The business case for an upgrade of telephone equipment across the Force and office of the Police & Crime Commissioner is attached.
In summary:
- Cleveland Police currently has telephony based on old technology built around PABX telephone switches provided and supported by Unify (previously Siemens). Ongoing support costs of this equipment are significant i.e. c£211k pa in 2016/17 (this may increase further if additional equipment falls out of support).
- These switches are based on old hardware and software, which are now out of support and therefore cannot be upgraded.
- This leaves the force unable to complete the effective roll out of agile working. This is because restrictions using current telephone technology would impact on the ability of people to work easily from any location.
- Current telephony (internal extensions and control room) in Ladgate Lane has no resilience for emergency and non- emergency calls. In the event of failure, calls are directed to Durham.
- Previous innovation funding has enabled the deployment of Cisco Unified Communication (UC) solution. This has partially delivered Instant Messaging, Presence Awareness and Voicemail. The proposal in this document seeks to build on the initial investment
The business case
This Business Case clarifies the main drivers for investment now. They include:
- Reduction in ongoing support costs (due to the end of the Unify contract at c£211k pa)
- Ageing technology (some current equipment/software is already out of support and on a best endeavors fix basis with Unify .) Current equipment could impact on the service to the public if there was a hardware failure
- Improved resilience required for critical areas e.g. Control Room
- Completion before the move to the new Community Safety Hub (CSH) as this is the most cost effective timing for this upgrade to take place.
- Estimated costs are pre-tender and include the purchase of Hardware/Software/Licenses and labour to implement. The upgrade will provide savings of £196k per annum through reduced support and maintenance costs.
It is expected that after the initial investment of £700k, savings of £1.1m with be made over the following six years. This will be due to reduced support and maintenance costs.
Decision 92. Upgrade of telephony across Cleveland Police and OPCC (application, 1MB)