The USDA sought to technically "refresh" the voice, video, and call-center systems and infrastructure at its National Finance Center (NFC) in New Orleans and do so in a manner that would seamlessly transition operations and technologies from the costly network-based/Centrex-leased architecture to a premise-based, IP-enabled, USDA-owned and operated architecture. This would allow functionally restrictive, LEC-leased circuits to be replaced with state-of-the-art converged, digital, non-blocking network access. The new architecture would serve numerous voice, data, video, and call-center applications throughout the NFC campus. USDA's main requirements were to largely fund this modernization initiative through a lowering of the current operational costs; to regain control over the technology in use; to improve call-handling capacities and customer service response times; and to expand access to network bandwidth—on demand—to meet "surge-and-sag" traffic patterns. GTI's task assignments included all planning, management, installation, testing, training, and help desk and maintenance support.

GTI provided assessment, design, engineering, installation, and a lease-to-ownership plan (LTOP) for this large-scale upgrade initiative. The design configurations included deployment of a premise-based Nortel PBX equipped to provide service to 5,400 stations and the displacement of 1,350 leased-network access trunks with new DS-3 digital connectivity. A Symposium call-center solution was engineered and installed to provide service to multiple call-center operations, including the OCC (operations command center), payroll, benefits, providers' verification, customer service, credit union, and human resource departments, among others. Skill set routing functionality was also engineered and implemented. An integrated CallPilot voice-mail system with enhanced messaging functionality was deployed in support of more than 5,000 geographically dispersed users.

Migrating from a Centrex service architecture to the new converged, premise-based architecture necessitated a comprehensive survey and assessment of all desktop devices and their functionality requirements. This assessment was conduct thoroughly and without disruption to the NFC's daily call-center operations. Furthermore, GTI successfully met and overcame the need to survey, identify, and rework all cable plant infrastructure anomalies common and acceptable in a Centrex architecture but totally incompatible with a converged-VoIP architecture.

This cable-reuse strategy—although initially complex to engineer and price—was necessary to circumvent the costly expense associated with providing an entirely new cable plant infrastructure. GTI also overcame the lack of accurate "as-built" site drawings, performing the detailed investigations and reengineering of the cabling infrastructure while still meeting all schedule and resource targets.

A particular challenge that was successfully managed was the negotiations with the LEC to engineer call-center functionality and integration between the site and network-based servers providing the call-center functionality during the phased transition period. GTI performed under a tight schedule, and the NFC was ready for operation in full compliance with the original contract milestones.

Successful National Finance Center operations are of paramount importance, both to the many government agencies dependent on interaction with the center and to the tens of thousands of government employees and their families who call in daily to discuss their benefit plans. Continuity of operations and "best-in-breed" levels of service were particularly important in this transitioning effort.

GTI worked closely with the NFC to ensure that all their wants and needs were fully satisfied, ensuring successful, on-time completion of the program. GTI has consistently met all performance schedules on time and within budget.