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Lenovo and Avaya are looking to entice enterprise and midmarket customers with a new agreement that will bring new IP and unified communications tools to notebooks.
At the VoiceCon show in Orland, Fla., the two companies are planning a joint announcement on March 6 that will eventually allow the integration of Avayas IP communications software with the Lenovos ThinkPad notebook line.
In addition, Lenovo will integrate some of its biometric and password protection technology with Avayas IP Softphone managed service, which allows for PC-based IP telephony.
The first ThinkPad notebooks to offer the integrated services from Avaya will be ready by this summer, said Peter Gaucher, the executive director of Strategic Alliances for Lenovo. Specific prices for these notebooks have not been set.
Once these integrated technologies are ready for distribution, Gaucher said the two companies plan on marketing these products to midmarket and enterprise customers who are looking for a more secure way to make calls and check messages from the road.
“If your are using your PC in an airport or hotel room, this will allow you to use the finger print reader to authenticate your profile, without the risk of some unauthorized person gaining access to your companys phone or contact list,” Gaucher said.
As part of the March 6 announcement, Gaucher said the two companies will offer a demonstration of an integrated ThinkPad, which will offer new features such as a blinking light on the screen bezel to indicate that a user has a message or voice mail waiting for them.
“Over time, we will offer more features and functionality,” Gaucher said.
Avayas unified communications solution is a separate offering from Lenovos ThinkVantage Technologies.
However, the ThinkVantage Technologies—a group of PC software tools that include protection, recovery and security applications—will integrate with the Avaya unified communications solution to provide multilayered security and help prevent unauthorized calls from a PC.
This integration of security and communications will also prevent unauthorized access to a users contact list and call history, the company said.