Telecommunications

and the Public Sector

A guide to how telecommunication providers
can help meet key public sector goals
Contents 2

Introduction 3
Efficiency, convergence and value for money 4
Going green 6
Improving the public face of the public sector 8
Secure from the start 10
Next-generation Nomads 12
Bringing it all together 14
About Opal 15
Click to jump to each section

visit us at www.opaltelecom.co.uk call us on 0845 620 1 620 email us at enquiries@opaltelecom.co.uk

 Introduction
Telecommunications is vital to the ongoing evolution of the
Introduction public sector. A properly constructed communications strategy
encompassing data and voice and mobile, developed in
Efficiency, convergence and value for money consultation with experienced partners can help meet key
objectives laid down by Central Government.
Going green Converged data and voice networks provide cost efficiency and
facilitate collaboration; hosted solutions can deliver enterprise
Improving the public face of the public sector grade call management to customer facing departments; secure
IP communications can enable flexible working patterns and
deliver sensitive information to those in the field when they need it.
Secure from the start
Next-generation Nomads
Bringing it all together
About Opal
visit us at www.opaltelecom.co.uk call us on 0800 954 2 321
3
As a recent appointee of the OGC Catalist program, Opal Telecom
relishes the challenge of helping public sector organisations meet the
increased demands placed upon them as part of the government’s
plan for transforming service delivery. It believes that, by investing in
new infrastructures, it can provide the technologies to enhance
services and reduce operating costs today, while at the same time
helping public sector bodies meet environmental targets laid down by
policy makers.
And it’s capable of doing this using applications and technology that
are tried and tested in the private sector and easy to administer.
Opal believes it’s imperative that any and every department challenges
its telecoms provider to deliver the best.
email us at enquiries@opaltelecom.co.uk
 Efficiency, convergence and value for money
As the economic forecasts get bleaker and general elections
Introduction loom, the public sector is under greater pressure than ever to
prove itself efficient and cost effective and accountable for its
Efficiency, convergence and value for money actions. IT and communications is the fastest growing area of
government spend and according to a recent Kable report,
many managers see it as a cost burden rather than an enabler.
Going green
A modern telecoms provider, though, can deliver significant
cost savings and increase efficiency.
Improving the public face of the public sector
In a speech to the CBI last year, OGC Chief Executive John
Oughton urged those in public service procurement to see “value
Secure from the start for money as a guiding principle”. In a fast changing area like
telecoms, though, it’s hard to keep up with where that value lies.
Next-generation Nomads
The regulator, Ofcom, has made huge progress in making the
market more competitive. Many of the best value deals on call
Bringing it all together charges and line rental can be found on the newer, converged
networks that operate completely outside of BT’s domain.
It’s not just about saving money, though, the technology behind
About Opal
an all IP network directly benefits department processes too.
visit us at www.opaltelecom.co.uk call us on 0800 954 2 321
4
Unlike legacy telecommunications, a modern telecoms provider
carries both data and voice as packets of data using the
standard IP protocols. Many people still cringe when they hear
the term ‘Voice over IP (VoIP)’, associating calls placed over the
internet with terrible sound quality and intermittent signal loss –
yet the truth is that on a truly modern network that offers Quality
of Service (QoS) guarantees, you’ll be unable to tell the
difference between an traditional call and one placed via IP.
Even with a legacy PBX on site, the very least an all-IP network
can deliver is free calls between various departments.
Combining an IP-PBX with a flexible, IP trunked network will
unlock advanced features like intelligent routing for mobile
workers at no extra cost.
This ‘convergence’ of voice and data can also bring greater
efficiencies through new applications which make use of
merged voice and data traffic. Under the banner of ‘unified
communications (UC)’, working in groups with people outside of
your direct department is made much easier.
With UC, documents can be securely shared and conference
calls started at a single click from the same interface as your
email address book. It also enables instant messaging from the
same dashboard, an efficient way of dealing with minor issues
without having to make a phone call or instigate a meeting.
email us at enquiries@opaltelecom.co.uk
 Efficiency, convergence and value for money 5
With all these benefits comes greater provisioning flexibility
Introduction too. On a truly converged, IP network, physical lines are a Choose a provider that:
thing of the past. Instead, data bandwidth can be dynamically G Has invested in its own IP network and can offer significantly
Efficiency, convergence and value for money reassigned for voice, and allocations increased without a long reduced call and data costs
lead time or the need for engineer access. There are no
G Provides hosted services to eliminate the need for expensive
expensive lock-ins to legacy systems like Featurenet or
Going green capital expenditure and maintenance costs
Centrex either.
G Can dynamically manage bandwidth requests, without long
Improving the public face of the public sector Put simply, you can increase the number of lines going into an
office for busy periods, for a low cost, on short contracts This contracts for lines which are rarely used
means extra lines can be made available specifically when G Offers solutions that ensure your calls are routed to the right
Secure from the start usage spikes: for example at Universities around clearing time, resource quickly and effectively
or the late Spring/Early Summer period for the Passport Office.
Next-generation Nomads

