Cisco Unified Communication 500 case study: Procreate

Procreate is a small company based on Auckland’s North Shore, specialising in product creation, design and development. Its clients and projects run a wide gamut from marine software to an igloo used at events for Smirnoff.

In late 2008, Procreate entered the Cisco Small Business Makeover Contest run through TV3’s ASB Business show. The winner was set to receive a $50,000 technology makeover.

Procreate was selected as the inaugural winner for a range of reasons, one of which was that they were clearly a  successful Kiwi company looking to expand further and that an improved technology platform would act as a springboard to acquire more international business – the Holy Grail for New Zealand small and medium-sized businesses.

Cisco and a team of installation professionals from Datacraft got to work designing the right technology mix to fit Procreate. Datacraft played a key role in the design and implementation of Procreate’s business communications makeover, drawing from their experience in the implementation of Unified Communication solutions.

What was the current IT solution?
The IT setup at Procreate was similar to that of many small businesses in New Zealand: a basic computing system, phones and some shared storage. New technology had been added over time as needed, but there was no clear IT strategy and a variety of service providers supporting the existing framework.

The Procreate team had desk phones, a fax machine, office PCs and one laptop with a broadband Internet package. They had a typical small business server to store their data, and IT support was provided from an operator based in Hawke’s Bay. Directors Graham Brewster and David Howse both had home offices and mobile phones with business calling plans.

They also use a range of software in day-to-day work, such as CAD/CAM, Microsoft Office, eDrawings, Mind Your Own Business and common PC graphics packages such as Adobe Photoshop and InDesign.

What was the solution?
The centrepiece of the new technology infrastructure at Procreate is Cisco Unified Communication 500 for small businesses.  It eliminates the need for numerous servers and combines voice, data, video, security and wireless – all of the key components to the IT solution Procreate needed. It essentially forms the backbone of their network in and out of the office and allows their computers to talk to the existing Procreate small business server.

It also integrates with their desktop applications, allowing ultimate control and flexibility.  Extra “ports” (or users) can be added easily, ensuring the IT solution can grow with the business and support a greater numbers of employees.

A new Cisco router allows information to be shared between Procreate’s main Albany office and the directors’ home offices.

The Procreate business is bandwidth-intensive, so security was a top priority too. A firewall creates a secure private network, allowing Brewster and Howse to work from home, on the road, or at customer sites using Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology to access important files and applications at the office with the utmost security.

Other staff can connect to the VPN using a wireless hotspot, client Internet connection, or their mobile phone as a modem to then create connectivity back to the office (and into the UC500). This means they can access the Local Area Network features, including emails, documents and design files, saving in costly and time-consuming data transfers. The VPN and firewalls ensure the network and data transfers are safe from threats of hackers and viruses.

A myriad of new phones were installed including five at the Procreate Albany headquarters, and two wireless IP handsets at the home offices of both directors that serve as an extension from the office.

The main phones provided for each member of the team have integrated colour touch screens, so it’s easy to use the key calling features of the UC500. In addition to the main handsets, additional wireless IP phones to allow the team telephony from anywhere in the office. Finally a conference phone was installed which enables high-fidelity conferencing from the Albany meeting room.

These phones have been enhanced with a raft of features provided by the Smart Business Communication System. Auto Attend answers calls and provides self-service options for callers. The Cisco Unified Contacts system provides and maintains a centralised employee directory and these features extend to the Nokia e71i mobile phones provided by Vodafone New Zealand.

Headsets can be plugged into their laptops and through Cisco’s IP Communicator Softphone, Brewster and Howse can make calls from anywhere, anytime and make it appear as if they are calling from a different location. Once they are on their PCs things get even easier by extending the power of Cisco’s CallConnector software. This software allows desktop-based call control regardless of whether they’re at the office or working remotely.  They can even set up specific “behaviours” for the phone system, for example, they can route calls coming into the office line to their home phone line after 6 p.m.

This includes access to central contact directories, instant messaging between work colleagues, and a nifty feature called Presence. This technology is similar to a “super instant message” service that allows users to see who else is online, if they’re available, busy, one the phone and when they were last online.

This system also comes with instant video pop-ups when calling from home to work, enabling a richer communication experience and better collaboration on Procreate’s highly visual projects.

For the Albany office, a 40-inch TV screen was installed into the boardroom, equipped with a Digital Media solution that allows Procreate to play clips of their work and stream content. It is linked with an IP camera so the team can videoconference anywhere in the world.  In addition, the team at Procreate have access to Webex - a web conferencing platform that allows them to hold online meetings with clients and designs and files from their desktop. Such collaboration with clients is vital to the success of any design project and allows fluid information sharing and progress updates.

What are the benefits?
One of the key benefits for Procreate is that suppliers have been drastically consolidated – previously broadband was provided by Woosh, cellphones by Vodafone, and service via a third party in another area of the North Island. Now all communications equipment is handled by Datacraft, the implementer of the solution and Gold Cisco Partner.

Secondly, there has been a greatly increased collaborative approach to the way Procreate works. Employees now have remote access to the files, applications and workflow used to design projects, and correct, change, and collaborate with clients on the fly. 

Previously, this would have involved large data transfers or multiple faxes back and forth for input on designs.  Now, those changes and manipulations are captured in the first instance, and changed on the fly.

Procreate now has a line up of technology as impressive as the solutions it provides its clients.