City of Bregenz reduces costs with open source VoIP telephone system

The Austrian City of Bregenz has changed its entire telephone infrastructure using a new open source and IP-based telephone system provided by an Austrian software company, OSOR reports. As a result, it has made substantial savings. Since autumn 2010, more than 250 city council employees have been using the system at 10 different locations across Bregenz.

The new system, which is designed for medium and large organisations, was developed according to the wishes and requirements of workers and IT specialists of Bregenz city council.

The cost of the new open source system was only half that of competing telephone systems. Because it is open source, the licensing costs are greatly reduced. Moreover, the new system has been designed in line with the particular requirements of a municipal telephone system. Immediately after the introduction of the new system, the IT department reported significant savings in management and maintenance costs. During the first year alone, the City of Begrenz saved some €10,000 on phone costs alone, whilst maintenance costs were reduced to one-sixth of the previous €30,000.

This leaves us wondering whether any UK local authorities have explored the VoIP route yet in these straitened financial times. If you’re reading this in a British town hall, why not leave a comment below on your experiences. 🙂

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