Amillan

Client: A Leading Museum and Cultural Institution
Industry: Museum and Cultural Institution
Location: London, United Kingdom
Partnership Since: 2021

Background
Our client is one of the world’s largest museums of decorative arts and design. Located in London, this prestigious institution boasts a vast collection of over 2.3 million objects, spanning 5,000 years of human creativity. The museum is renowned for its historic architecture and cultural significance.

Challenge
Our partnership with the museum involves providing specialised support for the wired and wireless network infrastructure, contact centre, and unified communications solutions. We have facilitated the transition from legacy collaboration platforms and voice solutions to an upgraded internal infrastructure, which underpins the introduction of new cloud solutions.

This transformation has modernised the museum into a contemporary workplace while preserving the historic integrity of its buildings, which are renowned for their architectural significance. Working with such a prestigious client requires a deep understanding of the physical constraints and expansive environment of the museum.

Despite these challenges, we deliver premium service support, along with first-class hardware and software solutions, ensuring the museum remains a leading-edge organisation in the 21st century.

Solution
Amillan partnered with the museum to provide consultation, implementation, and ongoing comprehensive managed-service support across the wired and wireless network, contact centre, and unified communications solutions. The key aspects of the overall solution included:

Results
The partnership between Amillan and the museum has successfully transformed the museum’s multiple sites into a modern workplace while maintaining its historic place as a leading design and art institution.

Key outcomes include:
‣ Enhanced Collaboration: Improved communication and collaboration among staff through upgraded systems.
‣ Reliable Connectivity: Stable and efficient network infrastructure supporting the museum’s operations.
‣ Future-Ready Solutions: A scalable and flexible infrastructure ready to support future technological advancements.

Conclusion
Working with the museum has been a testament to Amillan’s ability to deliver premium professional service support and cutting-edge solutions in challenging environments. The successful modernisation of the museum’s infrastructure highlights Amillan’s commitment to excellence and innovation.

Leading communications integrator, Amillan, has been named as a supplier on Crown Commercial Service’s Network Services 3 (NS3) framework (RM6116).

Amillan’s success in being named as a supplier will allow them to give public sector organisations easier access to its expertise in telephony and communications technology as Amillan can provide servicers on the following Lots:

Amillan underwent a rigorous selection process where applicants were evaluated for multiple service lots, based on multiple criteria, including service offerings, implementation skills, service delivery, customer references, and experience.

Patrick Daly, Managing Director, Amillan, said: “Amillan has seen tremendous success via our previous listing on Network Services 2, and we are delighted to be successfully selected once again on the new Network Services 3 framework. This award continues to give us access to an expanded pipeline of public sector procurement opportunities and will enable us to transact business much more quickly and seamlessly with existing and new public sector customers. It will help streamline the whole process both for us and our clients.”

The NS3 framework is for the provision of telecommunications and network services and can be used by the whole of the UK Public Sector and their associated bodies and agencies, the voluntary sector, charities, and/or other private organisations acting as managing agents or procuring on behalf of the public sector delivering services of a public nature.

NS3 aims to simplify and speed up communications and networking procurement for public sector organisations, with pre-defined and agreed contract terms and conditions and a shortlist of pre-approved suppliers providing a wide range of services. The framework will run until at least 2025.

Crown Commercial Service supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2022/23, CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits equal to £3.8 billion – supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers.

About Amillan
Amillan is a leading solutions integrator delivering unified communications, contact centre, data networking and connectivity solution, on-premise or in the cloud. For more information, please visit, www.amillan.co.uk

About Crown Commercial Service
Crown Commercial Service (CCS) is an Executive Agency of the Cabinet Office, supporting the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services.

The University of Sunderland (UoS) has a student FTE count of over 24,000 based across campuses in Sunderland, London and Hong Kong and, in addition UoS has many partnerships with learning institutions in various countries around the globe, extending its global teaching reach. Sunderland is recognised internationally as a leading, digital first university, with a long-established commitment to widening participation, world-leading research, public and private sector collaborations, and a track-record for providing quality student experiences.

To underpin their digital first agenda, the university adopted a cloud first strategy, focussing on leveraging key skillsets offered by managed service providers to align activities that underpin core operational infrastructure. This allows UoS to be more digitally transformational, adding greater value to the University and its customers.

To tie in with this strategy, in 2021 UoS made the decision to scale out its current investment within O365 and migrate telephony to a single unified communications platform, accessible from anywhere in the world, further supporting the aim to move away from data centres and an on-premise footprint.

In early 2021 the University began seeking a supplier to fully manage and support the design, implementation and migration of staff from their current telephony services to a hosted Microsoft Teams for telephony service. UoS’s telephony environment at the time was a mixture of Skype for Business 2015 and Astra MX1, with smaller legacy PBX systems also on-site in London and Hong Kong campuses. The Microsoft Teams app was used by the University, but for collaboration, and meetings only.

