The phone replacement project is now in flight. In June, OIT held a project kickoff meeting with our third-party support team, Integration Partners. The platform selected to replace our phones is Microsoft Skype for Business. Additionally, we will implement Anywhere365 for our call center technology solution.
Over the next 18-24 months, we will provide updates on the following components of the Phone Replacement Project: infrastructure readiness, call center pilot, e911 services, handset deployment pilot, and campus-wide deployment of the new phones. This list includes several important phases of the project that must be completed before we replace individual phones.
Before converting phone service to Skype for Business, we must ensure that the network in each building and office space is of sufficient quality for the new phones. A network assessment is currently underway, and we are working on upgrading infrastructure and cabling in various buildings throughout SMU before the deployment of handsets to all users.
A critical component of any phone service is the ability to provide location information when dialing 911. Location information is available with our current service. However, with our new phone solution, significant effort will be required to identify the network jacks in each office to provide location information for e911 in the event of an emergency. This phase must be completed before any handsets are delivered.
Once e911 location services are complete, the pilot phase for handset deployment will begin. This pilot program allows us to test the stability of service, network performance, and ensure the successful deployment of handsets for the SMU campus.
Replacement phones are scheduled for deployment ending summer of 2020. A timeline and current project updates may be found on our website. To receive updates regarding the phone service you may subscribe to our listserve by sending an email to join-phonereplacement@list.smu.edu. Note: The subject and body of the email should remain blank.
