Communication is key, yet too many government agencies voice platforms are living in archaic times.

As government agencies are turning to collaboration technologies like voice, video and mobility to increase efficiency and lower costs, many are faced with outdated voice platforms like Private Branch Exchange (PBX) and Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) .  However, the shift to VoIP enables organizations to modernize their communications platform for more robust communication applications, while significantly reducing operating costs.

VoIP provides significant net savings by allowing the management of managing one unified network and no longer needing to sustain a legacy phone system. It also provides enhanced features and VoIP services that improve the user experience. Advanced call routing, image transfer, phone portability, as well as integration with other collaboration applications, such as voicemail delivery via email, voice call button on email are examples of functionality users have come to expect.

When agencies replace antiquated communication networks with VoIP, all parties benefit. Take for example the City of Colorado Springs. After experiencing a population burst, their 15-year-old legacy PBX and data network struggled to accommodate their growing needs. One of the biggest challenges was that the city had a single point of network failure and no ability to reroute traffic. Government officials feared having a police or fire station shut down from a voice or network failure.

With these looming network issues, city officials committed themselves to working smarter to better serve their citizens. They chose Cisco VoIP technologies to deploy a reliable, single network platform that integrated both voice and data over the same architecture and increased security and efficiency.

As government agencies are forced to do more with less, the adoption of VoIP also enables them to drive productivity and lower costs. Even though the City of Colorado Springs' staff was reduced by one third, all voice and data requirements were met thanks to the VoIP solution's ease of administration.

Want to learn more about how enhancing your way of communication can propel your organization forward? Download this report from ZK Research and start reaping the benefits of VOIP and unified communications.

Also, don't miss our National Town Hall on 4/25, where we will hear from technology leaders in the government sector about how they have used collaboration technology to achieve their agency goals.