Telephony Modernisation - Request for Information

⁠⁠⁠Overview

The City of Port Phillip Council is seeking Request for Information (RFI) responses for an Enterprise Telephony and Contact Centre system, with the objective of modernising and enhancing customer experience. Enterprise telephony includes Contact Centre and all non-contact centre users, extensions, hunt groups, and inbound/outbound calling services.

Purpose

Council expects that the proposed solution will enhance the customer and employee experience while achieving a more efficient operation of the systems. The solution should demonstrate excellence in this domain as well as scalability and robust integration capabilities to seamlessly connect with other core Council systems, for example Technology One (OneCouncil).

Scope

The proposed system must be modern, cloud-based, and is expected to excel in all key areas including but not limited to the following:

Enhanced customer experience (CX)

• Omnichannel support: integrate voice, chat, email, SMS, and social media into a single platform for seamless interactions
• AI-powered features: intelligent call routing, real-time sentiment analysis, and virtual assistants for faster resolution
• Self-service options: IVR enhancements, chatbots, and knowledge bases to reduce wait times and improve convenience
• Personalisation: access to customer history and analytics to enable tailored interactions

Operational Efficiency

• Real-time analytics: dashboards for queue monitoring, agent performance, and service trends
• Automation: streamlined workflows for call routing, reporting, and quality assurance
• Rapid updates: in-house control over IVR, announcements, and configuration changes without dependence on a vendor
• Scalability: ability to easily adjust capacity for seasonal demand or emergencies

Workforce Flexibility

• Hybrid work enablement: agents can operate from anywhere with secure cloud access
• Integration with collaboration tools: native integration with Microsoft Teams and other platforms
• Mobile accessibility: support for remote and mobile agents without complex VPN setups

Alignment with Council's ICT Architectural Principles

• Cloud-based platforms to enhance flexibility, security, and scalability
• Reduced ICT overhead by minimising reliance on internal resources for on-premises hardware and maintenance
• Enhanced security and compliance through vendor-managed infrastructure with industry standard controls (encryption, MFA, patching)
• Improved disaster recovery and cyber resilience with built-in redundancy and rapid recovery capabilities
• Integration capability for seamless interoperability with other Council systems (e.g. OneCouncil)
• Cost efficiency through lower ongoing maintenance and infrastructure costs

Out of Scope

The following items are out of scope for the purpose of this RFI:

• Replacement of Council's current CRM system
• Internal business process redesign
• End user device procurement

Instructions to Respondents

This Request for Information (RFI) does not create any representation, either express or implied, that any invitation or procurement process will proceed, or that if an invitation or procurement process does proceed, that a participant's offer or other form of application (if any) will be given any preference or special consideration.

This RFI is intended solely to gather information to inform Council's future procurement strategy. It is not a request for proposal or a commitment to procure.