Early Results Indicate 35+ Percent Annual Savings on Wireless, 40+ Percent Cut on MPLS
South Windsor, CT, September 23, 2014—LAZ Parking recently engaged Advanced Technology Consulting (ATC) to conduct a comprehensive telecom audit and optimize LAZ Parking’s voice and data network services. ATC’s Darren DeMartino has spearheaded the effort to inventory and review the company’s services and explore new and possibly different service options.
LAZ has experienced exponential growth. 300 percent over the last four years. Today, LAZ has 1,850 locations and over 7,000 employees. Saddled with a legacy—and expiring—master telecom agreement with a major carrier, LAZ reached out to ATC.
“We needed someone with telecom-specific expertise. Someone that could see the big picture, that could look at all facets of our business and the corresponding communication needs,” said Kristin E. Kane, LAZ Parking’s Director of Procurement. “ATC has been able to provide us with cost-effective, growth-oriented solutions.”
The four areas that ATC recently began auditing include wireless (enterprise mobility), MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching), POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service), and broadband/DSL. The make-up of LAZ Parking’s 1,850 plus locations varies greatly, from the corporate “Home Office” in Hartford, CT, to urban surface parking lots and municipal, multi-level garages. LAZ operates hundreds of thousands of parking spaces in thousands of locations across the country, covering 26 states and more than 250 cities. Each location has its own unique telecom needs. No two are alike.
“When legacy telecom services are in place and you have a rapidly growing and very diversified company such as LAZ, it’s not unusual to see highly bloated telecom expenses,” says ATC co-founder and managing partner, Darren DeMartino. “`Bundles’ with a single carrier don’t always represent the best service and pricing for enterprises. For instance, every LAZ location has its own unique service needs and it’s important to mix and match services appropriately.”
Cellular Optimization
ATC’s DeMartino tackled wireless first for LAZ and started working through a process for cellular optimization. A comprehensive inventory and analysis of services—hardware, accessories, cell devices, and plans—determined that LAZ Parking’s wireless plans and services were no longer synchronized with usage, not to mention industry-best pricing. By optimizing voice, data and text plans on each device (~1,000), ATC quickly identified projected savings in excess of 35 percent.
In addition, ATC partner, CMS Telecom, is conducting ongoing monthly mobility management services, including real-time expense monitoring, 24-hour help desk, and ongoing analytics and optimization. A variety of reports, both standard and custom, are produced for LAZ based on user role, need and data points.
MPLS
LAZ leverages a secure MPLS network to connect its 17 corporate and regional offices. The old MPLS network through the legacy carrier did not incorporate automatic failover. The failover network was dependent upon human triggers, which were rarely enacted when needed. The new MPLS network, specified by ATC, includes automatic failover with inherent redundancy across the network. In addition, LAZ will save over 40 percent annually.
POTS and Connectivity
Even the simplest surface lot requires secure, dependent connectivity to collect parking fees through the self-pay machines (revenue control model) and run the gates where applicable. Those same gates have an emergency call center button that requires a POTS line or a SIP trunk. In addition, with multi-level lots, parking garage elevators require a POTS line to operate
LAZ has over 1,500 POTS lines across its network of facilities, which entails hundreds of invoices. Those POTS lines will be moving to a new provider. The new provider offers LAZ consolidation of all lines on to one bill and a single point of contact. The new provider for connectivity is still under review.
For more information, contact Advanced Technology Consulting at 1-860-248-4423, or visit insights.4atc.com.
About Advanced Technology Consulting
Advanced Technology Consulting, Inc. (ATC), an independent telecom agency and consulting firm, removes the business complexities of researching, comparing, procuring, implementing and managing telecommunications solutions. ATC’s team of Certified Telecom Professionals (CTP) leverages an extensive network of technology providers to deliver unbiased insight and tactical proficiency on behalf of clients. Technical expertise includes network services, VoIP business phone systems, unified communications, UCaaS, cloud computing, and structured cabling. Services include strategic consulting, contract renegotiation, project management, business-needs analysis, and support.
About LAZ Parking
LAZ Parking is one of the largest parking operators in the United States. Parking management services cover a variety of segments including office buildings, hospitality, government, campus, residential, retail, events and airports. Through an affiliate entity, LAZ Parking Realty Investors (“LPRI”), LAZ has led the industry in the acquisition of parking assets on behalf of itself and its investment partners over the past 5 years. These acquisitions span all classes of parking assets, including: parking garages, surface parking lots, airport parking facilities, and municipal concessions (meters and parking facilities) totaling more than $2.4 billion.
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