Siemens Enterprise Communications Group announced July 13 that the OpenScape
Office Unified Communications Application suite is now available on its HiPath
3000 converged voice system, "complete with fully integrated,
presence-enabled contact center functionality." The suite is targeted at
small and midsize businesses looking to use UC to help improve customer service
levels. According to Siemens' news release:
The OpenScape Office UC Application
scales so that organizations of up to 384 users can access easy-to-use voice
and conferencing services, presence, mobility, voicemail, messaging, and
contact center capabilities. Because OpenScape Office now operates on Siemens'
HiPath 3000 platform, UC can now be deployed through a simple software upgrade
across Internet Protocol (IP), TDM [time-division multiplexing] and analog
environments, giving Siemens' customers more flexibility in migrating to UC.
The company said OpenScape Office on the HiPath 3000 is now available in North
America through direct and indirect channels.
According to the release, "Key features include: integrated presence
designed to tackle problems associated with inefficient coordination and
waiting for information by enabling individuals to easily view co-worker
availability for a phone call or an ad hoc teleconference ... contact center
functionality, including call routing capability, designed to allow SMBs to
deliver accelerated levels of customer service ... AutoAttendant and Call
Journal functions designed to significantly decrease unwanted calls ... and
mobility features" to keep clients and contacts connected while on the
move.
Click here to read more about Siemens' unified communications offerings.
Jim McCaskill, director of operations for Base21, said, "With built-in
unified communications functionality, OpenScape Office extends the value of a
call to meet the company's needs. ... Siemens has provided us with the
communications tools that produced both high-tech functionality and cost-saving
platforms. These tools are critical to our executive briefing center's
infrastructure, which hosts the latest in today's advanced communication
technologies."
According to the Siemens release, "OpenScape Office is designed to help
SMBs address hidden communications costs, which were recently highlighted in a
global report by SIS International Research on SMB adoption of UC. The study
showed companies of 100 employees could be wasting more than $500,000 ... each
year by not addressing these hidden costs and estimated that up to 20 percent
of these costs can be eliminated through UC." The release also said:
"OpenScape Office truly
democratizes UC by bringing enterprise-class functionality to a broader range
of customers. UC is no longer just for SMBs with IP environments," said Michael
Garland, Senior Vice President for Channels and Alliances at Siemens Enterprise Communications. "For our existing
installed base of approximately 500,000 HiPath 3000 customers, we can now offer
a simple and more affordable software upgrade to UC with little or no CAPEX required. For prospective customers wishing
to improve their existing communications infrastructure, we can provide an
open, standards-based and more cost-effective path to UC."
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