Unified Communications

Denison University Deploys Unified Communications Suite

• By Leila Meyer
• 04/27/16

Denison University in Granville, OH has implemented a unified communications suite that supports internal and external communications, including voice, text messaging (SMS), multimedia messaging (MMS), group messaging and meetings, and that can be integrated with Google Apps for Education and Microsoft Office 365.

"Higher education is experiencing a period of unprecedented change as we shift from the old on-premises world to a digital workplace, and colleges and universities seeking to thrive, or even simply survive, in this environment must find new ways to support our community's demand for high-quality, highly-personalized services that help faculty, staff and students engage more effectively," said Dena Speranza, CIO of Denison University, in a news release.

The small, liberal arts university selected Dialpad, formerly known as Switch.co, to replace its outdated on-premises communications system. Dialpad lets faculty, staff and students use the device of their choice to send and receive voice, text and multimedia messages, and to access their contacts, calendars and email through Google Apps for Education or Microsoft Office 365. According to information from the company, "Dialpad also provides the ability to see insights at the campus, department and staff level, delivering greater context for data to make it actionable — all in real-time."

While Denison University is a single-campus institution, Dialpad can support multi-campus deployments that can be managed from a single location, and it has developed a set of best practices specifically for higher education institutions.

In related news, Pierpont Community and Technical College in Virginia has also implemented Dialpad to allow IT staff to simplify user management and improve communications with students. "Dialpad is enabling us to quickly and significantly reduce the cost of our communications infrastructure and leverage the cloud to engage students, alumni, peers and partners more effectively using the channels and devices that work best for them," said Rob Linger, CIO of Pierpont Community and Technical College, in a news release.