ICT isn’t a burden or a race to keep up with the latest technology

Bringing it all together available. A good telecoms provider will deliver a solution that
streamlines processes, facilitates collaboration and cuts costs,
About Opal helping the public sector to deliver on important targets.

visit us at www.opaltelecom.co.uk call us on 0800 954 2 321 email us at enquiries@opaltelecom.co.uk

 Going green
Environmental auditing is a vital part of new government
Introduction procurement policies. Thanks to the historic legacies of poor
planning and ‘server sprawl’, it’s reckoned that polluting
Efficiency, convergence and value for money emissions from the ICT sector will overtake aviation later this
year. New communication technologies, though, can be a
powerful tool in the fight to lower energy consumption and
Going green
reduce carbon footprints, often in ways you may not have
thought of.
Improving the public face of the public sector
Cutting electricity usage at a time of increasing energy costs
doesn’t just make good financial sense, it’s good for the
Secure from the start environment too. Until recently, though, power efficiency was
rarely considered as part of a design goal in the development of
Next-generation Nomads new IT equipment and technologies: energy hungry server-
farms, PBXs and bloated desktop PCs are just some of the
legacies we’re left with from the IT explosion of the last 15
Bringing it all together
years. On top of their own energy costs, they need physical
space and cooling to match, with running costs that can be
About Opal equal to the total capital investment every year. The good news
is that replacing end of life equipment with carefully selected
new machines can have an enormous impact on overall energy
usage, and go a long way towards meeting government targets
of reducing emissions by 50% over the next decade. Multi-core
processors have opened the doors to a new era of virtualisation, in
which one server can do the work of up to 50 for the same cost.
visit us at www.opaltelecom.co.uk call us on 0800 954 2 321
6
For example: according to research from Sun Microsystems and Mitel,
an office worker’s desktop including PC, handset and monitor will draw
around 150W of electricity. Replace this with a thin client terminal and
a low power VoIP phone, and you can reduce the power consumption
by a factor of 10 or more. That’s an enormous potential saving.
The same principles apply to everyday telecoms. A hosted telephony
service can deliver all the features you’d expect from a high end PBX,
but without the need to install hardware on-site. Calls are simply re-
routed to any landline or IP connection and administered quickly and
easily through a web interface.
Hosted solutions can also integrate with other server based technology
that you may be running – like Microsoft’s Office Communications
Server. This gives users and switchboard operators enormous power
to take control of how they want their calls handled from a familiar
control suite that only takes minutes to master.
Combining this with a voice-ready, secure IP network from a next-
generation network provider right to employees’ front doors can create
an opportunity for tackling another carbon culprit: the daily commute.
Using technology that’s been tried and tested in the private sector, the
same virtual switchboard applications can re-route calls for home
workers at no additional cost, while providing an intuitive and complete
dashboard for accessing all the information they need to do their jobs
and stay in touch with team members via easy to use telephone and
video conferencing.
email us at enquiries@opaltelecom.co.uk
 Going green
In the same vein, replacing business travel with hosted
Introduction conferencing and data sharing solutions is sound environmental
practice, and reduces travel budgets too. Voice-ready
Efficiency, convergence and value for money broadband guarantees call quality while hosted solutions make
setting up meetings as easy as clicking the mouse.
Going green An experienced telecomms provider will be able to advise of
other opportunities to meet environmental commitments without
