OUCC 2015Inspiring Innovation

Telephony Service Delivery at U of G:

A transition from reactive to proactive to strategic without dropping a call.

Lelio Fulgenzi & Tom Herr

Your Presenters…

Lelio Fulgenzi, Senior Analyst (CCS)•worked for the University for over 20 years•worn many hats over the years•now concentrating on telephony services:• system design and implementation•maintenance and upgrades• estimating resource requirements for service delivery

• also a University of Guelph alumnus (‘95)

Your Presenters…

Tom Herr, Manager (Network Infrastructure, CCS)• joined the University of Guelph in Oct 2013•oversees the Telephony and Networking portfolio• team includes 10 full time staff and 2 seasonal•over 25 years in the information technology sector•over 15 years in management roles• experience outside of Higher Ed and Canada•BestBuy/Futureshop, Accenture, Equitable Life

Before we begin…

We’ve only just embarked on this journey. We’re not there yet, but hope to be soon. And while we’ve had some great wins, there is still a lot of work to

be done.

We’re hoping to share some of our challenges, and techniques, as well as plans for the future. Giving

you some ideas to take back to your teams.

A Little History…

•1985 - ROLM CBX installed (capacity reached)•2001 - Cisco VoIP pilot for new residence (600)•2003 - Pilot grows over past two years (+400)•2004 - Major migration occurs (6000)•2004 - ROLM CBX shut down•2010 - Additional 3 sites on board (~1000)•2015 - Phones removed from residence (~3500)

Current Snapshot…

•Cisco telephony suite• telephone control, call centre, voicemail/call-pro

•Nuance automated speech attendant•Cistera paging service (e-notification)• legacy PBX (elevator phones, emergency poles)•reporting, call recording trials, SNR trials

Includes more than 50 discrete components as well as dependencies on over 15 services.

What do we mean by… “Reactive”

•dealing with a previously unknown issue•needs immediate attention or within 6 months•budget planning model may push this out (12?)• includes oversights, forgotten items, confusion•also includes issues outside of our control:• vulnerabilities; client requests; dependency ’s• end of life announcements; other vendor surprises

What do we mean by…“Proactive”

•planning for activities well in advance•three year road map (with >3yr highlights)•budget has been identified/requested/allocated•resources/skillsets required have been identified•typically deals with operational items only• keeping the lights on, all other things kept equal•no major service or system architecture changes

What do we mean by… “Strategic”• long term planning with strategic partners• vendors, stakeholders, community• getting feedback on what they’d like to see

•anticipate/plan architecture changes • including teams not identified as service owner

•could include some “reactionary” decisions• typically when status quo is not ideal•budget planning, business req’ts, architecture s

Additional strategic considerations…

•Mission Statements / Goals / Values• Integrated / Strategic Plans• Significant changes in stakeholder services• e.g. residence phone removal

•Budget Planning (aligned with roadmap)• campus wide budget savings targets (3 year)

Consider not only those of your area, but other areas and the organization as a whole.

Challenges we were facing…

•architecture, design, roadmap was in our heads•never underestimate the usefulness of diagrams!

•pushing the limit on end of support dates• end of support is the last milestone in the cycle

•new feature/service requests from clients•difficult to evaluate with no clear process in place•was it scalable? manageable? willing to offer to all?• this also applied to features we wanted to promote

Challenges we were facing…

•cross-functional requirements of other projects•firewall upgrades, file-share reorganization

•requests for services we did not have available• call detail records for groups of phones

•reconciling budget line items• from my estimates to departmental YTD spending

•finding time to evaluate vendor promotions

Initial Planning Discussionsbudget call/prep

client requests

new project launch

interdepartmental requests

resource allocation

maintenance impact info

service level expectations

client communications

partner relationships

outstanding improvements

upcoming end of life dates

upcoming contract expiries

other important dates (certs)

system architecture/design

budget requirements

operational requirements

new feature release

operational/strategic roadmap

Priority:Task A – HighTask B – HighTask C – Low

Priority:Task X – LowTask Y – MedTask Z – High

How did we adjust?

•daily team huddles – group input/planning•bi-weekly team meetings and one-on-one’s•outstanding improvements documented• important operational dates documented•began reviewing strategic milestones

All while completing telephone upgrades project.

Desired Planning Discussions

Client Concerns

Interdepartmental Requests

Strategic Updates

General Questions/Feedback

Burning Issues

Current Tasks

Future Initiatives

Vacation/Conferences/Training

Upcoming Operational Dates

Upcoming Strategic Dates

Change

ActionItems

SetPriorityReview

Discuss

better equipped to field questions and concerns

About those important operational dates…

•a very important missing piece of puzzle•without this, very difficult to begin the transition•the “kitchen sink” of important dates• includes end of sale, contracts, certificates, etc.• for unknown dates, item is in “monitor” status

In absence of strategic changes, the operational roadmap allows for continued delivery of services.

About those important operational dates…

•first draft was a complicated spreadsheet• served it’s purpose, but difficult to manage• tried to include “everything”Description; Location; Client; Component; Version; QTY; Status; Type; Product; HW/SW; Umbrella; Contact; Resources; Project; Capital Cost; Annual Delta; Billing Period; P.O. Req'd; Multi-Year; Current Vendor; Previous; 2015; 2016; 2017;2018; 5 Years +

What we plan to work on…

•ensuring lab equipment is operational•reviewing outstanding improvements•developing operational resource requirements•architectural overview with dependencies•service availability improvements (maintenance)•budget item granularity and clarity•strategic roadmap / plan of record

What is a plan of record?

•document outlining a long term evolution from a solution’s current state to it’s target architecture•defines the technical and business architectures• includes a statement of need and business case• includes phased delivery schedule and outline•architectural diagrams have to show evolution

Challenges we face going forward…

•support for virtual environments (with caveats)•how does this integrate with current VM service

•data/voice integration (collaboration tools)• security concerns with access from BYOD model

•considering “out of support” scenarios•what if we don’t upgrade in time? options?

•more agile upgrade processes• reducing testing cycles, evaluate issues afterwards

Challenges we face going forward…

One of the biggest challenges will be the commitment to keep all of the planning tools we

develop accurate and up to date.

Any new operational tasks will also need resources assigned.

Things to consider for the future…

•engaging vendors without clear end of life cycles•anticipating and planning for price increases• ‘asset’ management tools (operational roadmap)•new feature/service business case template•decision tracking tool (future reference)•key ‘utilization’ indicators (vs kpi)

Questions to ask as we go forward…

•what are we doing now?•why are we doing it?•could we do it differently? easier?•do we need to do it at all?

Key ‘utilization’ indicators help answer these questions. They also assist with strategic planning by identifying areas for improvement/retirement.

OUCC 2015Inspiring Innovation

Questions & Answers