Lynden Aged Care

Client

Lynden Aged Care Association Inc, funded in 1981 in Victoria, is a not for profit organisation providing high quality aged care and services in a well appointed and safe residential aged care environment. Their facility allows them to care for up to 30 low care residents, 57 high care residents, and 20 residents living in extra service places.

Opportunity

Major hardware and software components from Lynden Aged Care’s previous Voice and Data Network were reaching their End-of-Support milestone and would soon cease to be supported by their manufacturers. This would have made their infrastructure difficult to maintain and support, compromising the quality of services delivered and increasing the risk of a significant failure. This situation coupled with the completion of a significant refurbishment project and a new wing to accommodate 27 additional residents solidified Lynden Aged Care’s decision to upgrade their entire voice and data network to ensure consistency across all facilities. For the voice and data network to deliver the required services and remain stable and supported for the next 5 years, the aged care provider also required the upgrade of the existing network infrastructure.

Outcomex was chosen to fully refresh their voice, security, network, and wireless architectures for our proven history in delivering complex Unified Communications (UC) and network projects across enterprise, corporate and government customers.

Solution

Outcomex designed and implemented a robust and scalable solution to replace the existing network and to deliver effective services for the next 5 years. The solution replicates previous system functionalities, with certain enhancements to deliver a superior and more effective experience to Lynden Aged Care employees and residents. 150 Cisco IP phones were deployed on-premises, catering for expansion of the facilities and providing a cost-effective option. Outcomex also upgraded their Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco Unity Connection so Lynden Aged Care would have access to the latest features. Those applications allow a consolidation of the communications infrastructure and enable their people to communicate simply with a platform featuring IP telephony, high definition video, unified messaging, instant messaging and presence, plus access to their messages anywhere.

60 new Cisco Wireless Access Points (AP’s) were installed at Lynden Aged Care to replace all existing AP’s and provide new ones for expansion.

The Unified Communications and Wireless refresh were supported by the upgrade of the existing infrastructure, utilising the following Cisco products:

• Cisco UCS
• Cisco Core & edge switches
• Cisco WAN router & and Voice gateway
• Cisco network security, including firewall Intrusion Protection System (IPS)
• Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) & URL filtering services.
• AnyConnect licenses to provide remote VPN access
• Update of the Cisco Voice software to the latest version
• Cisco ASA with Firepower Services

The Cisco ASA with Firepower Services adds extra security to the Lynden Aged Care network, including:

• Next-Generation IPS (NGIPS)
• Advanced Malware Protection (AMP)
• Reputation and category based URL Filtering

Impact

The new Cisco Unified Communications and Data network provides Lynden Aged Care residents and staff with a redundant collaboration system, and capability to service their new facilities, enabling them to care for more residents. The Cisco Unified Communications solution promises a quality user experience across any device—from mobile phones to tablets, laptops, video-enabled telephony devices, and video endpoints. The solution enabled Lynden Aged Care to make productivity gains, and led to a reduction in documentation errors, and an increase in engagement between staff and residents.