simply paying lip service to the green debate. They’ll be able to
Improving the public face of the public sector
demonstrate innovations like web provisioning and paperless
billing which reduce waste, while at the same time integrate with
Secure from the start
your systems for streamlining administration.
Next-generation Nomads
Bringing it all together
About Opal
visit us at www.opaltelecom.co.uk call us on 0800 954 2 321
7
Choose a provider that:
G Offers hosted services - reducing the amount of on-site equipment
lowers energy costs
G Can provide a secure and reliable home working solution
G Will advise on the best hardware to use for minimising
carbon impact
G Promotes paperlessbilling solutions to cut down on the use of paper
G Can host IT applications on their network, further reducing server
requirements in departmental buildings
By increasing efficiency and enabling new ways of working, the role of
telecoms is absolutely vital in helping the Public Sector in meeting
environmental objectives.
email us at enquiries@opaltelecom.co.uk
 Improving the public face of the public sector 8
Streamlining public facing services with the help of modern
Introduction telecoms systems is an important part of making the public
Keeping things accountable
sector more efficient and accessible. Automated call handling As recent headlines have shown, getting the right call solution
Efficiency, convergence and value for money and IP telephony can deliver powerful network-based for a public body isn’t quite as straight forward as it seems.
applications, bringing the power of an enterprise grade
Non-geographical numbers - like 0870 and 0844 – are useful for
switchboard to offices large and small.
Going green centralising services and dealing with large call volumes, but
No-one likes to be held in a call queue, or be passed from pillar they’ve due to the perceived higher cost, they’ve also been a
Improving the public face of the public sector to post. A properly implemented interactive voice response (IVR) sensitive subject in the Public Sector.
service can reduce call waiting times and eliminate the chance a
In the health sector especially, patients have been angered that
caller will reach a frustrating busy signal.
Secure from the start an 0870 call to their GP can be more expensive than a standard
When balanced against benefits like intelligent call routing which local call rate.
enables out of hours service from different offices and automated
Next-generation Nomads In response, a new prefix – 03 – is being designated for non-
processes for Council Tax bill payments or doctor’s appointment
geographical services that are guaranteed to cost no more than
bookings, listening to a few options doesn’t seem too great a
a local call whatever your normal tariff. Many operators now
Bringing it all together hardship to bear. Designed with sensitivity, a good call handling
include 03 numbers with some of their call bundles and
system radically improves overall access to public services.
packages so calling one may even be free. Public sector bodies
About Opal It doesn’t have to mean investing in expensive on site are being urged to adopt the new numbers and absorb the cost
equipment, either. A number of operators offer completely of running them themselves.
hosted solutions which deliver a powerful IVR with compliancy
A key factor to look for in a potential telecomms partner is their
features like voice recording from the network itself. Coupled
track record in the private sector: do they have dedicated
with flexible call routing which terminates a call wherever the
account managers, who can help guide future strategy and flag
right person is, rather than at a particular handset, it’s the best
up issues like this before they arise? If the answer’s yes then
way to ensure access in all situations.
they’ll be more likely to provide the kind of value for money and
The provider’s experience in designing and managing such deliver the service that the public sector requires.
systems can be invaluable in optimising the call routing
program, and designing training programs for staff.

