Hitachi Power Europe (HPE) in Oberhausen, Germany, is using Managed Services provided by Siemens for its telephony program. HPE combines the Voice over IP (VoIP) system HiPath 4000 and the applications server Teleserver Mobile Pro from Speech Design to integrate cell phones as normal extension lines within the telephone system.

HPE had to modernize an existing telephone system and carry out an impending move. The implementation of Voice over IP (VoIP) and the integration of approximately 150 mobile communications subscriber lines stood on the agenda of the IT department tasked with this project. The eight-man team planned and monitored the IT services, which were carried out by external partners.

Management of the project was assumed by Oliver Hellmich and his assistant Andreas Trecker. Nine vendors were contacted in an extensive bidding stage and provided with a detailed requirements specification. Three of them made it onto the short list. As it turned out, all offers from Teleserver Mobile Pro matched the needs for the mobile communications integration.

Instead of operating the telephone system on its own, HPE prefers a Managed Service solution. To this purpose, Siemens, the service provider, makes the platforms available in the HPE data center. The service is paid per user. Currently 800 employees are being provided with telephone services. Listing the advantages, Trecker explained, "When we hire a new employee, we can order a new extension line that, along with the telephone hardware, also includes the software and necessary functions." The company no longer needs to worry about whether sufficient resources are available.

The Managed Services are regulated by Service Level Agreements (SLA). Service providers are motivated to comply with the SLAs in response to their contractual penalties. "We have not yet had to follow through with this option, “remarked Trecker. The outside line is designed for five primary multiplex cards with 30 ISDN channels each, while the Teleserver Mobile Pro gets by with one primary multiplex connection configured as a subsystem. The internal telephony system is based on IP connections, while ISDN technology continues to be used externally.

The employees of the power plant contractor are deployed around the world. Construction sites are connected to the company headquarters' telecommunications network via WAN lines. Mobile employees are completely integrated into the internal communications of HPE via their cell phones.  If users want to place calls, they dial into the telecommunications system. From there, and as if in the office itself, they can call any internal or external contact using the customary calling procedure. Functions such as call-back, call-switching and conference calling are thus also available using their cell phones. No further programs or special Java clients are necessary for this. Handling of the connections is managed by the Teleserver Mobile Pro, which establishes the connection between both subscribers.

The company plans to move into a new building in the Duisburg Harbor district in August of 2007. Within one weekend, the entire infrastructure is supposed to be up and running again. The move-related services for and in conjunction with the telecommunications system were an element of the bidding procedure.

• The fees are incurred at headquarters and can thus be more easily logged and allocated.
  
  
• A single telephone number (the One-Number concept): In the future it will be possible to reach employees at their office telephone numbers, regardless of their location. This improves the connectivity and communication with the customer.
  
  
• Users can make use of the internal, four-digit extension numbers. In addition, the entire range of internal functions is available to every mobile subscriber.

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