SYDNEY -- 2 May 2000 -- In one of the first large-scale deployments of voice-over-IP (VoIP) technology in Australasia, Victorian tertiary institution, Deakin University, has chosen Cisco Systems, the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, to replace part of its existing PABX infrastructure with an IP (Internet protocol) telephony solution.
"Deakin University's new Cisco IP telephony solution will deliver many benefits including cheaper phone calls for students and staff, greater ease of management, and more intelligent functions," Craig Warren, Desktop and Network Services Manager, Deakin University said.
Deakin's VoIP solution will connect to the Australian Academic Research Network (AARNET), a national IP-based communications infrastructure built to facilitate cheaper and more effective data, voice and video communications between Australia's research institutions.
"Linking our own IP telephony network to AARNET enables us to almost completely bypass traditional, fee-charging carriers. The cost of on-campus and inter-campus calls is negligible and external calls cost the equivalent to a local call. For Deakin, this means savings of up to $200,000 per annum."
Currently 5% of Deakin University's telephony infrastructure has been converted from PABX to IP, linking Deakin's six campuses which are spread more than 400kms apart. In addition, Deakin's internal technology committee has pledged its support for the complete replacement of PABXs with the IP solution over a 36 month period.
The new network enables data, voice, and video traffic to be transmitted over a single, IP-based network infrastructure, reducing costs and facilitating communications which are more flexible and scalable than "old world" voice networks.
"One of the biggest disadvantages of our old PABX system is that special skills are required to manage it, move handsets and so on. With our campuses so far apart and only a handful of network managers with PABX skills, solving problems or changing the network to meet the needs of an evolving organisation can be complicated and inconvenient. An IP solution gives us far greater flexibility. Our network administrators can dial in from any Internet access point to manage the network and make changes, and students can move their IP-handset themselves by simply removing it from its existing site and plugging it into the nearest port. This saves us a lot of travel time and money."
Mr Warren added, "Deakin was one of the first universities in Australia to connect to the Internet, and an increasing proportion of our course-work is being delivered online. Cisco's IP telephony solution is the next step in our technological evolution.
"As centres of exploration, advanced learning and as incubators for the future, universities have a social responsibility to be early adopters of new technologies. Fortunately, in this instance, we will be far better off for having done so."
Deakin's IP telephony solution utilises Cisco's Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data (AVVID). AVVID is an end-to-end architecture designed to deploy applications and scale voice via IP in the enterprise and campus environment. It is an open, standards-based, distributed architecture that enables customers to deploy Internet-based business models, while achieving a lower total cost of ownership for the overall network.
"Cisco applauds Deakin University for their leadership in implementing a converged IP telephony solution," said Terry Walsh, Managing Director, Cisco Systems Australia and New Zealand.
"While Cisco has been using this solution internally throughout its Australian operation for some time, Deakin's migration to IP telephony is further proof that this technology is ready for enterprise."
Mr Walsh added that the integration of telephony services into the data network has the potential to drive major changes in institutions by delivering information more pervasively and completely than today's multi-network approach. "Not to mention the almost infinite scope for new cost-saving and profit-enhancing applications," he said.
The Cisco Catalyst 8540 Multiservice ATM Switch Router is the backbone of the Deakin network. The Catalyst 8540 is a next-generation multi-service ATM switch router designed to scale enterprise backbones and metropolitan-area fiber networks.
About Deakin University
Deakin is the only university in Australia to have won the coveted Good Universities Guide's University of the Year award twice. Acknowledged as one of Australia's leading international universities, it provides professionally focused courses to 60,000 students in Australia and overseas.
When the Treasurer, Mr Peter Costello, presented the 1999-2000 trophy to Vice-Chancellor Geoff Wilson at Parliament House last August, he said Deakin was now recognised as the most creative institution in terms of developing, structuring and delivering courses.
The award, said Mr Costello, was acknowledged as the most prestigious for Australian universities. The achievement has firmly cemented Deakin's top placing in the minds of parents, prospective students, careers teachers and leading businesses not only in Australia but in the entire Asian region.
Deakin's innovative approach to higher education has attracted national attention and commendation. The Australian Good Universities Guide named Deakin the 1995 University of the Year for its application of new technologies to its teaching. In the same year, the Federal Government's Quality Assurance Committee for teaching and learning ranked Deakin in the top tier of Australian Universities. This year's University of the Year award was for the university's partnerships with industry.
The University offers approximately 200 undergraduate and over 300 postgraduate courses. In 1997, Deakin University was awarded a 'five-star' rating by the Graduate Careers Council of Australia for graduate satisfaction with their education experience. Based in Victoria, Deakin University is a diverse, multi-campus institution encompassing a network of six campuses that provide a variety of settings for productive study and research. More information is available at www.deakin.edu.au
About Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco news and information are available at www.cisco.com.
# # #
Cisco, Cisco Systems and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
