Global Crossing

Telecom Provider Automates Visitor Check-in with Unified Communications–Based Solution

Global Crossing recently deployed a unified communications solution based on Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 R2 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 with the Unified Messaging server role. Now, the company is using the solution’s application programming interfaces to create custom applications that streamline business tasks. One of these is a kiosk that automates the check-in of company visitors, saving time, increasing productivity, and strengthening security.

Business Needs

As a leading global IP solutions provider, Global Crossing understands the mission-critical importance of efficient, reliable business communications. When the company recently decided to upgrade its communications systems, it chose a unified communications solution that includes Microsoft® Exchange Server 2007 with Unified Messaging and Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2. By deploying this solution, the company gained a consolidated environment for voice, e-mail, instant messaging (IM), and presence, as well as convenient audio, video, and Web conferencing. Concurrent with that deployment, Global Crossing looked for ways to customize and extend the unified communications solution to improve and automate business processes.

We have a lot of ideas for integrating Office Communications Server 2007 R2 into our line-of-business applications. I’m very impressed with how much effort Microsoft has put into making this software as extensible as possible.  Michael Fuqua Senior Vice President of Global Information Systems Global Crossing

For example, Global Crossing noticed that the check-in procedures for visitors at the company’s facility in Rochester, New York, consumed too much of the receptionists’ time. “We wanted a way for visitors to enter our secure lobby and talk to the person they wanted to see, without making them go through the receptionist first,” explains Matthew Dippel, Principal Software Engineer at Global Crossing. Dawn Kolb, Vice President of Systems Operations at Global Crossing, adds, “We also wanted to enforce our security policies by keeping a record of who is visiting which employees, how many times, and how long they stay.”

Solution

Global Crossing took advantage of the application programming interfaces (APIs) in Office Communications Server 2007 R2 to create a custom client application that powers a visitor kiosk. Visitors sign in through the kiosk’s touch screen, and the application establishes an IM session and two-way audio between the visitor and the Global Crossing employee. One-way video allows the employee to see the visitor’s face. After the employee authenticates the visitor, the kiosk takes a picture of that person and prints a visitor’s badge with a bar code. As visitors leave the facility, they scan the badge through the same kiosk, resulting in an end-to-end visitor-tracking solution. The kiosk application also accesses a database that keeps a record of all visitors, when they enter and leave, and whom they visit.

Global Crossing developed the visitor kiosk application using the Microsoft Visual Studio® 2008 Professional Edition development system and Microsoft Expression Blend™ 2 design software. The application is built on the Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.5, including Windows® Presentation Foundation, which helps developers create Windows client applications with visually rich user experiences. The kiosk’s hardware includes a Lenovo ThinkCentre personal computer with a touch-screen monitor, camera, label printer, and bar code scanner.

Benefits

The visitor kiosk automates check-in procedures and records detailed information about visits, increasing productivity for receptionists and security staff. The new solution also builds on the company’s existing unified communications solution, helping to reduce development effort. In addition, it serves as a model for more custom applications to come.

• Automates check-in, saving time and strengthening security. By automating the check-in process, the visitor kiosk reduces the burden on the building’s receptionists and security personnel and frees up time for them to work on other tasks. “The big benefit of the visitor kiosk is increased productivity,” says Kolb. “It eliminates not only the manual check-in process but also the tasks of typing the logs into a database and of the security team having to search through paper logs as they audit a visit. This obviously saves us time and money.”

Steven Schafer, Director of Collaboration and Network Services at Global Crossing, adds, “The kiosk promotes accountability as employees become responsible for managing visitors themselves, and it strengthens security by creating detailed logs automatically.”

• Builds on the existing communications infrastructure and promotes collaboration. Because the visitor kiosk takes advantage of technologies that Global Crossing had previously deployed, the company was able to create the solution at minimal cost. “We had already implemented a unified communications solution throughout the enterprise, so our only investment in the kiosk was development and testing time,” says Schafer.

The kiosk also complements the company’s collaboration strategy. Michael Fuqua, Senior Vice President of Global Information Systems at Global Crossing, says, “With Office Communications Server 2007 R2, everyone has collaborative tools at their desks and, with mobile devices, even when they’re on the go. We have a very collaborative structure in place in our company, so extending that structure to include visitors was just a logical next step.”

• Demonstrates the potential of a custom development platform. Based on the success of the visitor kiosk, Global Crossing has deployed a second one in its facility in Southfield, Michigan. However, visitor kiosks are only the beginning of many projects that will build on the capabilities of the Microsoft unified communications solution. Dippel says, “I’m amazed by the scope and depth of the client API in Office Communications Server 2007 R2. Microsoft didn’t leave anything out of it, so we’ll have a lot of flexibility in creating client applications.”

Fuqua adds, “We’re not in the kiosk business or even the software business. The purpose of this project was to show how we can interweave unified communications into the fabric of our business activities, especially activities that involve collaboration. We have a lot of ideas for integrating Office Communications Server 2007 R2 into our line-of-business applications. I’m very impressed with how much effort Microsoft has put into making this software as extensible as possible.”

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Document published April 2009