Cuyahoga County Announces Planned Upgrades to Network Infrastructure - Effort to Improve Efficiencies and Save Taxpayers Money

Cuyahoga County selected OneCommunity for its unique ability to bring together a diverse consortium of technology vendors to deliver best-in-class services, including Global Crossing (GLBC), Cisco (CSCO), ICI Networks, certified minority business enterprise Texcel, as well as the Communications Workers of America. Leveraging each organization's strengths,Cuyahoga County and OneCommunity will deliver a network infrastructure that will allow county government the freedom to leverage today's converged network technology solutions. OneCommunity will ensure the County receives advanced services that include the development, management and optimization of a wide area network (WAN); Voice-over-IP (VoIP), and Internet and wireless services in various County buildings. OneCommunity andCuyahoga County will also oversee the management of the County-owned private network, and the necessary security and hardware upgrades.

Network enhancements and upgrades will produce significant efficiencies and corresponding cost savings. Specifics include:

    -- Providing network connectivity to two proposed new county facilities
       expected to be built over the next few years. After the new Juvenile
       Justice Center and Detention Center is built and the Emergency
       Operations Center is completed, the converged networks will increase
       network speed, provide significant bandwidth to facilitate application
       sharing, and bring a higher level of security and redundancy.
    -- Creating and enabling secure video conferencing to geographical gaps,
       saving taxpayer dollars by enabling video arraignments and reducing
       transportation challenges in the justice system. Video conferencing
       will also enable employees in different locations to communicate
       face-to-face without the need for travel.
    -- Providing wireless access within the Justice Center and Courthouse and
       County Administration Building, thereby increasing the efficiencies of
       the County's courts and allowing both attorneys and visitors to the
       Justice Center to access the Internet from their laptops or provided
       kiosks.
    -- Providing mobile County staff with wireless Internet access to their
       business applications.

"This is a significant, proactive effort to ensure our county facilities are up-to-date with the latest technology," said Daniel Weaver, Director of Information Services forCuyahoga County. "We're expanding our converged network, enabling more effective communications and connectivity throughout the county, which will translate into a significant cost savings for taxpayers."

The innovative approach and collaborative partnerships developed by OneCommunity via its initiatives in education, health care, and government ensures synergies toCuyahoga County's efforts to advanceNortheast Ohio as a community poised for leadership in the new economy.

"We are excited about the opportunity to work with our partners to deliver the County, its employees and citizens powerful, state-of-the-art technology services," said Mark Ansboury, SVP and CTO of OneCommunity. "This partnership is in line with OneCommunity's andCuyahoga County's vision to enhance community services while advancingNortheast Ohio as one of the world's most technology-sophisticated regions."

AboutCuyahoga County

Cuyahoga County (the "County") has a population of 1,380,696 people across 459 square miles, and is the largest county in theState of Ohio, the 20th largest in the nation. It encompasses 59 municipalities, villages and townships, of whichCleveland is the largest. With an annual income of more than $1.5 billion dollars, and a workforce of 9,423 full time employees, the County strives for exemplary service and efficiency.

About OneCommunity

OneCommunity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering economic and civic progress through the innovative and collaborative application of information technologies. OneCommunity connects nearly 1,000 public and nonprofit institutions via its fiber-optic broadband network - one of the largest and fastest in the world - and leverages public and private partnerships to lead supports 21st-century programs in health care, education, government and economic development. To learn more, please visit www.onecommunity.org .

SOURCE OneCommunity

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