus. In addition, there are 10 remote or mobile users off campus. The college chose Toshiba’s seven-year manufacturer’s warranty, the longest manufacturer’s warranty available in the industry, and bundled it with the lease and an SIP Trunk long distance agreement from Twist Networks Inc. of St.

Result #1: Unparalleled System Reliability Plus New Capabilities for the College’s Users
“Prior to installing the new Toshiba Strata CIX1200, we were in the dark ages,” Lowe said. “We had no caller ID, no call center, and a questionable telephony future. Today, we have all of the features we want and more with our Toshiba Strata CIX system.”

“Toshiba’s Strata CIX consistently proves to be the most reliable and durable business telephone system available,” added Hymes. “Reliability is paramount when you get in excess of 20,000 calls every month like the college does, so Toshiba was the best choice for them.”

In addition to its unparalleled reliability, the Toshiba system also brought the college into a whole new era of communications by delivering capabilities including call center, mobility, remote workers, and remote administration, all for less than they were paying in maintenance for the old system.

Lowe said, “Our users are thrilled with the new phone capabilities, and it’s dramatically increased efficiencies here at the college. For example, we now have a call center and can track calls, predict peak calling periods, and better manage our admissions, fundraising and student communication.”

Result #2: One Monthly Price for Everything
By bundling the system lease costs with Toshiba’s seven-year manufacturer’s warranty and services from CTI, the college pays one cost per month that will not change for seven years, which is the anticipated life of the system.

Contributing to the cost savings is SIP Trunking from Twist Networks. SIP Trunking replaces traditional long distance services at a much lower cost. The college has 20 unlimited SIP Trunking channels for outbound calls covering all of the United States and Canada. Lowe said, “SIP Trunking works great. You cannot tell the difference in voice quality between traditional long distance services and SIP Trunking. It’s just a better deal.”

“For less than we were spending on maintenance alone for our older system, we now have a state-of-the-art system with extensive telephony features and the guarantee that we will pay a fixed monthly fee for seven years,” Lowe added.

Result #3: Remote and Mobile Workers Utilize IP Telephones to Stay Connected
Using Toshiba IP desk telephones and SoftIPT softphones that work on laptop computers and PDAs, the college’s remote and mobile workers utilize their office telephone extensions just as if they were in an on-campus building.

Lowe said, “Our mobile users have their softphones on their laptops, which gives them all the features and functionality of a Toshiba business telephone from virtually anywhere there is Internet access.” “Our remote workers simply plug their Toshiba IP desk telephones into any network jack, and they function just like they’re sitting at a desk on campus,” he added.

This allows remote workers to work from home or anywhere else, while still giving them the ability to answer their extensions, transfer calls to other extensions, and even be remote agents on the call center.”

Result #4: Remote Management for All 1,000+ Telephones on the System
Using Toshiba’s Network eManager remote administration tool, Lowe can now remotely manage the entire telephone system from his desk. He said, “Using Network eManager, my staff can troubleshoot problems, make adds, moves and changes, and more from their desktop PCs. This saves a lot of time and allows us to solve our users’ needs very quickly.”

Toshiba’s Network eManager provides remote administration ranging from adds, moves and changes to more complex programming. In addition, according to Lowe, the Toshiba telephones are also so user friendly that most of the college’s users can easily program their own telephones for basic functionality such as speed dial and button functions.

Bottom Line: $170,000 Cost Savings, Dramatic Improvements in Efficiencies
Toshiba’s Strata CIX IP business telephone system with Stratagy voice processing will save Westminster College more than $170,000 over seven years.

“What we were paying in service and maintenance on the old system was more than we are paying for our brand new Toshiba system, including the SIP Trunking services and warranty,” Lowe said.

The system meets the college’s goal of having an ultra-reliable system that won’t let them down. It also brings a bevy of new features and capabilities to the school, including call center, remote and mobile workers, remote maintenance and more.

“Together, Toshiba and CTI have given us the peace of mind that we have a top-of-the-line system for a price that meets our bottom line,” Lowe said, “Toshiba and CTI get high marks from Westminster College. We are thrilled to have them on board.”