CASE STUDY

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

Accelerating Change at SUNY Oswego

Connecting Facilities to Curriculum
When construction completed on the new Campus Center at the State University of New York at Oswego in 2006, it was the first new building on the campus since 1971. In other words, the last campus construction happened before the public had ever heard of Star Wars, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton or Bill Gates, not to mention, voicemail, personal computers, iPods or Droids. If the 35 year period between construction projects seemed uneventful in terms of campus real estate, the pace of facilities improvement at Oswego since 2006 has been a whirlwind- although probably not quite as fast as the pace of technological change. The construction of the SUNY Oswego Campus Center was the first milestone of an $800 Million campus renovation and renewal plan. Today, there are over $300 Million in construction projects that are in some process of completion including a new science center, and renovations to the library and School of Education. Oswegos ambitious and well executed facilities master plan is very tightly connected to the colleges academic mission. The combination of an outstanding curriculum and first class facilities has helped the college attract new students. Oswego offers prospective students a choice of four colleges including the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the School of Business; the School of Education; and the new School of Communication, Media and the Arts. Undergraduates can choose from more than 100 academic options ranging from accounting to zoology. Oswegos undergraduate and graduate programs have been recognized in national publications and the admissions office observes that SUNY Oswego is becoming the first choice for many applicants.

Business 101: Why Spend $2 When You Can Spend $1?

Given the magnitude of the construction activity, it was imperative that the college examine its IT infrastructure to ensure that it could meet the needs of the expanding campus. Joe Moreau, Oswegos Chief Technology Officer says, With any enterprise this large you need to continually reevaluate and refresh. We started to look at where we could streamline, consolidate and converge Moreau sought input from all corners of the campus community and took note of the growing expectations of faculty, students and staff. Says Moreau, Our faculty members have expectations that resources will be available over the campus network and will be delivered to them wherever they may be and whenever they may need them. And, we need to help our faculty help our students meet their academic goals.

Our faculty members have expectations that resources will be available over the campus network and will be delivered to them wherever they may be and whenever they may need them. And, we need to help our faculty help our students meet their academic goals.
JOSEPH MOREAU, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

Accelerating Change at SUNY Oswego

Moreaus Campus Technology Services (CTS) team started investigating Voice over IP (VoIP) systems to replace Oswegos PBX. Moreau realized that the proliferation of campus applications and the increasing expectations of the community required a robust and flexible platform that would be positioned for the future. He also determined that converging voice onto the Oswego data network was a logical choice. In a time of lean resources, we dont want to be spending $2 where we could be spending $1.

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The Platform of the Future Installed by an Experienced Team

After a thorough evaluation process that included site visits to several VoIP equipment manufacturers, Oswego turned to a trusted partner, Verizon Business. The CTS team had great respect for Verizons technicians who had been maintaining the colleges PBX for many years. These same technicians would now be installing and supporting the Cisco Unified Communications Manager system. Compared to the competition, the CTS team believed that Unified Communications Manager offered the most powerful platform to enable campus applications. Moreau had received positive feedback from other SUNY campuses that had deployed similar Cisco systems. He also expressed confidence in Verizons ability to manage the implementation and support the new system saying Verizon has a breadth of resources that competing companies didnt match As the installation progressed, Oswego appreciated Verizons expertise and dedication. Once, when a particularly difficult technical problem arose, the Verizon Project Manager brought in second tier support to keep the implementation on track. As Moreau says You can plan until the cows come home but a lot of times there are things that you dont run into until you start tying things together. We were pleased that when we really got stuck Verizon stepped up to the plate

TelePresence Presents Significant Opportunities

A major benefit of the new system is its ability to deliver new academic offerings via high quality video conferencing .Cisco TelePresence units are strategically placed on the main campus and the SUNY Oswego Metro Center in Syracuse. The Metro Center provides customized programs for businesses, government, and non-profit organizations. Oswego will also be able to tie into other TelePresence locations across the country, providing access to outside experts and opening the college up to numerous distance learning opportunities. TelePresence will add to the colleges distance learning capabilities, allowing students to take traditional classes remotely and reducing the need for students to drive between campus locations. The CTS team expects that Telepresence will help the colleges sustainability efforts by reducing travel and associated carbon emissions

TelePresence will add to the colleges distance learning capabilities, allowing students to take traditional classes remotely and reducing the need for students to drive between campus locations

Connecting Technology to the Colleges Mission

Now that the Unified Communications platform is in place, CTS is planning to deploy additional applications. A major focus will be integrating the VoIP system with campus wireless applications. Moreau is also planning on taking advantage of the systems unified messaging options. He believes there are many members of the community who will welcome the opportunity to integrate their email and voicemail. CTS also plans to extend the reach of Oswegos emergency management system by integrating it with the Unified Communications Manager. SUNY Oswego has proven that a well constructed facilities plan that is tightly intertwined with a schools academic mission can help a college reach new goals. CTS hopes the flexible communications platform and TelePresence system will aid in Oswegos future success. As new applications continue to be utilized in the classrooms and across the campus, the Unified Communications Manager platform at Oswego will provide the technological foundation to help the college enable new technological applications, advance its educational agenda, and attract the best and brightest students.

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