NORTEL & MICROSOFT ALLIANCE
Central's position as a Microsoft Gold Partner and Nortel Solutions Partner adds value to organisations that choose a Nortel/Microsoft Unified Communications Solution.
About the Nortel/Microsoft Alliance
Nortel and Microsoft have formed the Innovative Communications Alliance, which will deliver innovative Unified Communications Solutions and services to accelerate the transformation of voice, video and data communications into a single Unified Communications platform running on a high-performance data network that together offers the highest Quality of Experience (QoE), low TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) and delivers immediate business value. Lower TCO is achieved through common platforms, integration with data centre software management and application-aware networking. This Alliance is truly transformational in the industry - bringing together two industry leaders. There are three components to the announcement.
- A Branded Alliance - We are taking our long-standing relationship to new and industry-unique levels at business, technology and go-to-market. This Alliance also takes convergence to the next level by bringing together communications and IT, and addressing the needs of IT, Lines of Business (LOBs), Business Decision Makers (BDMs) and end users. This is market transformational.
- Unified Communications Innovation - By combining Nortel's world-class network quality and reliability with Microsoft's software ease-of-use, the Alliance will accelerate the availability of Unified Communications - an industry concept that uses advanced technologies to break down today's device and network-centric silos of communication (e-mail, instant messaging, telephony and multimedia conferencing) and instead makes it easy and efficient to reach colleagues, partners and customers from the devices and applications workers use most. Taking a decisive step further, Nortel and Microsoft will transition traditional business phone systems into software. This software-centric approach will provide the easiest transition path for businesses, enabling them to reduce the total cost of ownership and protect current and future investments. It will also more quickly enable the creation of new, innovative applications.
- Integration Services - Nortel is established as Microsoft's Integration Services supplier, delivering highest QoE, increased reliability, while lowering TCO related to the Unified Communications Solution (including Unified Communications-enabled contact centres). Joint solutions will take Unified Communications to a new industry level and accelerate customer attainment of Unified Communications business value by (i) leveraging Microsoft Unified Communications and Windows and Nortel telephony and networking competencies to deliver joint advanced Unified Communications Solutions; (ii) easing the integration of business grade telephony into a Unified Communications approach; and (iii) fully leveraging the fixed wireless convergence for increased mobility.
