PARIS, Sept. 13, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mitel® (Nasdaq:MITL), a leading provider of unified communications software solutions, has been selected to redesign the communication system for the International Herald Tribune to help improve staff efficiency, reduce costs and provide unified communications capabilities and connectivity from anywhere. The International Herald Tribune, the global edition of the New York Times, is an international organization employing over 300 people of 47 nationalities in offices all around the world.
With its four editions a day, the paper is distributed in 180 countries, six days a week. Approximately 240,000 copies are read every day, and an estimated five million Web surfers visit the paper's internet site. In order to optimize its production, while taking into account the human, structural, and technological challenges facing the business, the IHT wanted to modernize its communication architecture to make life easier for employees on the road; reduce costs; consolidate its infrastructure; develop its brand image; and standardize its entire architecture in Europe.
Taking advantage of the reorganization of its Paris head office, IHT decided to replace its aging communications system in favor of an IP telephony and unified communications solution from Mitel.
"We had a number of different phone systems in the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) offices without any backup, and they were old so they risked failing at any time," said Christophe Duprat, director of information systems for the International Herald Tribune, EMEA. "We could not control communication costs in a detailed manner, and the poor way in which call dispatching was being handled at reception was creating an image problem for us. Moreover, because of the disparate architecture it was impossible for our service desk to handle new requests from collaborators, and monitoring user accounts was tedious.
"Finally, given the keen interest in teleworking, we wanted to upgrade our existing system but we realized it was too obsolete and complex to satisfy the requirements of users on the road or those who simply wanted to work at home from time to time."
Mitel designed and implemented a communications architecture to address the company's communication challenges. The IHT selected the Mitel Communications Director (MCD) to centralize the administration of the entire solution across Europe.
Secondly, Mitel introduced value added services to optimize costs and facilitate alternative ways of working:
- The IT team's DECT antennas and handsets were replaced by the Mitel Dynamic Extension application, which provides single number reachability, enabling a call to a user's business number to simultaneously ring up to eight devices in a personal ring group, and provides seamless hand off between devices. This ability redefines 'work where you are' with a single voice mail box and simple access to business communications features from any location. This, combined with the Mitel Teleworker Solution that enables businesses to easily enjoy the benefits of UC through a low-cost, secure, "plug and work" solution at remote workstations, can cut IHT's international communication costs considerably and increase productivity.
- The implementation of the unified messaging solution, Mitel NuPoint Messenger IP, allows users to listen to their voicemails from their mailbox. The mobile users can now access their desktop voicemail from anywhere.
- The new communication infrastructure allowed the IHT to implement a system for controlling costs and to give the computer service desk an Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) solution so that they no longer miss any incoming calls or give callers the endless run-around among various positions.
The deployed solutions allow now to cover the needs of all users, regardless of profile:
- Deskbound user with a dedicated workstation,
- Teleworker at a small remote site or working from home,
- Mobile users, generally travelling and occasionally working from home,
- On site mobile users.
"The chosen communications architecture and its mobility, integrated messaging, collaborative capabilities, IP telephony and administration applications have made the company more flexible and more mobile while allowing us to control our costs. Thanks to our transition to unified communications with Mitel we can address the real issues facing an international daily paper," concludes Duprat.
About IHT
The International Herald Tribune, also known as IHT or the Tribune, is a US English language daily headquartered in France. Created in Paris in 1887, its intended readership is especially US expatriates. It was originally called the New York Herald Tribune and was the international edition of the New York Herald.
About Mitel
Mitel Networks (Nasdaq:MITL) is a global provider of business communications solutions and services, consisting of unified communications and collaboration software applications, IP telephony platforms, mobility applications and managed and network services. Mitel enables businesses of all sizes to move beyond basic fixed telephony tools toward integrated multi-media collaboration solutions, accessible from anywhere, helping to improve performance, gain competitive advantage, and reduce costs. Mitel's global headquarters are in Ottawa, Canada, US headquarters are in Chandler, Arizona and EMEA headquarters are in Caldicot, UK, with offices, partners, and resellers worldwide. For more information visit: http://www.mitel.com
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