Avaya Inc. and Juniper Networks Inc. today announced that Parkland Health & Hospital System in Dallas County, Texas, is using a secure, high-performance voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) solution from the two companies to improve the continuity of communications in the event of a disaster and to deliver better service to patients
Serving Dallas County, Texas, Parkland is one of the top hospital systems in the nation. In addition to the main hospital facility, Parkland has 14 remote clinics and administrative offices located throughout Dallas County. Before upgrading to a new high-performance network, each remote site had its own stand-alone communication system.
"Linking each of our locations in a single, seamless network has allowed us to make dramatic improvements in the continuity of our voice network and the service we deliver to our patients," said Jack Kowitt, senior vice president and chief information officer, Parkland Health & Hospital System.
"Previously, our remote clinics had somewhat limited communications capabilities. Now, each clinic has access to the same communications functions available at the main hospital and employees from any location can now be a part of our call center. This allows us to expand our pool of skilled agents and deliver the best possible service to patients and their families in real time".
Parkland's voice network is based on Avaya Communication Manager IP telephony software. The network includes a combination of Avaya G700 Media Gateways for the smaller clinics, with two Avaya S8720 Media Servers for the main hospital site. The Avaya Media Servers and Gateways host the software, link remote sites and distribute advanced communications features to users.
In recognition of the critical services Parkland delivers to the community, the high-reliability network features dual Avaya servers and local survivable processors that provide continuous access to communications in the event of a network or system failure. To protect Parkland's investment in its previous Avaya communications systems, network designers were able to reuse system boards and other existing equipment and well as Avaya digital phones as part of the new, upgraded design, even while migrating to an IP-based converged communications infrastructure that can support future growth.
The healthcare system's voice network relies on Juniper Networks J-series routers as a critical component of its new IP telephony solution and uses the modular JUNOS operating system to manage VoIP traffic and help ensure it is operating at peak efficiency, around the clock. JUNOS offers comprehensive Quality of Service (QoS) that classifies, prioritizes and schedules time-sensitive traffic, such as voice, for maximum reliability and performance.
To monitor the end-to-end performance of applications traveling over the voice network, Parkland plans to use the Avaya Converged Network Analyzer (CNA). With the CNA in place, if IP network traffic begins to slow down, the analyzer detects the event and re-routes the traffic, which helps avoid delays, outages, and data loss.
Parkland's network was configured and installed by ROI Networks, Inc., a certified Avaya reseller.
New integrated solution from Avaya and Juniper now generally available
Avaya and Juniper Networks today also announced the general availability of a new branch networking solution designed for healthcare organizations and others with multiple remote sites. Announced in October 2006 (see http://www.avaya.com/gcm/master-usa/en-us/corporate/pressroom/pressreleases/2006/pr-061030.htm), the integrated Avaya and Juniper Networks solution offers businesses a way to streamline mid-sized branch office deployments by embedding Avaya IG550 media gateway and interface modules inside Juniper Networks' newest IP telephony-ready J4350 and J6350 J-Series routers.
With onboard support for two analog stations and two analog trunks, plus expansion modules for a variety of other PSTN interfaces, the new integrated solution offers a simplified deployment model for routing, security and voice services, along with embedded local survivability capabilities for additional protection against business-critical communication interruptions - Avaya.
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