COMgroup Inc.

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We are an independent technology consulting firm providing communications infrastructure design and telecommunications systems planning services. Whatever your communication needs are and no matter how large...

Whether you are in the planning stage of a unified communications project, replacing an antiquated telephone system, need to redesign a WAN or LAN, or want to replace or expand your current data communications network...

about us

case studies

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welcome

federal building

Federal courthouse, Billings, MT. Technology systems review and coordination for new building construction

medical

Medicaid operations call center review and analysis

data center

infrastructure cabling design

multimedia

expense management

corporate office

infrastructure cabling design

outside plant

relocation design

medical

ACCESS call center transformation

utility services

feasibility and design

Client

Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health

Project

ACCESS Call Center Transformation Project

Challenge

Los Angeles County DMH required consulting services for the transformation of its ACCESS Center, a 24hour-7days per week call center for mental health emergencies and access to mental health resources. The County's existing Nortel and Symposium systems was experiencing inbound call bottlenecks compounded by complex caller needs and workflow processes.

Process

COMgroup was selected to provide telephony and call center expertise for this multi-year project, and worked alongside a healthcare consulting firm onboard for other project phases. The initial task was a technology acquisition to be made within the constraints of a time-limited federal grant already underway. COMgroup's recommendations established a robust and sustainable technical infrastructure capable of accommodating the range of products under consideration for the call center transformation.

Utilizing COMgroup's established project methodology, and working alongside the healthcare consulting partner, we:

conducted interviews, observed operations
documented and analyzed call flow and work flow
participated in structured Joint Application Development sessions
compiled technical and functional telephone system and call center requirements
produced detailed financial analyses
led the effort to determine the best solution design and vendor alternatives

Results

DMH acted on COMgroup's recommendation to contract for a hosted telephony and contact center solution to deliver the desired functionality, ensure service levels for uptime requirements and meet the County's business continuity initiatives. Further recommendations to streamline delivery of services included the implementation of a first level triage unit, a plan for upgrading or replacing other information systems, and enhancement of the department's website.

Client

Software Developer

Project

Edina, Minnesota Technology Center Design

Provide design services for the client's Edina Minnesota headquarters with the goal of creating a cutting edge technology center. At completion the technology center will occupy approximately 52,000 square feet in Tower III, a six-floor tower at 3601 W. 76th St. in the Centennial Lakes Office Park in Edina. The scope of services provided within this telecommunications project included:

Design the horizontal and backbone cable infrastructure, a server display center, and telecommunications spaces.
Calculate the heat load and power requirements for the telecommunications spaces based on the client's equipment inventory.
Adhere to the contractor's project schedule.
Coordinate project milestones and deliverables with the construction team, contractors and client.

Challenge

The software company's technology centers host the client's technology "Suites" containing consumer applications in a simulated home and business environments, within the overall Envisioning Center. The client's design goals consist of the following objectives:

Create a technology center showcase to house software applications in an environment accommodating public access, high visibility, and prestigious customers.
Design the telecommunications infrastructure and spaces to support the incorporation of simulated end-user environments (home, business, and retail locations) of product applications.
Provide an infrastructure design robust enough to accommodate 150 additional headcount within 18 months.

Process

COMgroup focuses on technology and telecommunications infrastructure system needs analysis, design, and project management. We use a proven and repeatable methodology to manage projects contains COMgroup's approach. We use the general approach to guide all of our activities, and we performed these tasks on this project:

Obtain design requirements for all technical systems
Integrate infrastructure requirements
Facilitate application of owner standards and guidelines
Attend weekly project meetings
Perform job site inspections
Assured the finished product meets technical specifications, owner requirements, and TIA/EIA standards
Review of digital photographs at each completed milestone to validate adherence to design criteria
Performance of punch and back-punch walk-throughs
Perform project close out

Results

COMgroup's technology center design experience accommodated the compressed construction schedule for this project. With COMgroup's ability to implement a comprehensive design strategy, its record for leadership during construction administration and expense management, the project completed on time and on budget. This is just one example of dozens of similar projects completed by COMgroup for this client across national and international locations. Specific deliverables for the project include:

Deliver document design package
Provide final punch list documentation
Provide record drawings and operations & maintenance manuals

This is just one example of dozens of similar projects completed by COMgroup for this client across national and international locations. Do you have a technology center design project? Contact COMgroup and we can assist you with all your communication needs.

