We were very pleased to have people who could design the solution for us. The Qwest team sold me the solution I wanted and they sold me the one that worked best for our business.Jamie Trujillo, General Manager of Information Technology, Doss Aviation
"An IP environment is all server based," said Jamie Trujillo, general manager of Information Technology at Doss Aviation. "You plug a phone into the wall, that phone talks to the server and registers it and bingo, you have yourself a fully-functioning extension wherever you'd like. I couldn't sacrifice a technician in a TDM closet cross-connecting wires all day long."
In addition to migrating to the latest technology, the company experienced significant phone outages caused by another vendor. "Our CLE C got to the point where our phone system was going down for days at a time every month," said Trujillo. "That had a negative impact on our operations and was simply unacceptable."
With the decision to move forward with an IP phone system, Trujillo's team evaluated Avaya, Nortel and Cisco solutions. The evaluators opted to go with the Qwest implemented Cisco solution for a number of reasons. "The Qwest customer service and follow-up skills as well as the overall installation, is what sealed the deal for us," said Trujillo.
"We needed an integrator who could provide us an end-to-end solution," said Trujillo. "We also were looking for a reliable solution that was scalable, easy to use and would require a minimum of administration from my small IT staff. As a Cisco Certified Gold Partner, Qwest was able to deliver all that and more."
The Qwest team included an account manager, a sales engineer and a Cisco CPE specialist. They began by designing a solution that met Trujillo's needs. "They successfully integrated the Cisco hardware and software solutions that worked best for us."
The Qwest team installed and configured the Cisco routers and switches and set up the Cisco Unified Communications Manager. The enterprise-class IP telephony call-processing system provides traditional telephony features as well as advanced capabilities, such as mobility, presence, preference, and rich conferencing services. Cisco IP phones were also installed along with Qwest local T-1 phone service.
In order to relieve some of the administrative burden from his small IT staff, Trujillo selected the Cisco SMART net support service. It is provided directly by Cisco and entitles Doss Aviation to software support and upgrades and hardware replacement within an SLA.
Delivering Results
The Qwest phone service and Cisco hardware and software solutions delivered a number of benefits to Doss Aviation.
High Reliability
"We manage eight different systems throughout this complex, and the less time that we spend on our phone system, the more time we can focus on other specialized software programs," said Trujillo. "We are responsible for lifeblood applications here; applications that if they go down, we're out of business. I can honestly say that with the Qwest/Cisco solutions, I do not have to worry about either of those challenges and I can focus my resources on our most critical applications."
Ease of Administration
"We've found that with our small shop, that because the system is pretty hands-off, we're able to focus our resources on other projects," said Trujillo. "We do not have to worry about our integrated solution; we do not have to worry about our firewall; we do not have to worry about our routers or switch gear. The Qwest/ Cisco solution accomplishes that for us and then some. It frees up hours per week for me and for my technician as well."
Cisco Experience and Service
"The Cisco CPE specialist was extremely knowledgeable in everything that he did, from designing the solution to implementing it," said Trujillo. "The Cisco service and support that we contracted allows me to shift my attention on other critical IT functions, knowing all the while that my hardware and software needs are covered if there are any problems."
Doss Aviation, Inc. manages air terminals and provides pilot flight training instruction. With direction from the company's Colorado Springs, Colorado headquarters, the firm's 500 employees support about 19 contract sites in 13 different states and a couple of overseas locations.
In 2006, the company was awarded a U.S. Air Force (USAF) contract to train the next generation of USAF pilots. To date, the $40 million per-year company boasts a proud safety record, posting over 118,000 accident-free flying hours while training over 5,900 USAF pilot candidates.
The company maintains a 250,000 square-foot facility in Pueblo, Colorado. It is here that USAF undergraduate pilot training takes place. The site houses aircraft, flight rooms, classrooms, an auditorium, 195 lodging rooms and fitness facilities. Because the building used a TDM phone system that offered only basic functionality, IT managers began researching IP technologies to implement a more robust alternative.
