Operational Efficiency – West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue sees 35% productivity gain with unified communications

Work is an activity, not a location.  This is the vision that West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service applied to consolidate multiple communications platforms and provide employees with a Microsoft Lync 2010 solution which contributes directly to a reduction in mobile phone and travel costs and helps make their employees more productive and connected.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) serves a population of two and half million people and has 48 fire stations, several administrative sites, and 2,200 employees.  WYFRS sought a highly secure and reliable solution to address employees’ needs for more efficient communication, while reducing costs related to mobile phone usage and travel expenses.

For help with upgrading its infrastructure, WYFRS turned to POSTcti, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, which specialises in integrating voice with desktop and networking environments. After an extensive review of options, WYFRS settled on a short list that included solutions by Cisco, Novell, and Microsoft.

WYFRS decided to implement Microsoft Lync Server 2010 communications software. Lync brings together the different technologies people use to communicate—instant messaging, calling, audio and video conferencing, whiteboards, desktop and application sharing, and recording—in a single user interface.

By deploying Lync Server 2010, WYFRS benefits from improved employee communication and productivity. These benefits result in significant cost savings in mobile telephony and travel and it also improves WYFRS overall effectiveness and timeliness of response as Lync connects to other fire services, emergency services, and government agencies through the public switched telephone network (PSTN).

You can read the full customer story and view the video here.

Posted by Ian