visit us at www.opaltelecom.co.uk call us on 0800 954 2 321 email us at enquiries@opaltelecom.co.uk

 Improving the public face of the public sector
What’s more, as competition in the telecoms market heats up,
Introduction operators with their own network can contribute even more to
financial efficiencies. Newer, internet-based technology delivers
Efficiency, convergence and value for money massive cost savings which are passed on in terms of low cost
line rentals and free inter-site and intra departmental calling.
Going green Thanks to unified communications, ‘presence’ applications
can indicate who in the department is available at any particular
Improving the public face of the public sector time too, so transferring a caller to voicemail becomes a thing
of the past.
Secure from the start
Next-generation Nomads
Bringing it all together
About Opal
visit us at www.opaltelecom.co.uk call us on 0800 954 2 321
9
Choose a service provider that:
G Really understands your needs and can design effective
call handling solutions
G Offers flexible contracts without expensive cancellation costs
G Can deliver network based services (e.g. IVR_ with little or no
capital outlay
G Are knowledgeable about future developments in the
communications market and changing regulations
G Have approachable account managers and with whom you will
have regular contact and advise on the best way to stay
accountable and compliant while saving money
G Promotes the use and availablitlity of new technology such as
SIP and VoIP
Implemention means choosing a partner who will offer the best
advice not just on the practical issues of call routing and
transition messages, but also on staying above reproach when it
comes to navigating the regulatory system and delivery value for
tax payers.
email us at enquiries@opaltelecom.co.uk
 Secure from the start
Protecting data is a key issue for all businesses, but
Introduction especially for the public sector. Up until now, maintaining
security has meant keeping the perimeter of your network
Efficiency, convergence and value for money safe with a firewall. As new ways of working evolve, though,
so too must network security. Packet encryption and secure
access combined with resilient, failsafe routing helps prevent
Going green
data leakage without inconveniencing legitimate users.
Improving the public face of the public sector Nobody needs reminding that data security is a burning issue
for the public sector. In all areas, from tax offices to health care
specialists, sensitive information about members of the public is
Secure from the start stored and accessed on a daily basis. Balancing the need for
swift access to databases and applications and to protect data
Next-generation Nomads is an imperative, and solutions that worked in the past simply
aren’t up to the task of preventing data leakage in today’s
connected world.
Bringing it all together
The old fashioned methods of security – erecting a firewall
About Opal perimeter and requiring password logins – are no longer
enough. There are two reasons for this: the changing nature of
network applications and the changing nature of threats.
visit us at www.opaltelecom.co.uk call us on 0800 954 2 321
10
As more and more distributed applications are added to a network
traffic, more and more points of vulnerability emerge. Battling to close
these with traditional tools is near impossible, and requires too great an
investment in system administration for too little additional security. At
the same time, as recent problems have shown, the greatest threat to
security is no longer hackers or viruses trying to get into a network, but
human error or malevolence allowing information out. When large
numbers of people have access to, for example, information about
benefit claimants which isn’t stored in an encrypted format, eventually,
some of it is going to slip out.
Experts at IDC reckon that some 84% of data leakage is generated
internally. Sometimes it’s embarrassing, sometimes it’s costly and
sometimes it’s dangerous – all the time, public services must be seen
to be doing everything they can to prevent it.
Fortunately, the migration to a new, IP-based telecoms and data
network can actually help rather than exacerbate the problem. The two
biggest steps to securing data are native encryption of all traffic on the
network, and user based access to that information using policies
which can be centrally administered. Telecoms providers who can
support modern Network Access Control (NAC) techniques (e.g.
VPN’s) and management platforms are better placed to help keep
sensitive data secure, no matter who needs to access it from where.
email us at enquiries@opaltelecom.co.uk

Introduction
Efficiency, convergence and value for money
Secure from the start
There are other security considerations to take into account
when choosing a network. Maintaining the integrity of
application in the events of catastrophic failure is an important
part of IT planning.
11
Choose a telecoms provider that:
G Protects voice and data at all key points
G Applies spam and web filtering on the network

