IP In A Hurry

Ten days can seem like an eternity when you're waiting for test results or approaching that much-needed vacation. But for Houston-based Cooper Compression, a provider of compression equipment for the oil, gas and power industries, 10 days was all it had to launch an IP-based communications system and new call center in time for the company's move to a new building last September.

"Our old analog system was not large enough, so we had to either go forward with updating the old phone system or do something different," says Roland Etcheverry, vice president of information technology at Cooper Compression.

Why only 10 days? Turns out the corporate-approval process for Cooper Compression's major IT projects had recently changed, so by the time Etcheverry got the green light for the capital expenditure, there was only a little more than a week to go before the big move. In preparation, Etcheverry had been in talks with two local solution providers--eNET for a Cisco IP Communications Solution, which it had worked with in the past, and another company he wouldn't name for an Avaya analog/digital hybrid solution.

The Friday he received approval, Etcheverry called both solution providers to see if they could give him a definite answer on completing the project in time for the move. Chris Laflin, vice president of sales and marketing at eNET Solutions, said he could finish the project, though admitted it would be tight.

The other solution provider didn't come back with a definitive answer. Plus, "it was clear their pricing wasn't in the ballpark of what the Cisco solution would be for us," says Etcheverry, adding that he kept getting the feeling the provider was trying to sell a hybrid model, even though Etcheverry was set on a straight VoIP solution.

"We needed all of our phone, printing and faxing on one network. We had a coherent plan to centralize around an active directory, and we wanted a solution that played to the future, not to the past," Etcheverry says. "But they kept making the case that it's a high-risk move to VoIP."

But Etcheverry says he wasn't convinced. "I've been researching VoIP for about four years, and I know we're not in the first awakening moments of VoIP. Cisco is the largest and fastest player in VoIP," he explains.

As a last measure, Etcheverry drove to eNET Solutions' office to "sit down and look [Laflin] in the eye" to get a sense that he could trust eNET. Laflin assured Etcheverry that the crucial pieces of the solution had already been ordered and that Cisco was working with them to divert inventory to their project to get it done ASAP.

The Implementation

Once eNET got the green light, it went straight to work, moving ahead with a fully redundant phone system with Cisco IP phones, Cisco Unity 4.0 for messaging, Cisco IP Call Center (IPCC) software and XMedius for integrated faxing. ENET also deployed all new switching for the IP network, with stackable Cisco 3750s, Laflin says.

Phase One of the rollout included the physical delivery of the phones and equipment, which were already on their way by the Monday or Tuesday of the following week. By Thursday, all of the equipment was delivered, with the majority of it configured. By Monday morning--deadline day--every user had a dial tone with his old phone number on the new phone.

In terms of the implementation, Etcheverry says he follows a "management delegation model." In other words, if he has competent people he trusts, he doesn't get in their way. "I stop by and ask how it's going, provide resources if necessary, just making sure the project goes smoothly, but not getting too involved," he says.

Out of the more than 150 phones installed, only two users had problems--and one of them happened to be the president of Cooper. Alas, it was a minor problem. "Somebody had inadvertently unplugged his cable," Etcheverry says. It was quickly resolved.

Phase Two of the rollout, which included the call-center capabilities, couldn't be done in the short time frame, but was completed a couple of weeks later. Cooper Compression also purchased the XMedius fax capabilities through eNET, which worked with Ricoh, the company's preferred vendor, to integrate the solution with its printer, copier and fax machines.

The Art of the Deal

Interestingly, it was the collaboration between vendor and solution provider that ultimately proved instrumental in winning Cooper Compression's contract. ENET already had a relationship with Cisco, which, despite eNET's relationship with Cooper Compression, gave it the heads up that the customer was on the lookout for a new communications solution and was getting the Avaya push from a competitor.

"[A Cisco account manager] came to me and said, 'Can we work together to try and win this deal?'" Laflin says. "So we started working on it with their IT department to understand their needs and the technology even before the approval came through."

Etcheverry says that he ultimately decided to go with eNET because "they didn't provide weeks, months of documentation--they focused on what Cooper needed and gave it to us."

The firm also stepped up and worked to get equipment to them before it even had the financial obligation, he adds.

The Cooper Compression project cost around $200,000, but Laflin estimates that IP adoption at the parent-company level globally could potentially be up to a $3 million investment (see "Making an Impression," left). Etcheverry says that while he was "conscious of dollars," price was not the main issue in deciding to go with the Cisco solution. "Cisco provided strong support through the whole project," he says.

ENET also was selected based on the credibility of its presentation as Etcheverry compared the various project bids, he says.

"We didn't feel like we were getting a spin on every question we asked."