Client

Oregon Health Plan Department of Medical Assistance Programs

Project

Medicaid Operations Call Center Review and Analysis

Challenge

When the State of Oregon Department of Medical Assistance Programs (DMAP) implemented a new Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS); their goal was to become a world class call center. DMAP sought the services of an independent consulting team to help them utilize their existing resources and technology to the fullest, understand their limitations and obtain recommendations for future changes.

Process

Critical to the success of the project was a thorough understanding of the interactions between the new MMIS system and the existing telecommunications environment, including the IVR, telephone system, management metrics, and desktop electronics.

COMgroup, along with a partner firm specializing in medical information system, initiated a project to analyze and assess the current call center operations. Utilizing our structured methodology we:

conducted a technical and functional evaluation of the existing systems, call flow, agent performance, and customer-facing portals
observed and interviewed key call center staff and medical providers
documented cradle to grave processes.

Results

The project analysis and recommendations provided DMAP with a thorough assessment of their current systems and processes, recommendations for immediate actions and long-term plans, performance benchmarks, and the creation of a mission statement.

The immediate process improvements included:

optimization of the existing telephone and call center systems
reorganization of call flow designed to drive first call resolution
initiation of staff improvements including training programs and performance goals

Long term recommendations included the eventual replacement of the telephone system, implementation of multimedia, and procurement of quality monitoring and workforce management solutions

Client

Microsoft

Project

High Tech Data Center - Quincy, Wa

COMgroup provided data center design and construction administration services for a project located in Quincy, WA. The project consisted of containerized data center cells located at a single location. In addition to the design, COMgroup provided construction administration and quality control services for the duration of the project.

Challenge

COMgroup's client discovered maintaining isolated farms of application servers housed in a shipping container achieves a higher rate of performance and availability than staffing a data center with humans intervening to resolve server and operational failures. As a result, the client's data center requirements focus on the following elements:

Infrastructure needed to support up to 10,000 servers
Servers mounted in two rows of racks running the entire 48' length of the container
A highly monitored, modular, and unstaffed data center environment

The data center's infrastructure design tightly defines the carrier, Internet, environmental (cooling, power, etc.), and rack requirements in order to support modular replacement of a cell when the individual server failure rate within a container achieves 20%.

Process

Results

COMgroup delivered designs to support strategic data center cells housed in shipping containers with the infrastructure needed to support and manage any one of the client's customer group server farms. Project deliverables included:

Delivered designs for four (4) containerized data centers
Delivered the tools and applications used to manage the containerized data center infrastructure, including:
- ID tags and full inventory of all core infrastructure contained in the cell
- All network services (core, distribution, and access) to connect to the client's network
- Environmental controls (power, cooling, weights, etc.)
- Out-of-band management systems
- Electrical and power monitoring systems
- Building management systems

Client

Real Networks

Project

COMgroup provides RealNetworks on-going project and telecom management services and operated as a trusted advocate for RealNetworks business success.

Challenge

Within the telecommunications industry, it is a widely recognized fact that there is an immense amount of financial waste due to inadequate telecom cost management. Telecommunications is typically the third or fourth largest expense of any enterprise annual budget and is known to be the fastest growing cost per employee. RealNetworks, Inc., a pioneer in the Internet media industry, looked to COMgroup to provide long-term, cost-saving telecommunications services.

Process

COMgroup has worked with RealNetworks since 1998, providing project and telecom management services. Projects included:

Developed telephone system technical and infrastructure design for Seattle headquarters and several branch offices
Performed Call center design
Developed voice and call center disaster recovery plans
Evaluated RFP responses and recommended a telephone system solution and vendor
Managed telephone and telecommunications systems implementation
Developed local, long distance, and data network designs
Performed carrier cost analysis and contract negotiation
Managed of Real Network's moves, adds and changes on their telephone systems
Managed of monthly invoices and expenses

COMgroup supported RealNetworks in all facets of its telecommunications network. The partnership relied on the in-depth knowledge and experience gained only by working directly on-site with RealNetworks.

Results

Through its intelligently designed telephone system and analysis/negotiation services, COMgroup has provided RealNetworks with several benefits. They include expert advice and guidance, time and staff savings and timely delivery of services. Most significantly, however, RealNetworks found meaningful improvements to its bottom line. The company is no longer a victim to the financial waste common in the telecommunications industry and will continue to see cost savings for years to come.

