Inverclyde turns to VoIP for cash savings

Inverclyde Council has invested £3 million in an upgrade to its communications to bring in VoIP and a virtual private network (VPN).

By connecting the council's 5,000 staff, major savings are predicted due to internal calls being free using IP telephony.

Gordon McLoughlin, head of ICT & Business Transformation for Inverclyde Council, said the new communications network "is absolutely the foundation on which Inverclyde Council will grow its technical strategy".

He added that the council will also be provided with "the flexibility to provide scaleable bandwidth to all of our council and school buildings within Inverclyde, and ensure that our citizens benefit from this investment".

Explaining the decision to upgrade the council's communications network, Mr McLoughlin said: "The cost savings were an obvious driver, but it is the flexibility and resilience of the system that will stand the test of time and really benefit the staff and citizens of Inverclyde."