Rockefeller Group Technology Solutions

Rockefeller Group Technology Solutions, Inc. (RGTS) was established in 1984 as a comprehensive telephone and managed services (outsourcing) group. Its mission was to provide Rockefeller Center tenants with a single, reliable source for all communication needs. RGTS also extended its services and client roster well beyond that location, currently delivering technology solutions to more than 500 clients. RGTS was among the earliest service providers to offer voice mail in the mid 1980s, high speed Internet access in the mid 1990s, and IP-based phone service in the mid 2000s.

In 2009, RGTS began a search to augment their existing proprietary IP phone system with an open standards SIP-based solution that was less constrained and could take advantage of XML standards and cost-effective integration to 3rd-party applications. This was part of a long-term strategic initiative to support a growing demand from their customers and in the marketplace for flexible, cost-effective solutions.

RGTS selected Aastra’s Clearspan® to power a new service offering they call ROCKVoice. Clearspan provides several improvements over the existing proprietary system including:

• Less hardware, providing cost savings and productivity improvements
• Integration with desktop applications, toolbars
• Better support for remote workers
• 4-digit dialing across multiple locations
• Native support for multi-tenancy
• Customized GUI for each customer
• Self-provisioning capabilities resulting in less administrative effort

Another important factor in the selection process was that Aastra was able to provide a turnkey solution – hardware, software, endpoints and implementation services. This enabled RGTS to deploy the pilot solution and begin rollout much more quickly.

RGTS operates two data centers to ensure business continuity for its customers. Since the Clearspan solution runs on off-the-shelf hardware, it fit seamlessly into their network infrastructure. Clearspan provides a complete set of Unified Communications applications including centralized voicemail, conferencing, contact center, fixed mobile convergence (FMC) and presence integration. And because the applications are built-in, not bolted on, up to 100,000 users can be supported on a single IBM BladeCenter and can be scaled to support millions of users.

Clearspan was also architected to support multi-tenancy which provides RGTS great flexibility in the options they can offer to their customers. While RGTS is currently controlling provisioning for the early customers, system administration can be managed at the enterprise, group, department or end-user level, depending on the needs of the customer.

"We’re very pleased to launch our new ROCKVoice platform with Clearspan from Aastra", said John Tarduno, President and CEO of RGTS. "We’re very confident of its many immediate benefits and of the advantages it will provide in the years ahead for our clients and for our service operations."

Among their plans for the future, RGTS is developing a Channel Program to enable partners to resell its services. They expect to see significant growth from the channel and believe the ability to offer the ROCKVoice VoIP service will be a key enabler in attracting both channel partners and end customers.

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