Cisco IP Telephony Delivers Commercial Benefits for CSIRO; CSIRO, Australia's Leading Scientific Research Organization Provides Its Staff with Improved Communications Options.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

CANBERRA, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2003

Cisco Systems, Inc. has supplied networking equipment for an Internet Protocol (IP) Communications network at Australia's premier research institution, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

About 800 CSIRO employees are taking advantage of the network, which has reduced network management costs and has improved the institution's communications infrastructure. Canberra-based CSIRO estimates that it is saving $400,000 a year at its four production sites by moving its telephony system from a private branch exchange (PBX) system to a Cisco(R) AVVID (Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data) network.

The Cisco IP Telephony solution is an expansion of the Cisco IP-based data network that CSIRO has operated for almost a decade. The network, which has been operable since late 2002, provides telephony, voice-mail and video conferencing applications for CSIRO staff in Brisbane, Canberra and Perth. Another five sites are preparing to offer IP communications by mid-2003.

Justin Booth, CSIRO's network operations manager said; "IP based communications, including IP Telephony, are providing the CSIRO with operational efficiencies and innovative features."

Because the network is IP-based, it allows voice and data communication to be centrally provisioned and managed, reducing costs and removing the need for a PABX to be housed at each CSIRO building. CSIRO is also one of the first organisations to integrate the Cisco Call Manager call processing software and Cisco Unity (tm) voice mail system with Microsoft's Active Directory Services.

This integration allows information to be held in a single directory service, eliminating the need for CSIRO to replicate data for voice and IT services. Further, CSIRO staff can use their Cisco IP Phone 7960 or 7940 series telephones to access the CSIRO staff directory for contact numbers and in another productivity improvement, voice-mail messages can be delivered, in the form of e-mail messages, directly to staff's computers.

Ease of mobility is another benefit of the converged, IP based network, increasing flexibility and reducing costs of communications management. The network allows CSIRO staff to access the corporate local-area network (LAN) from home, using a handset connected to a DSL modem. Staff travelling overseas can use a broadband connection to link directly to CSIRO offices through a virtual private network (VPN).

Cisco Australia and New Zealand Managing Director, Terry Walsh said; "Cisco and the CSIRO have had a long-standing relationship. We both understand the need for IP technologies to create real, measurable benefits and IP communications does just that."

The network is based on the deployment of Cisco Catalyst(R) 6509 and Catalyst 3550 Series switches (http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps708/index.html), Cisco Call Manager Version 3.3, the Cisco 7835 Media Convergence Server, Cisco IP Phone 7960, 7940 and 7905 models and other Cisco hardware and software.

About CSIRO

CSIRO is a world-renowned scientific research institution. Its diverse achievements include developing the world's first plastic-laminated banknote, the atomic absorption spectrophotometer and Interscan, an innovative aircraft-landing system that uses microwave technology.

Since its inception in 1926, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation has grown to become one of the world's largest and most diverse scientific research institutions. As an Australian Federal Government statutory agency, its 7,000 staff conduct research and development on areas of economic, environmental and social value to the nation, including agriculture, minerals and energy, manufacturing, communications, construction, health and the environment.

About Cisco Systems

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