Whaleback Managed Services, a specialist in managed business services, announced it is extending its unified communications mobility capability within its CrystalBlue Cloud-based Managed Voice Services to tablets and smartphones, by leveraging the Bria 3 softphone from long-standing partner CounterPath, a provider of desktop and mobile voice over IP (VOIP) software products and solutions.
With the integration of the Bria 3 softphone, Whaleback’s CrystalBlue customers can use tablets, smartphones and laptops to conduct business from wherever they are. Users will be able to send and receive calls from anywhere in the office, even where cell reception is poor; return calls while on the road or away from the office, using their office Caller ID; and avoid international cell phone fees, taking advantage of free WiFi wherever they are.
“We continue to reap the rewards of our long-standing partnership with CounterPath, the world’s best-of-breed softphone provider, adding new mobility that makes business communications for our customers simpler and more convenient,” said Karil Reibold, CEO and president at Whaleback. “Bria 3’s ability to operate on any tablet, smartphone or laptop will allow CrystalBlue customers to gain maximum productivity, enabling a workforce that is more mobile, dynamic and able to connect wherever they are-at the office, job site, home, hotel room, field office or on the road.”
Whaleback’s extended unified communications mobility features will be available in the second quarter of 2012. Bria 3 is a carrier-grade next-generation softphone application that enables users to manage communications from a computer desktop. Replacing or complementing a hard phone, the Bria softphone allows users to make VOIP and video calls over IP, see when contacts are available, send instant messages and transfer files.
Built on SIP and open standards, Bria is interoperable with many of the industry’s standard platforms and devices. It includes features specifically designed for business and enterprise users and can be deployed within an enterprise environment either by manual configuration via the softphone GUI or by using a provisioning server. Available for Windows, Mac and Linux, Bria 3 is the first CounterPath softphone based on Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and .NET for Windows, and Cocoa for Mac, the most flexible user interface frameworks currently available. This foundation enables a dynamic interface with new task flows and customization options.