Mott MacDonald advises Western Isles Council on customer communications strategy

Published 24th November 2008

21 November 2008 – Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (CNES) has engaged Mott MacDonald, a leading UK-based independent management consultancy advising the information, communication and media industries, to assist in the procurement of a new IP Telephony (IPT) system. Mott MacDonald was awarded the contract after completing a business case looking at the potential for moving the council’s existing voice telephony systems to a new platform using voice over internet protocol.

Faced with the challenge of reducing costs over the next three years whilst improving efficiency and customer service, CNES appointed Mott MacDonald to undertake an extensive consultation of its stakeholders and identify a sustainable system to meet current and future business needs. Mott MacDonald found that by migrating from many disparate systems to a consolidated unified communications platform, CNES would reduce its annual costs by 30% and the investment would pay for itself within seven years.

By allowing staff to work from home or in the community – with full access to email, the Council intranet and public folders – the new IPT system will improve operational efficiency and ultimately enhance the customer experience. Additional efficiencies will be gained from a reduction in office overheads and reducing the amount of travel required between buildings.

Colin McRobbie, technical procurement specialist at Mott MacDonald, said: “Following our detailed review of CNES’s voice and data infrastructure and requirements, we advised that best value would be achieved through the procurement of a feature rich unified communications solution via the OGC buying solutions Catalist portal.” Colin continued: “We will be reviewing the bids with CNES over the coming months with a view to appointing the most suitable supplier to implement its business needs in March 2009.”

Angus MacArthur, head of IT at CNES, said: “Mott MacDonald played a key role in helping us identify how we can implement a system that will enable us to deliver services more effectively. Not only did the team of consultants have a friendly and helpful approach to the project, their expertise in the area was very reassuring and the team quickly demonstrated that they had a clear understanding of our issues.”

For more information contact:
Helen Bloxham/Savannah Wiza
Firefly Communications
020 7386 1408
mottmacdonaldschemateam@fireflycomms.com

About Mott MacDonald

Mott MacDonald is a global management, engineering and development consultancy with 14,500 staff, £850 million turnover and work in 120 countries for the public and private sectors. The employee-owned company is ranked 8th in the 2008 Sunday Times 20 Best Big Companies to Work For survey. Mott MacDonald’s core business sectors cover buildings, transport, energy, water, environment, health, education, industry, oil and gas, communications and international development.

For more information about the Mott MacDonald group, go to www.mottmac.com or contact: Moya Galal or Hannah Seton on 0208 774 2205 or email moya.galal@mottmac.com