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| Equinox’s sole purpose is to help telecom companies and service providers increase efficiency when completing daily work tasks so they can be more profitable. Therefore, rather than just installing software, we partner with every customer. Each project includes training (at implementation and beyond!), maintenance, ongoing product enhancements, and most importantly, someone who understands that companies operate differently, serve varying markets, and face unique business challenges. So, when we say “we’re here to help,” we really mean it. One important way we help is by actively managing all customer projects. This article delves into the mechanics and importance of project management at Equinox.
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| What is project management? Project management is widely used in virtually every industry to plan and guide the tasks and resources necessary to achieve goals and complete objectives. Generally speaking, project management consists of a set of steps or phases designed to move defined activities from inception to completion. Collectively those steps and activities are referred to as the project plan. Project managers are typically responsible for defining, organizing, and overseeing all aspects of the project plan. At Equinox, the project plan contains these phases: kick off, connect, develop, install, review, train, and deploy.
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| Why is project management important? Because no two companies have the same business model, serve the same customers, nor offer the same services, we have deployed numerous iterations of the Protector and TeleLink applications. It also means, we’ve heard just about every request imaginable. The Equinox team is here to solve problems and serve people, so we want to get it right. We want to deliver a solution that addresses the stated business objective. And we want to do it in a timely and cost-effective manner. Consistently applying formalized project management processes helps us hit that mark time and time again.
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| How does project management affect me? Project management has many benefits for all stakeholders. One of the most obvious upsides to project management is improved communication. Designating a project manager saves time by taking the guesswork out of who to contact. The project manager makes sure all requests and questions are routed to the appropriate department. Having this single point of contact helps alleviate resource bottlenecks and promotes efficiency. The project manager can quickly determine interrelatedness between multiple projects, identify opportunities to leverage existing solutions/features, and coordinate effort and delivery schedules for maximum efficiency. The project management process adds value and helps manage expectations for all stakeholders via consistent, periodic status updates. Even when a request is unique, managing the solution’s design and delivery by applying formal, repeatable processes results in a smoother process with fewer surprises from start to finish. In short, by providing optimal resource management, project management results in cost- and time-savings for stakeholders.
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| Who is the project managment contact at Equinox?
Jamie Davis serves as Equinox’s Director, Project Management. She coordinates and facilities all customer projects from sales through deployment. She organizes, executes, and tracks project plans for new customer installations as well as enhancements and custom additions to existing systems. You can reach her by emailing jdavis@equinoxis.com or by calling (615) 612-1235.
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| Is there anything else I need to know about project management? Yes. We fully recognize the importance of project management on both sides of the equation. Please mention whether you have a designated project manager for your company, team, or system initiative. Also, make sure you know who “owns” the Equinox application at your company (this role may be filled by the project manager or may be an entirely different member of the team), so Equinox knows who to contact when time is of the essence.
Equinox knows carriers and service providers must adapt to changes in the telecom industry, including new regulatory/compliance mandates, evolving fraud patterns, network changes, new customer markets, just to name a few. Please communicate these events to Equinox. Our applications are equipped to handle virtually any business challenge that comes along…so long as we know about it. In addition to submitting enhancement requests, the surest way to get the best return on your Protector or TeleLink investment is to inform us about market or organizational events that occur after initial implementation. Examples include acquiring another company, merging with a company, turning up a new switch, deploying a new billing system, adding a new customer market, offering a new product line, or being faced with a business assurance challenge.
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| Where can I learn more? If you are an existing or new customer, you received a copy of the Protector Implementation Guide and/or the TeleLink 7 Implementation Guide. Both contain an illustration and overview of the project management process that Equinox applies to every project and customer initiative. If you don’t still have your copy handy, go to www.equinoxis.com/login.php to get the latest version of this document.
As always, the Equinox team is here to help.
- Reach out to jdavis@equinoxis.com to provide or request information about an active project.
- Email Support@Equinoxis.com with questions about Protector’s or TeleLink’s functionality. To reach them by phone, call (615) 612-1225 Monday–Friday from 7:30 to 5:00 (Central).
- Schedule a review of your system’s current configuration by contacting Training@Equinoxis.com. Use that same email to schedule training for new users.
- Go to www.equinoxis.com/login.php to get the latest instructional guides and webinars.
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