Isle of Man Government: Secure IP Converged Communications

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1 Isle of Man Government: Secure IP Converged Communications We are delighted with the progress the project has made so far it s showing significant change for the better still eight months from final completion. Not only has the Dimension Data/Manx Telecom consortium proven it can deliver on measurable objectives, it has also shown it is adept at providing the less tangible requirements of a large and difficult project. Nigel Thomas Isle of Man Government

2 About the Isle of Man Government The Isle of Man is an internally self-governing territory of the British Crown. Not part of the UK but part of the British Commonwealth, it houses 2 a population of 76,315 in 572 km. 2

3 Challenge The Isle of Man Government s JUPITER (Joined-UP Information for The Electronic Resident) Project represents a fundamental change in the way the Isle of Man Government uses IT, modernising the business of Government itself. The end goal is to achieve joined-up working between different parts of Government and provide new, efficient and convenient ways for citizens and businesses to communicate with the Government and to receive its services. In late 2003, and in association with Improcom, its independent IT advisor for the last 15 years, the Government began looking for a partner that could design, supply, implement and support a new converged IT and telephony infrastructure. This infrastructure would be the hub for all other e-government initiatives, so it was crucial that only the best partners were retained. The Government s Connect Mann project is designed to provide higher quality, simpler, customer-centric and cost-effective Government services to Manx citizens and businesses. Part of the wider JUPITER Project, it is a three year project which will see 6,000 Government employees across 12 departments and statutory bodies migrate to an IP telephony system. It will connect 176 of the island s Government offices in addition to upgrading and replacing LAN and telephone components across locations as required. To ensure the success of this crucial project, the Isle of Man Government needed a partner with the technical capability and reliability both to deliver a first-class future-proof infrastructure and to be a true long-term supplier that could support the island s requirements for many years to come. In selecting a partner the Isle of Man Government identified an exacting list of requirements, including: Presenting business efficiency through intelligent use of IT while working within financial regulations Enabling a stronger degree of inter-working within and between departments Presenting Government services in a simpler manner to citizens and businesses Centralising IT services to allow for cost-effective roll-out of education for citizen-centric applications Reduction of telecommunications, networking and systems maintenance costs Enabling easier secure working with third parties Fast support response and repair times with minimal partners to deal with. The result of these tough stipulations was a gruelling, year-long selection process which saw a consortium between Manx Telecom and Dimension Data appointed to the task.

4 Business Benefits Reduced Costs The project naturally involves the removal of a large number of small, traditional telephony systems and this leads directly to significant maintenance savings The new infrastructure will enable an estimated 22% saving on call costs Video conferencing and networking capabilities will reduce transport costs across the organisation. Increased Agility Isle of Man Government employees will have ability to access information securely within meetings, on the move, or at home IP Convergence will enable stronger inter-working between departments and different parts of Government Audiences will be able to communicate with the Government and receive services more efficiently and conveniently The deployment of wireless hotspots in various locations around the island (e.g. the Isle of Man Airport, Museum, Business School and Sea Terminal) will provide free internet connectivity for users in those locations, making the Isle of Man more attractive to business users. Reduced Risk Dimension Data and Manx Telecom s expertise and commitment will enable fast support response and repair times A reduction in the number of purchasing and support contracts resulting in better buying power Central control of IT services will enable greater efficiency through intelligent use of IT while working within financial regulations and enabling easier secure working with third parties.

5 Solution Working together, Dimension Data and Manx Telecom rolled out a Cisco-based network infrastructure pivotal to the adoption of the desired converged communications solution. Dual data centres connect to the WAN at 10Gbs bandwidth, while Isle of Man Government sites connect at bandwidths ranging from 2Mbs to 1Gbs. The data centres house Isle of Man Government application servers including Cisco IP Telephony applications such as Unity, IPCC and other third party voice application services. This enables Cisco IP Telephony to be deployed across all Isle of Man Government sites. In addition to delivering IP telephony skills, Dimension Data and Manx Telecom also oversaw the management of legacy telecommunication systems for the duration of the project. This provides the flexibility to deliver infrastructure services as and when required. Security is also a crucial element to the project and the consortium has drawn on its technical expertise to ensure security is inextricably linked to the project at all levels. This has necessitated the first-ever implementation of MPLS (multi-protocol label switching) in a public sector organisation. Furthermore, the Dimension Data/Manx Telecom consortium will be responsible for guaranteeing maintenance, quality of service and the delivery of any new network infrastructure requirements until March Progress Although the project is only due to be fully completed in December 2005 a number of anticipated benefits have already been enabled, as Manx Telecom managing director Chris Hall explains: We see benefits for the whole island from this project: this is market-leading technology and we have developed knowledge and skills in this area which local businesses can now draw on as they move to IP-based data and voice. What we have learned from a project of this scale will translate easily into smaller projects and our customers can feel confident that we are already demonstrating very publicly our expertise in this area. Additional benefits of the Connect Mann project have also become apparent: Before our work with the Dimension Data/Manx Telecom consortium began, construction had already begun on a new home for Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, explains Simon Robinson of Improcom. Naturally, this construction had to make allowances for terminal outlets for the traditional telephony system but with IPT, the number of outlets necessary has halved. This means we now have the budgetary capacity to include outlets in the chamber itself, which raises the potential to deploy exciting and innovative applications, such as electronic voting of Government ministers! This progress was ratified by Cisco, which nominated the Isle of Man Government for the EMEA Corporate IP Network of the Year Award presented at Cisco Networkers 2004 in Cannes. This has further raised the international profile of the Isle of Man as a progressive place to do business. For further information please contact Dimension Data on +44 (0) or visit

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