LightEdge enables 875 teachers, administrators and staff to increase productivity and improve inter-district communications

DES MOINES, Iowa—March 08, 2006—LightEdge Solutions, Inc., a leader in converged data networking, voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) and managed IT business services, today announced the successful completion of a 875-seat VoIP deployment integrating the phone systems of 13 Westside Community Schools and four administrative offices and facilities.

Westside Community School District realized that their traditional PBX phone system was reaching the end of its usefulness. The phone system was approaching capacity and was unable to support voicemail services that could improve communication between the teachers, administrators and staff located at different locations throughout the district. Westside required an affordable, scalable and efficient solution that would provide high quality of service and 24/7 support for its users.

Upgrading Westside’s existing PBX phone system would have required a significant capital investment in additional PBX equipment, as well as the associated ongoing maintenance and support to manage this equipment, at multiple locations throughout the district. Instead, Westside chose LightEdge to provide a district-wide, feature-rich VoIP phone system connecting all of its teachers, administrators and staff—all at an affordable monthly rate.

“We were contemplating a decision to upgrade our traditional PBX systems across the district to support the communications needs of our teachers, administrators and staff. Due to the high costs, complexity and technical resources required, we wanted to be sure to explore all of our options,” said Dr. Al Inzerello, assistant superintendent for finance and business at Westside Community Schools. “LightEdge gave us an affordable alternative. Their VoIP technology allowed us to improve our inter-school communications while mitigating technology risk, providing scalability for future growth and ensuring a high level of customer service and support to our users.”

“As one of the most progressive and respected school districts in the nation, Westside prides itself on embracing technology to empower its teachers, staff and students,” said Jim Masterson, chairman and chief executive officer of LightEdge Solutions. “Educational institutions often have limited funds and technical expertise to implement new technologies. Westside is taking a leadership role in adopting the latest in VoIP technology and putting it into practical use for a long term future.”

LightEdge’s hosted VoIP solution delivers the following benefits to Westside Community Schools:

• INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY. Improved worker and work group productivity through advanced call routing and handling features such as direct inward dial (DID), call forwarding and routing, unified messaging, integrated voice mail and conferencing, and one-click dialing. In addition, network administrators gain efficiencies through having a common platform for managing employees that alleviates the need to manage multiple complex components. For example, one of the greatest benefits of VoIP technology is that it enables administrators to perform move, additions and changes (MAC activity) in seconds.

• GEOGRAPHIC INDEPENDENCE. With LightEdge VoIP, organizations maintain industry-standard levels of communications services across geographically dispersed locations. Users and administrators get full access to all system features through an Internet or phone connection. For example, users and schools can be managed from any location, call transfer and conferencing can be performed from any location to another, extension dialing is possible from any geographic location, staff can work anywhere and appear to be in the office/school and employees can be monitored regardless of their physical location.

• IMPROVED NETWORK EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMICS. A more efficient, integrated VoIP infrastructure from LightEdge that supports both voice and data services on a single platform reduces the amount of network equipment required, as well as the support necessary to operate, administer and maintain such equipment. In today’s competitive environment, less equipment translates to reduced capital expenditures, which in turn can positively affect a business’ bottom line.

• DISASTER RECOVERY. Recent disastrous events have underscored the need for network redundancy and disaster recovery solutions that ensure business continuity. VoIP networks can be designed to reduce single points of failure and to enhance emergency response, enabling quick and effective communications during critical situations. LightEdge VoIP solutions provide organizations with disaster recovery services such as communication diversity, mobility, server redundancy and failover, alternate gateways, and advanced call handling and rerouting. In addition, all of LightEdge’s core network elements are redundant across multiple cities, and call routing is handled via multiple redundant paths.

• REDUCED TECHNOLOGY RISK. Organizations choosing to invest in LightEdge VoIP services can rest assured that their investment will bring continuing returns. With VoIP technology, organizations can effectively avoid technology obsolescence because LightEdge provides free technology upgrades. Regular technology upgrades enable businesses to provision new services as quickly as they are developed, or as they become necessary, to respond to changing business requirements. With LightEdge VoIP, the integrated nature of the VoIP platform avoids technology obsolescence in various areas, including switching technology, e-mail and conferencing servers, integrated voice response (IVR) servers, etc

“In addition to the business benefits, some of the most useful features used by our teachers and staff are direct extension dialing, the ability to receive voice messages on both their phones and through email as audio .WAV file attachments, remote access to the phone system, call forwarding and simultaneous ring, and a Web-based portal for managing call routing and handling,” said Inzerello.

The VoIP system was deployed to all 17 locations, including 13 schools, an alumni building, a service center, an administrative building and a community education center. The system has been installed and operating since August 2005.

About Westside Community School District
Located in the heart of Omaha, Nebraska, Westside Community School District is a nationally acclaimed public school district. The mission of the Westside Community School District, as an innovative educational system, is to ensure academic excellence and to serve the unique needs of all learners. Westside Community Schools offers excellence in education at all levels. More than 60 percent of Westside teachers and administrators have masters, specialists or doctoral degrees. For more information, visit the Westside Community Schools Web site at www.westside66.org.

About LightEdge Solutions
LightEdge Solutions® empowers businesses to be more productive, mobile and effective with managed voice and data services delivered through a multi-homed, Cisco Powered Network data center environment. By out-tasking voice, data and IT services, small and medium sized businesses are able to realize unparalleled scalability and reliability with a lower total cost of ownership and reduced administration. For more information about services available for your business, visit LightEdge’s web site at www.lightedge.com.

LightEdge Solutions® and the LightEdge Solutions logo, and Scale-on-Demand™ are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of LightEdge Solutions, Inc. EdgeBCC™ and the EdgeBCC logo are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of the Edge Business Continuity Center. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

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Media Contact:
Scott Riedel
LightEdge Solutions
515-471-1256
sriedel@lightedge.com