City Council makes significant savings replacing existing system with unified communications
Faced with the challenge of funding cuts, rising customer expectations, and having to move premises, Leicester City Council embarked on a business transformation strategy. It needed to take control of its data, enhance customer experience, and modernise its infrastructure to support flexible, collaborative working. As part of this modernisation programme, the council looked to replace its Novell email, diary, and file and print solution, along with its existing private branch exchange (PBX) telephone system, supporting more than 8,000 unique numbers. Microsoft offered a complete solution, including Microsoft Lync 2010 for instant messaging, voice, and video, Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 for email and unified communications, and Active Directory services. As a result, the council is reducing its costs and carbon footprint by giving employees better functionality.
Situation
With a population of more than 300,000, Leicester City Council serves the largest city in the East Midlands and the most diverse outside London in the United Kingdom. The council, which employs 15,000 people, has been a unitary authority since 1997 and in 2011 appointed Sir Peter Soulsby as its first elected Mayor.
Innovation in information and communications technology (ICT) was a key driver for the council’s major business transformation programme. A series of ICT and information assurance strategies and projects were established to support this business programme. Central to the council’s strategy was a decision to standardise the server and desktop operating systems on Microsoft products, benefitting from the latest collaboration tools such as Microsoft Office and Microsoft Lync technologies.
In addition to the server and desktop modernisation programme, there was an enterprise data management project that aimed to link the council’s staff and customer databases, helping to ensure the accuracy of information stored. Another key innovation was the development of an enterprise reporting platform called Enterprise, which uses Microsoft SQL Server reporting, geospatial mapping, and business intelligence technologies.
Marlo Valente, Head of Enterprise Services, Leicester City Council, says: “The Enterprise platform securely collates data from key council systems. It combines this with other demographic and geographic information, together with data collected from partner agencies, including Leicestershire Police and health sites in the city. This is then visually represented in an easy-to-understand and innovative way, creating an incident-based mapping tool for staff and partner agencies.”
Such an ambitious strategy required the council to make a major investment in ICT, and for this it needed an ICT systems vendor and partner.
To find out about the solutions and benefits of gained by Leicester City Council, please read more here.