Issue - meetings

Report of the Director of Customer and Digital attached.

RESOLVED (Unanimously):

1.    Cabinet approves the proposal to enter into a 5 year agreement at a total contract value of £113,583 for the provision of improved and enhanced telephony and switchboard services.

2.    Cabinet notes the enhanced features/functionality of an upgraded system, including social media blending, request a call back and call recording.

The Cabinet Member (Finance, Property and Assets), Councillor Matthew Tomlinson, presented a report of the Director of Customer and Digital detailing the benefits of upgrading to Enhanced Telephony and Switchboard Services that would facilitate an improved customer service experience. The report also sought Cabinet approval to enter into a five year agreement with an existing supplier for its provision and updated on a desire to co-design digital and customer services with our residents and elected Members.

In response to a question from a member of the public, it was explained that the enhanced system will allow for social media blending and call back capabilities, along with the, potential to reduce call waiting times and abandoned call rates, improving resident satisfaction.

It was proposed by Councillor Matthew Tomlinson, seconded by Councillor Paul Foster, and

Decision made (Unanimously):

1.    Cabinet approves the proposal to enter into a 5 year agreement at a total contract value of £113,583 for the provision of improved and enhanced telephony and switchboard services.

2.    Cabinet notes the enhanced features/functionality of an upgraded system, including social media blending, request a call back and call recording.

Reason(s) for the decision:

The Council’s current switchboard telephony system is outdated and reliant upon technology which is due to be unsupported. In order for the Council to maintain a fully supported system by the vendor and ensure risk is managed effectively, the current system requires upgrading and merging with the existing contact centre system.

The current application and the system is running on Microsoft Server 2008 which will be unsupported by Microsoft in January 2020. This means that patches will no longer be released. This will invalidate the Council’s Public Service Network (PSN) accreditation and therefore the Council would be unable to receive important data from, for example, the Police, DWP and Electoral Registrations.

This decision will also allow the Council to take advantage of enhancements in functionality which are not otherwise available. The new system will also be placed in the Council’s virtual server farm and as part of the Council’s Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plan would make it easier to restore services and allow customers to continue to contact the Council.

In order to deliver the Council’s ambitious Corporate Plan for 2018/2023, it is imperative that digital systems are updated and enhanced to improve processes for residents interacting with our services.

Alternative Option Considered and Rejected:

Currently the Council relies on a manually operated switchboard system and the risks associated with not upgrading are deemed high.

A second option considered and rejected was to maintain the two existing telephony systems and carry out only the required upgrades which would enable us to continue operating in a supported environment. The enhanced functionality offered by the OpenScape solution and ability to reallocate a full time member of staff to the customer contact centre means that this option was rejected.