“Generation-e demonstrates professionalism. Their after-sales service, and ability to follow up meant that all the boxes were ticked.”

Brett Green, Systems Support Officer

Challenge

Hobart City Council is the business and commercial centre of Tasmania. As the face of Tourism and Progressive Communities in Tasmania, Hobart City Council houses some 700 plus employees and sits across multiple sites in the greater Hobart Area.

IT Environment

The Council’s existing software runs on a single server with a proprietary DB.

Currently, HCC uses an old application called “Staff Indicator” (SI) which is unsupported and continues to be a challenge to maintain. The SI application integrates with Outlook 2000, which has not been in use for years, and allows staff to search for an individual and check their status. Working across multiple locations, internal staff communication is ineffective and costly.

The challenge for Hobart City Council was to replace the current system with a supported application that will work Council wide – from separate departments, down to the individual user level – and improve overall communication.

Solution

Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS) was installed, allowing the Council Presence Indication, Instant Messaging, Video Conferencing, and interaction with their corporate phone system.

At present, Hobart City Council is successfully piloting Microsoft OCS, having provided the new application to a number of departments for testing.

Hobart City Council chose Microsoft OCS because of its simple interface which reduces the level of training that users require, and because of its scalability for federation and internet connectivity.

Business Impact

Microsoft OCS is streamlining communications for users in the test departments, allowing Hobart City Council the flexibility and control they need to manage their communication infrastructure efficiently.

By making it easier to contact colleagues for information, check for messages, and work while out of the office, the Council is seeing increased staff productivity. HCC is finding an improved level of communication between users, which has resulted in better time management, and users are not wasting time trying to contact someone who may be out of the office or in a meeting. HCC is also seeing improved collaboration and project efficiency.

Following this successful pilot, Hobart City Council will roll out Microsoft OCS to every Council employee in the coming months. All new computers being rolled out have OCS installed and running, and the Council is looking forward to all staff being able to communicate more efficiently and effectively.