The university conducted a procurement process via CCS’s RM3808 Network Services 2. After an extensive review of the marketplace, they made the decision to partner with communications specialist Amillan for this project. Amillan is a communications integrator with over 30 years’ experience in enterprise voice technology, holding Microsoft’s Communication competency for 15 years. Amillan supports a number of other UK universities with their voice infrastructure, and it was decided they were the best fit to support the University in this digital transformation.

Amillan’s solution provides the University of Sunderland with a Cloud based Telephony Platform delivered from a Private Cloud which hosts Session Border Controller’s, PSTN SIP Trunks and for the migration phases, SIP Integration to the existing On-Premise Skype for Business deployment. Session Border Controllers are configured in a resilient configuration to provide Microsoft Direct Routing towards the University of Sunderland’s M365 Tenant. Amillan’s Direct Routing provides the Teams application with PSTN capabilities for all incoming and outgoing calls.

In the Amillan Data Centre, GAMMA SIP Trunks are provided in the form of Active / Standby. This provides the University of Sunderland with a resilient PSTN service from the GAMMA Public SIP Infrastructure. All DDI Numbers were be ported to the new GAMMA SIP Service. These SIP Trunks and DDI Numbers are presented to Amillan’s Session Border Controllers which are also working in Active Standby mode. The SBC’s send the DDI to the end user via Direct Routing into Microsoft’s M365 architecture, delivering “Dial Tone” into the Teams users.

Like all Universities, UoS required extra SIP Channel Capacity during the annual clearing period. Amillan’s solution has been built with the high clearing capacity in mind, however with the Gamma Portal the University can change the channel count instantly, meaning that outside of clearing the University can scale down the SIP Trunks from the Gamma network, only paying for what is required, meaning no wasted expenditure.

Due to the covid 19 pandemic and the immediate shift to home working, many university staff were already utilising teams for internal calling and Skype for Business for external calls, this made the transition to teams for all telephony significantly easier with regards to change management and user adaption. All staff already had the appropriate equipment to allow them to work in agile way from home or when on campus with laptops and headsets, and the project included replacing physical handsets with Teams compatible alternatives where required. This in itself was a remarkable achievement for the University and for Amillan, as the rollout and the configuration of YEALINK Teams handsets was a first for both. In addition, there are several communal analogue devices (e.g. corridor phones) which needed to be migrated to SIP as part of the overall design consideration. Amillan connected these endpoints to a SIP to Analogue convertor to provide a DDI and dial tone for this service.

Amillan fully managed the on-boarding procedure for the UK and Hong Kong sites to enable all campuses for Teams Telephony. A risk adverse approach was followed where Amillan connected to the on-site topology using Public IP Addresses from both the University of Sunderland and the Amillan data centre, allowing for a phased migration of users from Skype for Business to Teams, avoiding a “big bang” approach, resulting in a seamless and disruption free transition of services.

Following the successful upgrade to Microsoft Teams, Amillan now fully manages and supports the service for the University, with Amillan’s Service Centre and engineering resource supplementing UoS’s in-house skills. This includes Amillan having agent access to the University’s IT Service Desk, meaning any ticket that is submitted for telephony is sent to Amillan to resolve and close seamlessly.

“The upgrade to Teams for the University’s telephony is an important step forward for our Digital First agenda, providing staff with simplified communication and collaboration platform wherever they are in the world. Amillan’s management of the transition has been first-class with a true desire to understand our organisation needs and become a valued partner moving forward.” Jason Marshall IT Service Manager, University of Sunderland.

“We admire the University’s forward-thinking drive to invest in technologies which improve experiences for staff and students. We hope that this project will be the start of a long-term partnership between both organisations. ” Patrick Daly Managing Director, Amillan.

The University of the Highlands and Islands is a leading integrated University encompassing both further and higher education.

Based in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, it is a distinctive partnership of 13 independent colleges and research institutions. These partners are separate legal entities which employ their own staff and own their own assets. They are locally based and rooted in communities, but with national and international reach, as part of a regional university structure.

The reputation of the institution is built on an innovative approach to learning with a distinctive research and curriculum – all enriched by the people, natural environment, economy, culture and heritage of the Highlands and Islands and its communities.

Amillan realised the importance of ensuring good sound communications and collaboration was paramount to the University as it strives to meet the ever-changing requirements and goals of its students and partners.

The University was looking to procure a third line support contract for its existing IP telephony system and Contact Centre estate, across all 13 institutions.

With varying sites being more critical than others and with varying hours of operations, the bespoke & tailored support package addressed all areas that allowed the university to thrive with seamless communications. Ranging from Problem & Incident Management, Reporting, Field Engineering, Service Review Meetings and much more. This precisely matched the requirements of the university.

Amillan remains fully committed to continuing to supply an uninterrupted service and support package for the University of Highlands & Islands and look forward to continuing to build the relationship, whilst constantly refining the services provided.

Gone are the days when students sit in the classroom and learn solely by listening to lectures. Today, education must be collaborative and interactive. Teachers are making drastic changes to the way they approach instruction, with technology in the classroom playing a major role. Digital transformation positively impacts student learning by opening a world of endless possibilities and collaboration.