Client

Microsoft

Project

150th Street Realignment

With the planned construction of a 1.2 million square foot underground parking garage and street alignment, the existing underground utilities (including vaults, pathways and associated infrastructures) had to be relocated. The client asked COMgroup to perform a telecommunications due diligence and relocation design for all existing underground private and public communications pathways and infrastructures located on 150th street between NE 36th and NE 40th street in Redmond, WA. COMgroup also coordinated and designed various dry utilities (power, gas, etc.) located within the same areas. Project tasks included:

Perform due diligence survey of existing 150th Street pathways and infrastructure
Coordination with the client, public utilities and carriers
Design new underground pathways, new SONET infrastructure relocation and new copper infrastructure

Challenge

The project provided several challenging requirements and design components. This project needed to accommodate simultaneous operation to provide parallel pathways and infrastructure to allow our client the ability to migrate existing services from the old to the new with minimal downtime and business impact. The project required balancing numerous factors, such as:

Documentation and validation of all infrastructures contained in the redundant rings occupying the vaults that supported multiple facilities and customers.
Design and coordination of a "shared" underground trench containing dry utilities (i.e. power, gas, communications, providers, etc.) for relocation.
Design of a parallel infrastructure system adequate to support the migration of the new infrastructure.
Provide meticulous coordination of multiple utility vendors (private and public).
Utilize separate design teams to support the road improvements and the construction of a new underground facility.
Coordinate vendors to ensure tight control of the construction elements to achieve high quality outcomes.

Process

COMgroup used a structured project methodology to collect the existing environment details and research new technical and business requirements; Our proven process contains a full description of our project approach.

Results

COMgroup's work on the 150th Street Realignment project resulted in a plan to support the construction of the parking garage and delivered the following items:

Site survey and due diligence report documenting existing trench dry utility contents.
Site design providing the client with a detailed understanding of all pathways, infrastructure, and services that were affected by the area reconstruction work.

The services performed by COMgroup allowed the client to plan migration of these critical services to the newly designed and installed infrastructure in a controlled manner with minimal customer impact. The client coordinated migration of services to the new fiber, copper, and dry utility infrastructure several months in advance, preventing interruption in services, and thus limited the business and financial impacts.

To find out more about COMgroup's cable infrastructure construction design services, please contact us.

Client

Billings Federal Courthouse

Project

Technology systems review and coordination for new building construction

Billings Federal Courthouse, with approximately 140,000 square feet, five (5) floors, five (5) federal agency anchor tenants (US Marshalls, US Attorney General, GSA, Probation, and US District Court), and approximately 2000 employees, selected COMgroup to:

Perform a full review of all tenant technology systems
Design shell and core riser pathways
Design demarcation and telecom room layout
Position the buildings infrastructure for future technology
Provide Technology Coordination Project Management (TCPM) services

Challenge

The new Federal Courthouse in Billings, Montana, under construction at the time of COMgroup's technology review project, intended to gather all of the federal agencies in Billings into a single location. As a result of the previously distributed location of federal agencies in the city, a holistic telecommunications and technology plan merging the unique requirements of each agency did not exist. The challenge posed by merging the federal agencies into a single location consisted of:

Discovering the unique needs of each agency
Filling-in the gaps and holes of the existing systems
Providing a comprehensive telecommunications and technology plan for the building that meets the current tenant's requirements
Positioning the building with manageable and extensible solutions for the future

Process

COMgroup uses a structured project methodology in a phased approach; Our proven process contains a full description of our project approach.

Results

COMgroup provided the Billings Federal Courthouse with a technology summary plan which:

Contained all tenant required telecommunications and technology systems.
Integrated the telecommunications and technology requirements of each tenant into a unified technology approach for the building.
Allowed each tenant to select from a menu of technology solutions, ranging from a unified and comprehensive implementation of telecommunication and technology solutions, all the way down to a la carte pin-point solutions.

For assistance with your technology infrastructure design projects, please contact us.

Client

Skagit County Public Utility District

Project

Broadband Communication Solution Feasibility and Design

Skagit County Public Utility District requested COMgroup perform a concise feasibility study on broadband communications solution options using a mixture of fiber optic and microwave technologies. The intended use of the fiber and/or microwave backbone included monitoring and controlling the Utility District’s computer and power systems and routing ISP services to Skagit County rural residents. COMgroup’s services included:

Technology and business feasibility analysis
Engineering, design, CAD drawings services
Vendor selection processes
Vendor implementation management

Challenge

The broadband feasibility and design project posed business and technology challenges. The business challenges consisted of a blend of funding source research and coordination with utilities, railroads and municipalities. Technical challenges included balancing outside physical environment, technical and business requirements within a single broadband wireless technology solution, including:

Road, river and railroad crossings and Rights-of-way negotiation with utilities
Approximately 50 miles of rural infrastructure and pathways
Design of a mixed use broadband solution supporting public utility and business requirements

Process

COMgroup applied a multiphase project approach to the broadband solution feasibility and design project. Based on the geographic segmentation of the Skagit valley COMgroup divided Skagit County’s project into three phases. COMgroup uses a structured methodology to manage projects; Our proven process contains our approach.

