AIB
leads the way in VoIP with eircom
Few organisations ask more of their
ICT systems than financial institutions, where the quality
and reliability of all technology supporting business
operations must be impeccable. When AIB Group decided
to redevelop its Dublin headquarters, it saw the opportunity
to analyse and improve the efficiency of its systems and
processes. One technology emerged as an obvious candidate
for the re-designed enterprise IT systems: VoIP, with
its clear potential for cost reduction.
A long-term scoping and analysis of the project began
in 2006, following which eircom was chosen as the prime
integrator and delivery partner for what is now known
as the One Network IP Telephony Project. Today, following
a complex design and deployment schedule that was met
on time and on budget, AIB boasts the single largest installation
of VoIP technology ever seen in Ireland. |
- One
network improves efficiency: The One Network IP
Telephony Project spans two sites, Bankcentre 1 and
the newly constructed Bankcentre 2 campus, incorporating
5000 Cisco IP phones and a new IP telephony infrastructure.
- Major
improvement in call handling: An eircom Digital
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solution has replaced
a legacy IVR system. This phone banking service
is fully integrated with the IP telephony infrastructure
and databases for efficient handling of queries.
-
More power to the contact centre:
Subsequent phases of the project will provide IP-based
contact centre functions to AIB agents serving bank
customers. A thin client bespoke agent desktop is
due to be integrated with the IP system, the first
of its kind using Cisco technology. This will offer
sophisticated call routing and computer-telephony
integration and support major improvements in business
processes.
-
Bottom-line business benefits: The
bank chose VoIP from eircom for its ability to deliver
measurable quality of service and reduced call transmission
costs. Total cost of ownership is also reduced thanks
to a centralised telephone network, centralised management
of call costs and billing, and enhanced Disaster Recovery
capability.
-
IP - supporting the efficient centralisation
and management of IT: The underlying IP infrastructure
now gives the bank the flexibility to centralise banking
functions in large data centres; the capacity to scale
the service and numbers as an operation grows; greater
flexibility in moving or adding phone users, and real
cost efficiencies in merging phone and data networks.
The project is the first phase of
a Next Generation Network that merges phone and data into
a single infrastructure. The VoIP service includes support
for sophisticated call centre functions such as hunt groups
and automated call routing.
eircom and AIB teams worked closely during a rollout process
to implement the core IT infrastructure which delivered
dial-tone and voice mail services by mid 2007. By March
2008 the AIB campus had become the largest VoIP installation
in Ireland. Further stages include advanced IP telephony
features such as call recording, call centre call routing
technology and announcement functionality
In addition to the core Cisco IPT servers and routers,
the eircom team integrated a wide range of third party
solutions: gateways to existing analogue phone networks,
call tracking and a quality of service ensuring different
types of data traffic are all given the bandwidth they
need to work properly.
Paul Williams, IT Executive, AIB, notes that the network
is set to meet AIB's exacting demands for the highest
levels of performance and reliability.
"The AIB and eircom teams benefited from structured programme
management to deliver the new network on time and on budget,
while meeting demanding test criteria for quality, performance,
reliability and resilience," he said.
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out more about eircom
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Strategy
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