Going green G Quickly and easily applies upgrades and new features
G Has a solid disaster recover policy
Improving the public face of the public sector G Backs up data in secure data centres
G Can reroute calls in case of PBX failure
Secure from the start
G Can offer both private MPLS and internet VPN access
Next-generation Nomads

Bringing it all together A telecommunications provider who can offer secure back up or data
mirroring at its own data centres, alongside failsafe application hosting,
will be able to provide seamless fail safes in case of emergency.
About Opal

visit us at www.opaltelecom.co.uk call us on 0800 954 2 321 email us at enquiries@opaltelecom.co.uk

 Next-generation Nomads 12
Flexible working isn’t just about helping employees achieve a know the benefits they can bring. It can also be part of bringing
Introduction better work/life balance. There are well documented, hard business processes up to date, allowing council officers to file reports
business benefits in giving people the opportunity to work in in the field from mobile devices or paramedics to access databases
Efficiency, convergence and value for money a manner that suits them. These are tangible enough that that and communicate with central staff.
central government has developed ‘Project Nomad’: an
Whatever the initial driver, though, flexible working has very measurable
ongoing process of determining best practices for flexible
Going green business benefits. As well as significantly increasing employee
working and encouraging more public bodies to adopt them.
satisfaction ratings, according the government’s own figures,
Whether it’s home working, hotdesking, mobile workers or
Improving the public face of the public sector productivity can be increased by as much as 25% thanks to reduced
collaboration between jobshares, getting the telecoms
sickness and staff turnover in desk based jobs alone. Giving a support
strategy right is vital to Project Nomad’s success.
worker the technology to access internal systems on the road can
Secure from the start Many people still see the civil service as the faceless transform the role completely.
bureaucracy best represented in Terry Gilliam’s film, Brazil.
‘Project Nomad’ combines making the public sector a better place to
Next-generation Nomads The truth is that it’s a dynamic environment ahead of many
work, which leads private industry by example, with making public
private enterprises when it comes to embracing modern
organisations more efficient and cost effective.
working practice.
Bringing it all together
It is also a major part of the government’s commitments to hit
Take the government initiative ‘Project Nomad’, which is helping
environmental targets. By enabling more employees to do more
About Opal to implement and evaluate flexible working in the public sector.
work out of the office or at smaller regional offices which can be
Simple in concept, rather more complicated in detail and
centrally managed, commute times are reduced, overall space
execution, Project Nomad is a little like the term ‘flexible
and equipment requirements are reduced and significant energy
working’ itself. It encompasses everything from job sharing and
efficiencies can be made.
home working to improving systems for mobile workers in health
care and planning. Communication is absolutely key to getting ‘Project Nomad’ right.
Whether that’s choosing the right partner for data access, or making
All are tied by a common theme, though, the ability of modern
sure outreach and home workers still feel part of the team via
technology to reduce the amount of time an employee needs to
conferencing, instant messaging and ‘presence’ applications. It’s also
spend ‘in the office’.
vital that managers can still do their job, and quantifiably measure
Demand for flexible working arrangements is often employee led employee’s performance to build bonds of trust.
– whether it’s parents returning to work or younger, more
technically aware members of the workforce who have grown
up with tools like instant messaging and videoconferencing, and

visit us at www.opaltelecom.co.uk call us on 0800 954 2 321 email us at enquiries@opaltelecom.co.uk