Results

COMgroup’s work with Skagit County delivered the project feasibility study, and by phase delivered:

Phase 1 – pole inventory, two detailed engineering and construction designs, materials lists, and implementation of a fiber backbone from Sedro Woolley to Hamilton.
Phase 2 – pole inventory, two detailed engineering and construction designs, materials list for backbone from Hamilton to Concrete, and wireless broadband design for the town of Concrete.
Phase 3 – pole inventory and feasibility study for backbone segment from Sedro Woolley to Mount Vernon. To find out more about COMgroup’s cable infrastructure design services, please call 425-284.6500.

For assistance with your technology feasability and design projects, please contact us.

case studies

COMgroup is the leading independent Telecommunications consulting firm located in the Pacific Northwest for communications infrastructure and telecommunications systems design.

Our reputation is strong and our 25 year history is solid for providing excellent services. We are acknowledged in the Northwest as a premier service provider in its markets.

Executive Team

J.R. Simmons

President

J.R. has 33 years of experience in the telecommunications systems industry, including 24 years as a consultant providing planning, design, and analysis, and implementation management skills. His work experience includes work on complex telephone systems, low voltage infrastructure and wiring, fiber optic cabling and electronics, and both local and wide area networks. His current projects include system analysis, converged networks, IP telephony, and strategic planning. With ten years specialized experience in IP Telephony, he has hands on experience with both IP networks and IP telephony implementations. J.R. is recognized as an industry expert and has provided expert testimony in several legal cases.

Elizabeth Corgatelli

Vice President, Operations

Elizabeth has over 25 years of experience in information technology and business operations; 18 of which were spent deploying mission critical technology for the 4th largest credit union in the country. As the Director of IT Infrastructure, for BECU, Elizabeth had responsibility for the 24x7 voice/data systems, network & security, data center operations, QA and disaster recovery.

Certified in Project Management and a member of PMI, Elizabeth is recognized for her ability to gain a deep understanding of corporate strategies, business processes and technologies. That winning combination allows Elizabeth to deploy solutions that optimize business processes using technology to create efficiencies, reduce human latency and improve customer service while generating significant ROI.

In addition to directing client projects, Elizabeth is the corporate executive with primary responsibly for the business operations of COMgroup. Respected for her ability to quickly establish trust with employees, customers, and vendors, Elizabeth provides teambuilding and motivation at all levels of the organization.

Ann Labish

Principal

Ann has more than 35 years of experience in the Telecommunications Industry through her work with COMgroup and previously with US West/Qwest. Ann's broad experience offers clients quality design and project results in the areas of infrastructure design, specification and project management implementation. Her attention to detail, effective communication and leadership skills and industry expertise have proven her to be a valued team member working successfully with clients, architects, general contractors, property managers, real estate, facilities, IT departments and local exchange carriers.

As a Principal at COMgroup, Ann manages the infrastructure design team and continues providing construction management, infrastructure design and engineering, including the preparation of specifications, review of and recommendation on bid proposals, and leadership direction to the project team for large projects, nationally and internationally.

Jim Tokarsyck RCDD

Vice President, Infrastructure

Jim has worked in the Telecommunications industry for over 25 years and has held his BICSI Registered Communications Distribution Engineer (RCDD) certification for 10 years. His experience includes cable installations, infrastructure design, telephone systems design, engineering, estimating, and project / program management.

Jim has been a professional services consultant for small to very large national infrastructure and technology installation upgrades and roll-outs. Recognized as an effective program and project manager, Jim has served as the single point of contact for many clients including Weyerhaeuser, Microsoft, Starbucks, 3 National Banks, Toyota, Best Buy and the University of Washington. Jim's vast level of experience, years in the industry, effective multi-tasking skills and excellent communication skills allow him to work well in both small and large team environments.

As a Vice President of Infrastructure at COMgroup, Jim has responsibility for infrastructure design and engineering, proposals, and project / program management for both national and international projects.

Systems Team

Joe Shih

Senior Consultant

Joe joined COMgroup in 2007 and has 30 years of progressive experience in the design, development and delivery of enterprise network solutions, which includes aligning network management solutions to client's business needs. His focus is in the areas of network management, network performance and optimization, and business operation and technology assessment.

