University of Edinburgh Knowledge Strategy Committee. 18 June University Telephone System VoIP Rollout

Transcription

1 University f Edinburgh Knwledge Strategy Cmmittee E Clsed Brief descriptin f the paper 18 June 2014 University Telephne System VIP Rllut This paper sets ut the case fr cmpleting the rllut f the Vice ver Internet Prtcl (VIP) telephne system, allwing the existing analgue system t be decmmissined. It utlines why this is nw particularly URGENT, and the substantial risks t the University s business invlved in nt ding s. The paper requests that a budget f 50k be allcated initially, t enable specialist cnsultants t be engaged t assist with the necessary prcurement prcess. A further paper t EC will be presented in September 2014, requesting up t 2M be allcated t cmplete the VIP rllut. The paper was presented t Estates Cmmittee n 28 May 2014, and 50,000 was allcated fr cnsultant supprt in 2014/15. Actin requested Resurce implicatins Des the paper have resurce implicatins? Yes 50k fr cnsultant supprt early in FY 14/15. Implementatin will require apprximately 500,000 late in FY 14/15, 900,000 in FY15/16 and 600,000 in FY 16/17. Risk Assessment Des the paper include a risk assessment? Yes, in sectin 8. Equality and Diversity Has due cnsideratin been given t the equality impact f this paper? Yes: the accessibility f the telephne service will nt be adversely impacted by the migratin t VIP. Freedm f infrmatin Can this paper be included in pen business? N Reasn: prejudice t cmmercial interests. Originatr f the paper Dr Chris Adie (Head, Cmmunicatins Infrastructure Sectin, Infrmatin Services) David Barratt (Head, Technical Services, Estates & Buildings) Page 1 f 6

2 University Telephne System VIP Rllut Executive Summary The University s telephne system is currently in transitin frm a traditinal analgue system t Vice ver Internet Prtcl (VIP) technlgy. The main drivers fr this migratin are the prspect f ur aging analgue telephne system becming unmaintainable in the freseeable future (apprximately 2017) and the ptential fr cst savings (estimated 145k per annum in direct savings frm 2018). Using pprtunistic funding (mainly in cnnectin with new builds and majr refurbishments) cmbined with a plicy f nt installing new analgue phnes, we have mved ver 40% f telephne extensins t VIP ver the last five years. Hwever, this funding strategy will nt enable the migratin t be cmpleted befre the analgue system becmes unmaintainable (indeed, sme critical parts are already end-f-life). Furthermre, this gradual apprach des nt enable the University t achieve best value fr mney. A business case fr a mre cst-effective apprach, presented as part f Infrmatin Service s annual planning submissin in March 2013, was nt funded. Recent events have generated an urgent need t make faster prgress: A key central cmpnent f the analgue telephne system is lcated in Old Cllege. The refurbishment f the central Nrth wing f Old Cllege nw being planned will start in 2017, and will put the cnnectins t this system at very high risk f being cut. Our telephne system maintainer has advised us that certain critical cmpnents f the analgue system have reached the end f their maintainable life, and require replacement. The cst wuld be substantial, and this investment wuld be wasted fllwing the cmpletin f the migratin t VIP. In risk management terms, the likelihd f a highly disruptive event ccurring with the analgue telephne system during 2017 is Prbable: will prbably ccur in mst circumstances. This is due t the Old Cllege wrks, and the prbable evaluatin is based n advice frm the cntractrs. The impact f such an event is estimated t be Critical. This cmbinatin indicates a majr risk t the University s business. The likelihd f a highly disruptive event ccurring with the analgue telephne system befre 2017 is Likely: finite pssibility f ccurrence, and the impact culd range frm Mderate t Disastrus. The mitigating strategy prpsed is t allcate up t 2M frm the Estates capital budget t prcure full rllut f VIP acrss the University. Agreement in principle fr this level f spend is sught. Initially, up t 50k is requested in FY 14/15 t engage a specialist cnsultant t help with the prcurement; a subsequent paper t EC will request apprval f a draft Invitatin t Tender and frmal allcatin f a budget. The Cmmittee will be aware that a cmprehensive review f the csts and future funding f the University s IT infrastructure is planned fr later in The telephne system falls within the scpe f that review. Hwever, urgent actin needs t start well befre that review reprts if the majr risk t the University s business expected in 2017 is t be averted. Page 2 f 6