 Next-generation Nomads
Fortunately, many of the technologies that make flexible working
Introduction arrangements reliable and secure are provided for at network
level by today’s modern telecoms companies. Home worker
Efficiency, convergence and value for money applications which handle call distribution and back office
integration have played a major role in streamlining the UK call
centre industry and helping to win back business from the sub-
Going green
continent thanks to security, ease of use and the ability to cover
access at all times by using home workers.
Improving the public face of the public sector
Many providers now have the experience to quickly roll out new
services across their networks which work seamlessly with
Secure from the start established systems and applications. Their converged
networks can carry data and voice securely between offices,
Next-generation Nomads and deliver the cost savings of VoIP and SIP trunking and
hosted IVRs in the process. Where hardware investment is
needed, they already have a trusted network of vendors they
Bringing it all together
can rely on.
13
Choose a telecoms provider that:
G Has proven and refined technology that is being successfully
utilised in the demanding private sector
G Knows what works and what doesn’t, and can advise on
hardware purchasing
G
Can help users get to grips with new concepts quickly
G Can support voice and data transfer securely
G Can deliver advanced services at a competitive cost
G Respond quickly to fault reporting
With the right telecoms partner, work cultures can be changed for
the better without major upheavals or disruption.

About Opal One stumbling block for ‘Project Nomad’ is that when things go
wrong, they may be out of your IT staff’s control. It’s important
to find a partner you can trust, who has a track record in
providing ‘always on’ support and robust tools for automation
and self administration.

visit us at www.opaltelecom.co.uk call us on 0800 954 2 321 email us at enquiries@opaltelecom.co.uk

 Bringing it all together
A major failing of many ICT projects is inadequate planning
Introduction and poor network provisioning. A telecoms partner with both
the technology and the experience that’s been honed and
Efficiency, convergence and value for money proven in the private sector can provide a robust, failsafe
platform for delivery of services across government
departments.
Going green
The public sector has been mandated with achieving goals in
Improving the public face of the public sector modernisation and streamlining of services; in accountability and
cost effectiveness; in increasing data security yet enabling
flexible working; and taking the lead on environmental issues.
Secure from the start
All of these targets are achievable using ICT applications and
services that are available on the market today.
Next-generation Nomads
Bringing it all together
About Opal
visit us at www.opaltelecom.co.uk call us on 0800 954 2 321
14
This is a watershed year for the ICT industry. Many technologies which
have been discussed for a long time under the catch all of unified
communications are finally coming to fruition, with the support of all the
major hardware and software vendors. Bringing together voice and
data onto one network and layering applications over them both opens
up a world of opportunity.
Too often, though, we see headlines where new systems have failed
the public sector by running over budget and compromising its duty
of care.
Opal Telecom believes that its tried and tested IP platform, along with
associated services such as data backup and hosted telephony, can
play a major role in continuing transformation of the public sector.
Through the services it offers and supports, it can help with rapid and
cost effective deployment and management of the applications the
public sector needs to keep evolving.
email us at enquiries@opaltelecom.co.uk
 About Opal 15
Opal is the business-to-business division of The Carphone Opal’s association with the OGC Catalist – Telecoms Network
Introduction Warehouse Group Plc, the UK’s 3rd largest communications Framework, emphasises a continued commitment to the public sector.
network operator and a member of the FTSE 100. This,
Market-unique products, honest advice and excellent value
Efficiency, convergence and value for money coupled with a £200m investment in state-of-the-art network
propositions are just a few of the reasons why Public Sector
capability has created an extensive choice of reliable and
organisations are choosing Opal.
flexible solutions.
Going green
We offer solutions ranging from disaster recovery to remote working;
Customers are at the heart of the Opal approach with:
covering connectivity and data solutions, landlines and mobile
Improving the public face of the public sector customisation, reliability, technical support, innovation and clear
solutions. All supported by a range of applications such as call
strategic direction all providing the reassurance needed in
recording and queuing, and underpinned by our reporting and
today’s marketplace.
Secure from the start management tools.
Opal has enjoyed great success within the public sector for over
15 years, delivering a range of products, supported by award
Next-generation Nomads
winning customer service.

Bringing it all together

About Opal

visit us at www.opaltelecom.co.uk call us on 0800 954 2 321 email us at enquiries@opaltelecom.co.uk