person using Zoom phone
Zoom phone allows employees to easily make and receive calls from their laptops or mobile phones, no matter their current location.

In May 2024, NI&S completed a major upgrade to Virginia Tech’s telephone and voice communications systems. This transition from Avaya desktop telephones to the Zoom Phone service enabled modern, flexible communications technologies across Virginia Tech’s campuses. The Zoom Phone service adds several features and capabilities that allow users to extend their use of Zoom beyond meeting and video conferencing towards a more comprehensive communications solution.

During this upgrade, NI&S successfully migrated over 12,000 phone numbers, including for 28 remote campuses. Service was enabled for 9000 users and 5 large-scale call centers, including the 4Help IT Support contact center. Additionally, the team collaborated with the Virginia Tech Police Department and VT Emergency Management teams to ensure that emergency calls were being routed properly to the local 911 authority, verifying the implementation of nomadic 911 services for all users and ensuring that large-scale VT Alerts notifications were sent to all subscribed Zoom Phone members.

The most significant enhancement for the end user is that they can easily communicate through their campus phone regardless of their working location. Zoom Phone operates through the same app as Zoom meetings, providing a reliable and consistent user experience and eliminating the need for a physical telephone.

The transition to Zoom Phone also allows for improved self-service automation technologies to streamline service selection and delivery. NI&S eliminated much of the administrative approval process, saving the Division of IT and the university time and expense, while providing more efficient service for departments and personnel.

“This was truly a collaborative effort between NI&S, the Division of IT, and many groups across the university,” stated William Dougherty, who was executive director for NI&S at the time. “Moving the entire university to a new phone system is no small feat, and I am proud of how our units worked to make these transitions as seamless as possible for our employees and offices.”