3 1 Backgrund The University telephne system serves abut 10,500 extensins. The majrity f these extensins are traditinal analgue telephnes, cnnected via dedicated cpper wiring t ne f five (riginally seven) Sph analgue telephne exchanges lcated at Kings Buildings, the central area, and Hlyrd campus. These exchanges are in turn cnnected t the public telephne netwrk. The Sph exchanges are up t 25 years ld, and the prblems maintaining these systems are described later in this paper. Vice ver Internet Prtcl (VIP) technlgy is replacing analgue telephne systems in rganisatins thrughut the wrld. The main drivers fr the transitin t VIP frm the University perspective are: Maintainability The analgue exchanges are reaching the end f their maintainable life. Cst reductin: Using the University s data netwrk t carry traffic reduces wiring maintenance and repatching csts. Eliminating the analgue exchanges will substantially reduce maintenance csts. The links between the analgue exchanges use leased lines, and eliminating these will save significant rental charges. Using VIP will facilitate migratin t Internet-based SIP trunks, saving n call charges. The ttal annual cst saving f a full VIP rllut t the University is estimated t be apprximately 145k, realised frm 2018 nwards. Flexibility VIP telephne handsets are prgrammable, and can ffer greater facilities. (We have nt yet taken full advantage f this flexibility.) Technlgy change The industry as a whle is mving away frm analgue telephny t VIP; accmmdating this trend will psitin us t take advantage f further advances in technlgy. Infrmatin Services has been taking advantage f the estate develpment prgramme t deply VIP services in new builds and majr refurbishments. We als have a plicy f nt installing new analgue extensins. As a result, we nw have three SV8500 VIP servers, which are clsely integrated with the Sph systems, and have made gd prgress in migrating extensins t VIP. As f 29 April 2014, the breakdwn is as fllws: Analgue extensins 6,096 58% VIP extensins 4,361 42% TOTAL 10, % Bth the Sph and the replacement SV8500 VIP servers were/are manufactured by NEC. The pprtunistic migratin strategy we have fllwed t date has nly been pssible because f the clse integratin between the tw systems, enabling extensins t be migrated ne-by-ne. A Prject Bard t versee a full VIP rllut was frmed in May 2012; hwever n funding was allcated thrugh the University s annual planning prcess, s the rllut has nt prgressed ther than thrugh the cntinuing pprtunistic strategy, and the Prject Bard has nt met fr ver a year. Page 3 f 6

4 2 Old Cllege redevelpment The Law Schl accmmdatin in Old Cllege is scheduled fr a very extensive refurbishment starting in One f the Sph telephne exchanges (called Unit 3 ) is lcated in the nrth-east crner f Old Cllege. This exchange serves ver 1300 analgue extensins in a number f buildings, including thse in Infirmary St, Chambers St, Drummnd St, Rxburgh St, Brist Square, and Alisn Huse as well as Old Cllege itself. Unit 3 is the terminatin pint fr the cnnectin t the Sph Unit 6 at Hlyrd campus serving 600 additinal extensins. Unit 3 is cnnected t the public telephne netwrk, and all incming calls t ver 5,000 extensin numbers arrive at Unit 3. There are tw majr cable rutes which are used by all the cpper telephne wiring cnnected t Unit 3, ne at high level and ne at lw level. Bth f these rutes fall within the ftprint f Phase 2 f the Old Cllege building wrk, scheduled t start in The Old Cllege Develpment Prject is currently planning t wrk arund the existing cabling, putting prtective measures in place; hwever the cntractrs at a meeting n 9 April indicated that there is nevertheless a substantial prbability that the cables will be damaged. Sectin 8 utlines what the impact wuld be. 3 Maintenance difficulties We have been advised by NEC that the Sph hardware is becming mre difficult t maintain: These systems are n lnger being manufactured, and fr sme cmpnents the nly surce f spares is frm decmmissined equipment i.e. secnd-user parts. Sme cmpnents in ur Sphs are nw deemed t be end f life, and their maintainability is seriusly diminished. As an example f the prblems which culd ccur, in August 2013 all telephnes at Easter Bush were unable t make utging external telephne calls fr a perid f 36 hurs, due t a cmplex fault in ne f the Sph systems. We have previusly (2011) emplyed a specialist cnsultant t advise n telecmmunicatins strategy, and his clear advice (cmmunicated t Estates Cmmittee in paper 3.7 at its February 2012 meeting) was that maintenance issues meant we shuld aim t decmmissin all Sph equipment by New advice frm NEC is that certain cmpnents f the Sph equipment have reached the end f their maintainable life, and require replacement if they are t cntinue being maintained. The replacements wuld deliver service nly fr tw years, and the substantial investment wuld be wasted when the Sphs are decmmissined; this makes it nt cst-effective. We have an alternative way t mitigate the risk f failure f these cmpnents: decmmissining the least-used f the Sph exchanges in Summer 2014 t prvide a surce f spares. 4 Strategic cntext and user cnsultatin Substantial strategic analysis n the future directin fr the telephne system has already been carried ut, as reprted in paper 3.7 t the February 2012 Estates Cmmittee. The Cmmittee will be aware that a cmprehensive review f the csts and future funding f the University s IT infrastructure is planned fr later in The telephne system falls within the scpe f that review. Hwever, urgent actin needs t start well befre that review reprts if the majr risk t the University s business expected in 2017 is t be avided. Page 4 f 6

