Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Executive Councillor (Reform & Governance)

The Council currently operates three phone systems that have reached end of life and are unsupported by the system manufacturers. While support can be sourced via third-party suppliers, this is expensive and the ageing technology leaves the Council open to the risk of systems failure, potential compliance issues and unable to take advantage of modern telephony features.

The Council has the opportunity to replace all three systems with a single system which would simplify the management and administration of the telephony infrastructure. A new single Unified Communications (UC) system would improve the Council’s voice telephony service and include a host of advanced features that enable flexible and mobile working, such as Video Conferencing, Instant Messaging, Presence Awareness, and Collaborative Working tools.

The Executive is  asked to consider and endorse the proposed upgrade to the Council’s telephony systems set out in Option 3 (section 4.5 of the report).

Officer contact: Adrian Davies, 0161 474 5430, Adrian.davies@stockport.gov.uk

The Executive Councillor (Reform & Governance) submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) inviting the Executive to consider a proposal to replace the Council’s telephony systems, that had reached the end of their life and manufacture’s support, with a new unified communication system that would provide enhanced functionality.

The Executive Councillor reported that the Corporate, Resource Management & Governance Scrutiny Committee had supported the proposals and recommended that the Executive implement the proposals as soon as possible.

RESOLVED – That the proposed upgrade to the Council’s telephony systems set out in Option 3 (section 4.5) of the report, be approved as the most advantageous option.