Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

Foster's Group Ltd., an international beverage company and maker of the popular Australian lager by the same name (a brand distinguished by the well-recognized blue and gold “oil can”), is reportedly deploying Cisco’s unified communications solutions in an effort to cut costs, boost employee productivity and improve its operations.

 

As part of its "Enterprise Architecture" project, which will consolidate hundreds of software applications over the next three to five years, Foster’s is migrating from a collection of legacy voice communications systems to Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900 Series endpoints to connect its contact centers, offices and production locations worldwide. It will be using Cisco Unified Communications Manager for call processing and managing all of the devices on the network.

 

As part of its unified communications migration strategy, Foster’s will also adopt Cisco Unified Video Advantage to bring desktop video conferencing to all employees. That means employees will have the ability to communicate via live video on the desktop using the same interface they use to make and receive video calls on their Cisco Unified IP phones.

In addition the company will deploy Cisco Unified Mobility to ensure employees have the ability to communicate across multiple devices as they move between workspaces.

By unifying all of its communications on a single IP-based platform, Foster’s hopes to significantly reduce communications costs while at the same time boosting employee productivity. The new system will deliver advanced unified communications features such as presence, which is the ability to see the availability status of other users on the network.

In addition employees will be able to choose the modes of communication they prefer most – whether it is phone, videophone, chat, or email, all of which are supported on the same platform. Employees will also have unprecedented control over all communications – including who can contact them, and when, and how, by programming their contact preferences into the system.

What’s more, Foster's is using Cisco WebEx to conduct its global Enterprise Architecture project meetings, increase collaborative communication and improve consistent ERP training for all employees.

 

Finally, through Cisco Unified Workspace Licensing, Foster's will be able to operate and maintain products and software through a subscription basis that helps to reduce initial set-up costs.

"We selected Cisco because they demonstrated to us that they could satisfy our communications needs cost effectively,” said Andrew Leyden, chief information officer, Foster's Group Limited, in a release. “Their solution is helping us improve communications, reduce our spending by simplifying our communications infrastructure and make a quick and simple transition to an IP-based unified communications platform. The deployment will reduce our costs over the long term, and improve productivity. Effective communication systems that encourage collaboration and help improve company efficiency are key to our business objectives."

 

This new contract for Cisco subsequently paved the way for the company to hit yet another milestone: Foster’s is the recipient of the 22 millionth Unified IP Phone that Cisco has shipped.

 

"Shipping our 22 millionth phone to Foster's highlights the speed at which Cisco Unified Communications and Collaboration solutions are being adopted and the benefits it brings to customers,” said Steve Slattery, vice president for the IPCBU at Cisco. “The system deployed by Foster's will help it meet the communication needs of a growing business, reduce costs and encourage collaborative working, which will help increase the productivity of its employees."