5 A user survey was carried ut in 2013, and the reprt frm that survey (presented t the Prject Bard) states: It is clear frm the respnses, particularly the free text respnses, that the University s current telephne prvisin is valued by a majrity f respndents. A small minrity dn t use it, d nt value it, r suggest that everyne shuld be issued with smartphnes, but many respndents entreat the University t cntinue the cre telephne prvisin and make sure it remains resilient, reliable and prvides gd quality audi. Widespread mbile/smartphne distributin t replace the central telephne system wuld be a bld step, unprecedented t the authr s knwledge in any similar rganisatin. The evident diversity f telephne requirements and usage acrss the institutin means that retaining a significantly-sized central telephne system is still necessary. The survey did nt evidence strng supprt fr a Unified Cmmunicatins apprach t telephny prvisin. 5 Prpsed actin It is prpsed t cnduct a prcurement t fully rll-ut a VIP telephne service t the University, enabling the analgue telephne system t be decmmissined. Prcuring a telephne system is a cmplex prcess, invlving detailed technical specificatins and requirements. It is nt smething which an individual University des frequently, s typically an institutin emplys a specialist cnsultant with apprpriate skills t help with the prcurement. It is therefre prpsed t cnduct a small-scale prcurement prcess using an apprpriate framewrk t engage an external specialist cnsultant. The cnsultant s brief will be t advise n the prcurement strategy, prepare an Invitatin t Tender, and t assist with the subsequent evaluatin f bids and selectin f a supplier. The University s Prcurement Office will be clsely invlved with the VIP prcurement prcess, and the Prject Bard will have versight f the prcess. 6 Funding required A budget f 50k is requested t cver the cst f the cnsultant. Invices wuld be expected in FY 14/15. Apprval in principle f a budget f up t 2M is requested. The estimated expenditure prfile is 25% in 2014/15, 45% in 2015/16 and 30% in 2015/16, althugh at this stage the prfile is little mre than a guess. 7 Timescale It is prpsed t develp the ITT ver Summer 2014, with apprval being sught frm Estates Cmmittee in September 2014 t g t tender. The tender prcess will take several mnths, with a supplier being selected by abut March Apprval frm the Prject Bard will be sught befre cntracting with the selected supplier. Implementatin culd start in April 2015, and the prgramme f wrk wuld be priritised t ensure that the risk assciated with Unit 3 is eliminated in time fr the start f Old Cllege Phase 2 building wrks in The migratin wuld be expected t cmplete in Summer Althugh the tender dcument will mandate the need t decmmissin Unit 3 in gd time, ther aspects f the implementatin timescale are subject t change, under advice frm the selected supplier. Page 5 f 6

6 8 Risk analysis Risk event Likelihd Impact Mitigatin Severance f cables cnnected t Unit 3 during building wrks in 2017 Prbable Critical; Disastrus if prlnged. See details belw. Cmpletin f the migratin t VIP befre Serius degradatin f the telephne service fr three r mre days due t maintenance difficulties Likely Culd range frm Mderate t Disastrus IS will wrk t make sure that spare parts are available within the University where pssible, by decmmissining ne f the five remaining Sphs and retaining the equipment fr spare parts. This is nt a sustainable lng-term strategy and will nt fully mitigate the risk. Full mitigatin requires cmpletin f the migratin t VIP. The effect f the severance f Unit 3 cables wuld be sme cmbinatin f the fllwing, depending n the nature f the damage. Lss f all incming external calls t ver 5,000 extensin numbers: , , , 509xxx, 514xxx, 516xxx, and 518xxx. Lss f all analgue telephne extensins in buildings served by Unit 3 (ver 1,300 extensins). Lss f extensin 2222, the University s emergency number. This is the number autmatically dialled by emergency phnes in lifts, and its lss culd mean that all lifts in University buildings wuld have t be taken ut f service fr safety reasns. Lss f telephne links between 600 extensins at Hlyrd campus and the rest f the University, and lss f the ability f thse extensins t make r receive external calls. Lss f central mnitring f fire, intruder and ther alarms in Old Cllege and several ther buildings served by the alarm mnitring equipment cnnected via Unit 3. Reductin f the University s external call capacity by ne third. The duratin f the utage is difficult t estimate, but culd vary frm ne t perhaps ten days. Sme aspects f the utage might be rectified mre quickly than thers. Page 6 f 6