U.S. Department of Defense completes Verizon-led unified communications integration

ASHBURN, VA – Verizon Enterprise Solutions today announced that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has taken a significant step forward in its Everything Over IP initiative by migrating one if its key agencies to a unified communications (UC) platform. In doing so, the DoD replaced two legacy systems with a single next generation solution.

Federal IT modernization is top of mind for most agencies. For many, it requires updating legacy or aging communications systems because they are are increasingly difficult to maintain and can have limited features and devices for effective collaboration and communication. This migration process and initial deployment, led by Verizon, and with the joint efforts of technology lead, Ribbon Communications; integration collaborator, Black Box; and engineering lead, Visioneering; was designed for rapid execution, with little operational disruption, to enable members of every component to leverage secure real-time UC technology.

The agency can seamlessly integrate voice, video, instant messaging, presence and conferencing, creating a platform for constituents and federal employees to efficiently communicate across channels and embrace a more digital and customized end-user experience.

“This significant transformation lets the user community operate using a communications system that addresses their IT needs now – and is scalable into the future,” said Sonya Cork, Vice President of Sales for Verizon Enterprise Solutions. “The integration and migration of the entire system was a huge task, and it speaks to the tightly coordinated efforts of Verizon and its partners Ribbon, Black Box, and Visioneering, working closely with the agency’s leadership.”

The Department of Defense made the decision to move to Unified Communications to replace its aging infrastructure while still keeping in mind its unique security demands. Using Ribbon Communication’s JITC-certified Application Server for the deployment, the department was able to replace the core of its communications infrastructure while leveraging its existing endpoints and using standards-based technology going forward. The cost and time required to integrate this option were significantly less than implementing an entirely new solution.

“We have been working closely with the Department of Defense and our solutions partners for several years to meet the demanding requirements of DoD deployments,” said Steven Bruny, Executive Vice President of Global Operations for Ribbon Communications. “It is very rewarding for our team and our partners to have successfully completed a migration of this magnitude. We believe it is a reflection of our commitment to standards and innovation and are pleased that we could provide DoD a path forward without having to start over.”

Because the modernization solution was integrated using existing platforms, the agency could continue to use its more than 60,000 phones. All of these factors helped this DoD agency to more efficiently execute its mission and continue to provide constituents with the experience they’ve come to expect.

Verizon has a long history of providing secure communications enabled services to the Federal Government. With a multifunction program management team dedicated for Federal government customers, Verizon has the knowledge of the technologies and Federal processes required for complex transformational systems integration projects.