PCI enlists Nortel to build green UC centre

The centre is being designed from the ground up with energy efficiency in mind. According to contact centre outsourcing provider PCI, Nortel was chosen as a supplier largely because the company boasts energy efficiency ratings that are far higher than competitors' products.

The new centre will be located in Melbourne. It will support up to 850 concurrent users, and will allow customer service agents to work from anywhere, but still retain the same phone number and access all the network's resources.

One reason the centre was designed with remote access in mind was to save time and cut down on CO2 emissions by eliminating the need for the agents to commute to work in many circumstances

The centre will utilise Nortel's latest server design, the CS1000E IP PBX, which will be supported by a Nortel Ethernet Routing Switch. It will also incorporate Nortel's Multimedia WLAN 2300 solution to ensure wireless LAN coverage.

Unified communications will be provided via Nortel's Call Pilot unified messaging and communication control Toolkit, which will be integrated with PCI's line of business applications.

This system will allow PCI to provide employees with unified messaging and voice services from a single server, further ensuring energy efficiency.

The setup will also ensure the centre is compatible with a number of networked devices such as PDAs and smart phones. Employees will be able to access the network from any networked device through a unified mobile interface.

PCI is also enlisting Commander to provide end-to-end deployment and on-going support.