Joe's expertise lies in his ability to evaluate an organization's specific technology requirements, matching internal personnel and resources with the system design, operation and maintenance requirements. Joe's blend of experience and skills, including graduate studies, product development and industry experience, and his credentials teaching networking and Information Systems management course work, make him an extremely knowledgeable and valuable member of the project team.

Prior to COMgroup, Joe was principal consultant with Cambridge Technology Partners, Computer Associates and was Engineering Manager for various high-tech companies developing network related products.

Joe has an MS in Mathematics from Wichita State University. He performed additional post-graduate work in Computer Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is an adjunct faculty member teaching network related courses at City University of Seattle and the University of Phoenix.

Miriam Handler

Senior Consultant

Miriam has over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications field providing solution-driven recommendations aligned with her clients business needs. At COMgroup, Miriam is responsible for client needs analysis, solutions research, RFP development, and vendor proposal analysis and recommendations.
Miriam has a high level of technical and product knowledge in telecommunications environments including VoIP, Video, Contact Centers, Messaging, and Unified Communications. Ongoing training and participation in industry and vendor programs enables Miriam to provide her clients with technical evaluations of most telecommunications products on the market today.

Kate Kochanasz

Senior Consultant

Kate provides planning, insight, guidance and project management for complicated technology driven projects. She has over 25 years of experience in IT and telecommunications as a Senior Consultant, Project Manager and IT Manager.

At COMgroup, Kate provides clients with a broad knowledge base of IT and telecommunications systems including VoIP, Contact Centers, Carrier and Unified Communications. She has an extensive background managing complex IT implementations, multi-site enterprise wide deployments and data center move projects. Working with companies in the areas of engineering, education, high-technology, bio-tech, and medical institutions, Kate has a proven process to implement technology systems that accommodate initial client need and positions them for future technology.

Stephanie White

Consultant

Stephanie has over twelve years of advanced telecommunications experience, including a broad range of experience working with carrier services, provisioning, complex circuit design, telecom cost analysis, wireless communications, and project management.

In addition to these experiences, her present position at COMgroup includes systems implementation management, VoIP systems analysis, telecom expense management and carrier coordination, converged services projects, ongoing telemanagement services for clients, research of telecommunications evolutionary trends, and reviewing industry best practices for clients.

Infrastructure Team

Eric Beal

Senior Consultant

Eric has over 15 years of experience in the Telecommunications Industry including 11 of those years with COMgroup, Inc. Eric brings a vast range of experience and knowledge from cable technician to project manager and consultant allowing him to offer comprehensive approaches that provide first class design services. He provides low voltage telecommunications design and consulting services for a wide range of clients.

As a designer and Project Manager at COMgroup, Eric specializes in Data Center Design and has worked on more than 10 facilities worldwide which encompass more than 2 million square feet. He is the primary designer of complete Data Center construction drawings including low density, high density, and cutting edge custom container based server deployments.

Wilson Walp

Consultant

Wilson has over 33 years in the Telecommunications industry, including 28 years with Qwest Communication. His experience allows him the ability to sustain strong client relationships through exceptional service, sound recommendations, and flawless execution. He has an extensive history of relationships with Architects, Engineers, and local jurisdictions.

At COMgroup, Wilson's responsibilities include the design of communication spaces, pathways, and infrastructure systems utilizing the latest copper, fiber, and wireless technologies. Collaborating one-on-one with his clients he is able to evaluate technical alternatives, recommend solutions and provide design services and coordination during the Programming, Schematic Design, Design Development, and Construction phases of a project.

Keith Engstrom

CAD Lead

More info coming soon!

Carol McLaughlin

CAD Designer

Carol has over 13 years of experience in the Construction industry including 10 months with COMgroup, Inc. She provides experience and knowledge from holding positions as a CAD Designer for electrical contractors, general contractors, and architectural/engineering firms. Coincidentally during these years she has worked on some of the same projects as COMgroup, for example: The Bravern, Real Networks, and Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup.

As a CAD designer at COMgroup, Carol has fully implemented the drawing standards that are in place and takes great pride in producing a complete, accurate package for the COMgroup clients. Her CAD expertise includes AutoCAD, Revit, and SolidWorks.

about us

We are an independent technology consulting firm providing telecommunications systems planning and communications infrastructure design services. Whether you are in the strategic planning stage of a unified communications project, replacing an antiquated telephone system, need to redesign a WAN or LAN, or want to replace or expand your current data communications network, COMgroup can help.

Infrastructure