Scalable Communications
Having worked with Scalable Networks previously, we knew they would welcome the opportunity to work on this unique and challenging project. More importantly, we knew we could work together successfully as a team.
The Royal Society of Medicine
The Royal Society of medicine, or RSM, represents the professional interests of the UK’s medical community, providing services such as the continuous professional development of general practitioners. Scalable Communications met the challenge of creating an ‘invisible’ 21st Century converged networks as part of the RSM’s ambitious restoration of their 18th Century Grade 1 listed offices.The Challenge
In 2002, after consultation with members, the Howard de Walden Estate and English Heritage, it was decided to restore Chandos House to its full 18th Century opulence, whilst providing state-of-the-art 21st Century communications infrastructure and services that would equally stand the test of time. Scalable Communications was chosen to design and install that solution.
All guest rooms would need fully featured telephony and broadband Internet access for laptops and other portable computing devices. Venue and city information services would need to be made available in each room. In addition there was a need for a members’ extranet to extend to the rooms, for example to allow 24-hour access to the RSM’s online library (the largest postgraduate biomedical library in Europe).
English Heritage, advised on the restoration, monitored progress and imposed its own requirements. The foundations and infrastructure for the services would need to be invisible, and the terminals and end user equipment unobtrusive at the very least. There were other strenuous requirements from the client:
“All of the hospitality-related systems at Chandos House needed to be hosted and managed from our headquarters at Wimpole Street. In addition, we needed to integrate any new technology without forklift upgrades or disruptions to service,” continued Tansy Cork, ICT Manager at RSM. “Having worked with Scalable Communications previously, we knew they would welcome the opportunity to work on this unique and challenging project. More importantly, we knew we could work together successfully as a team.”
The need to minimise the environmental impact of the communication infrastructure immediately pointed to converged IP solutions and applications. So from the outset telephony, guest services, information and broadband access were to be delivered down a single cable, and via a single, multi-function in-room IP appliance.
Clearly, standard IT installation, procedure and practices were useless in such a sensitive environment. So, using building survey tools, Scalable created a 3-D model of Chandos House to assess its infrastructure and ascertain its ability to support a wired and/or wireless network. A concealed lift shaft presented an opportunity to develop a wired communications backbone, and during the physical reconstruction - and under the guidance of English Heritage - cabling was laid under the floors and behind the antique skirting and mouldings.
With the cabling in place, an Extreme Networks Gigabit Ethernet backbone was created, linked by a 10 Mbps service to RSM headquarters at Wimpole St, where all applications would continue to be hosted. The Layer 3 intelligence of the Extreme solution meant that security and class of service could be guaranteed.
On those firm foundations were built Mitel converged telephony and information services. A unique IP appliance in each guest room delivers telephony, browsing and broadband PC access. The built-in browser and screen is the delivery point for venue information services (such as room service), London information services (theatre reservations, for example) and general Internet searches. The appliance’s Ethernet port delivers click-and-go broadband access for laptop users. To deliver the business applications to hotel staff, as well as members’ extranet, a thin-client SSL VPN has been introduced. Secure, fast, and accessible from any browser, it is the perfect solution for running hosted remote services in a plug-andplay environment.
Tansy again: “Budget limitations meant that it was vital that all our operations could continue to be centrally managed from our ICT suite at Wimpole Street so the VPN software was perfect. It also means we have the potential to offer remote access in the future.”
An innovative, forward-looking solution marries traditional telephony at the Wimpole St headquarters with IP telephony services at Chandos House:
“Following discussions we decided to install a second Mitel IP platform in front of our traditional PBX at Wimpole Street,” adds Tansy. “This connects us seamlessly to Chandos House, and gives us a cost-free migration to IP telephony at Wimpole Street as and when we are ready.”
For further information on the Royal Society of Medicine, visit www.rsm.ac.uk
0844 7422010
