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Bordeaux goes Broadcast with Total IP Solution from NextiraOne
March 2011 by Marc Jacob
NextiraOne has been chosen by the Bordeaux community to design a new, secure, all-IP network that delivers voice, data and video communications, video surveillance and a range of applications. These include centralised technical building management, badge reading, access control and IPTV.
The Urban Community of Bordeaux is made up of 27 municipalities with more than 660,000 inhabitants and is the sixth largest community in France with over 2,500 employees. It has a central head office and 32 additional sites. The community’s IT network was too old to support new technologies and the Bordeaux administration wanted to make use of new applications to increase staff efficiency, improve communications internally and with the general public. It also wanted to be able to broadcast the activities of elected representatives at council meetings and to integrate video surveillance into one single network.
NextiraOne, with its technology partner Cisco, won the tender for the implementation of the single multi-service infrastructure which includes voice, video and data communications plus building management and which is accessible for a range of users, from employees and councillors to the general public, citizens of the Bordeaux community. The new network uniquely integrates secure wired and wireless connectivity for all user populations.
Delivering Unified Communications
The aim of the project was a total upgrade of the IT network and telephone system as well as the maintenance of all ancillary equipment and software. NextiraOne designed a secure IP architecture and integrated unified communications solutions deployed at the various local authority sites. This open, scalable architecture provides enhanced services for telephony, mobility, desktop and video applications.
The new infrastructure is based on the use of Cisco’s Unified Communications Manager v6.1 together with 3,000 IP terminals (including fixed handsets, DECT and WiFi phones), 22 portals with 28 T0 and 2 T2 access points, ACD, a Telesnap NOW solution (formerly Netwise), Cycos unified messaging, voice & data convergence software (Cisco Click2call, softphone and Telisca personal directory), Phonexone’s MindCTI for metrology and taxation, a QoS monitoring (SLM) service pilot, video broadcasting and video surveillance. Management of Quality of Service is of critical importance in this project because of the differing requirements of the various applications, bringing together voice, video and data in one.
The contract also covers an operational support agreement including the management of incidents.
Using video for efficient internal and external communications and enhanced security
CCTV cameras for internal and external surveillance have been placed at entry and exit points of the buildings and have removed the need for discrete networks for different applications.
The Bordeaux administration also wanted to introduce systems for the broadcast of council meetings via its website and to allow elected representatives to connect remotely and to participate (by voice and video) during these sessions. This has been achieved by the integration of video streaming and the introduction of soft-phones with VMS. In addition, the video application has been well-received by employees who are able to improve their internal communications - information is disseminated to television screens via the IP network. The TVs are connected via set top boxes to the IP network removing the need for a specific dedicated network.
The video system uses Cisco LAN and WAN networking with Cisco soft-phones integrated into NextiraOne’s VMS. It also comprises Mavix video surveillance over IP, IP cameras and RAID 5 recording equipment. This configuration facilitates a centralised operation for both video and alarms and makes manipulation (adds and moves) easier.
The Bordeaux administration is currently experimenting with the use of IP videoconferencing for its employees and partners.
Change management
NextiraOne has also been very involved in promoting the adoption of these new technologies, providing training support for the 2,500 staff of the Bordeaux authority. Presentation sessions have promoted new tools and applications and their uses.
Technology choices were made following a test phase carried out with test and pilot groups. An internal communications plan was then put in place including internal newsletters, an Internet section dedicated to the project and display stands at the three main sites. In addition self-help tutorials were made available to employees and a personalised training plan developed. Finally the staff had on-site help available on the migration days and the opportunity to contact a hotline to support them in using the new applications.
The project, which affected all areas of activity of the Bordeaux authority, has won the support of the workforce which has have rapidly taken ownership of the new applications, thanks to the recommendations of the pilot groups.
“This major project, jointly run by NextiraOne and Cisco, has increased employee productivity while providing an excellent RoI,” commented Patrice Lacoste, Head of the IT Production Centre for the Urban Community of Bordeaux. “NextiraOne and Cisco created a flexible, scalable and secure infrastructure that integrates the management of our indispensable Quality of Service requirements and enables multi-media connection for very different populations of users. That was what convinced us to choose their proposal.”
