SBC Inks Major VoIP Deal With Ford Using Cisco Equipment

Telecom integrator SBC Communications today signed a contract with auto giant Ford Motor to design, implement and manage an IP telephony system using Cisco Systems' equipment for Ford's headquarters and other facilities in Southeast Michigan. The deal might very well be a harbinger of increased VoIP activity in the enterprise space.

The project is worth about $100 million, according to a source at SBC, which will deploy a fully customized solution based on the SBC PremierSERVsm IP Telephony Advantage platform, using the Cisco Systems IP Communications system. The network will include approximately 50,000 Cisco IP telephones, rolled out to users in 110 Ford facilities in Southeast Michigan during a three-year period. When completed, the project will be one of the nation's largest deployments to date VoIP, the source says.

Tom Archer, SBC vice president of sales, global markets, and one of the architects of the deal, tells VARBusiness how the deal came to pass.

"About a year ago, the Ford team and the SBC team got together to figure out ways to drive out costs of all aspects of their business. It was a natural progression to take a look at traditional voice and data networks," he says. "The truth is, Ford, SBC and Cisco are unusually close. We've had so many meetings, it's hard to describe whose idea it even was. Ford is a very strong Cisco shop. Cisco is very strong in Michigan."

While not naming names, Archer confirms he is in talks with other large enterprise accounts in Michigan. "I would not rule out future deals," he says. "VoIP is not just about cost savings. There are also productivity gains in terms of increased mobility and unified messaging. It's attractive to enterprises."

Said Rick Moran, Cisco vice president of the product technology marketing Oorganization for IP communications, in a statement: "We look forward to working with Ford and the SBC family of companies...to deploy this state-of-the-art network. This will allow Ford to explore new communications applications, such as integrated voice, e-mail and video services."

Network consulting firm Callisma, an SBC company, will work with Ford throughout implementation to help integrate IP telephony service into Ford's existing network infrastructure.