Digital transformation is a physical AND philosophical change designed to meet the ever-growing demands of your students, faculty and campus to create a learning environment where everything connects. This is an ecosystem that combines technology, services and security to bridge the digital gap to create collaborative, interactive and personalized learning experiences.

• Campus security
• Information security
• Student success
• IT strategy
• Data enablement
• Student-centric services
• Affordability
• Digital integration
• Artificial intelligence

• Build a strong IT foundation
• Foster successful students
• Create a safe campus
• Deliver state-of-the-art cybersecurity
• Deploy operational efficiencies

Digital transformation starts with a strategy. A clearly defined strategy that leverages opportunities presented by the new technology while meeting the objectives of your stakeholders. The following four steps will help you develop a digital transformation strategy for education:

1. Connect everything to support tomorrow’s digital world Set up strong strategic partnerships and build an ecosystem connecting your people, processes and things to build a communications network that is high capacity, secure and smart.

2. Deploy analytics to automate, understand and save money. Use real-life, real-time data to drive strategic initiatives that improve performance, roll out upgrades and make infrastructure decisions.

3. Roll out new business models “Freemium” software and on-demand services are cheaper, more flexible and simpler to manage than traditional systems, and may be just the ticket for your campus.

4. Move towards a single, simple platform Whether it is on-premises or in the cloud, the ultimate goal of digital transformation is to provide a single platform as the foundation of your network and communications infrastructure.

Digital transformation is creating a world of difference by rethinking the digital tools that are used in the classroom. Digital tools are driving new levels of collaboration and innovation to create a campus of endless learning possibilities.

Amillan can offer tailored solutions that address all of these challenges for your business, helping you meet the evergrowing needs in the sector.

Contact us today to find out how we can help we can implement our tailored solutions for your business.

Bournville College (Now merged with South & City College Birmingham) is committed to ensuring students have the relevant skills, qualifications, and experience required for their future, whether that is to seek employment or continue their education at college or university.

The Bournville College Campus has the capacity for 15,000 students and spans 4.2 acres of land, providing facilities that are among the best in the UK. The campus’s main spine building consists of six floors and four additional buildings that are connected to the spine.

After beating off stiff competition from six other companies, Amillan were awarded the tender to install the vital cabling and infrastructure for the college.

The installation comprised of a total of 4,400 category 6 A U/UTP outlets that incorporated over 200,000m of 10GPlus cable a further 768 category 6A links were installed within the equipment room which were terminated onto patch panels both ends.

“Amillan provides bespoke data, VoIP and unified communications solutions to the enterprise, education and public sector markets and understands the critical importance of building these on reliable, high-performance cabling infrastructure. As a trusted partner to many household names across the UK, we have carved a reputation for making a difference to business performance through the effective integration of only the best technologies.”

About The University of Westminster

The University Of Westminster provides grounded, holistic education with wide horizons and opportunities, so that people from every background can realise their true potential, contributing to a richer, happier society.

The university boasts a rich and unique history and has been providing students with an education based on academic excellence, cultural engagement and personal enrichment since our inception as The Polytechnic Institution in 1838.

Amillan realised the importance of ensuring good sound communications and collaboration was paramount to the University as it strived to meet the ever-changing requirements and goals of its students and partners.

Our Relationship

The University of Westminster selected Amillan to provide new IP telephony, contact centre and unified communications solutions as part of a major internal restructuring and expansion. The aim of the restructure was to give staff a robust and reliable communications infrastructure capable of improving cross-campus and external collaboration, allowing the University to deliver more effective corporate and student services.

Designing and implementing unified communications across the entire university has achieved the institution’s vision of creating communications service for the future, allowing staff to connect cross-campus and giving them access to IP telephony, softphone applications and unified communications tools based on their individual requirements.

Having this insight into the Universities current telephony landscape and requirements, Amillan procured a Telephone System Maintenance contract for their existing IP telephony system. This included services such as Problem & Incident Management, Reporting, Field Engineering, 24/7, telephone assistance and much more.

About Walsall College

Walsall College is one of the most successful colleges in the country – a place where more than 14,000 people study vocational-technical qualifications, apprenticeships, and higher education programmes each year. Their vision is to provide students with an outstanding learning experience, education and skills development to support them into higher levels of study and jobs.

Our Relationship

The college was mindful of the fact that they needed a seamless migration from the old systems to the new environment. Walsall needed a technology partner who could provide a fully integrated solution, had a proven track record of doing so and had the vision to provide the college with the technology solutions to take them into the future.

Amillan was chosen to provide structured cabling, telephony, data and applications for the Wirsemore campus. Working with Amillan on the project right from the beginning, provided Walsall College with a greater level of integration. Our solutions were also able to provide the college with simplified communications and high levels of mobility for staff and students.

“Seamless migration was our objective on the project and with Amillan we achieved that. Throughout the project, we had every confidence that they would deliver what they promised and they did.” – Walsall Collge