[June 5, 2000]

iBasis' Hosted Unified Communications Solution Lets Service Providers Quickly Deliver New Services

iBasis announced immediate availability of OneCore, a comprehensive, hosted Unified Communications (UC) solution for service providers.

A hosted solution, OneCore enables CLECs, ASPs and ISPs to quickly and efficiently deliver new, value-added services that integrate e-mail, voice mail, fax, real-time communications and the Web to enhance personal, group and enterprise-wide communication and productivity. OneCore puts control of communications in the hands of service subscribers enabling them to choose when, how (phone, pager, standard PC mail client) and from whom they will receive calls and messages. OneCore also provides advanced, real-time communications capabilities, such as instant callback from within voice mail, call/message notification and screening and “find me/follow me” calling services that enhance mobile accessibility for users and increase call completion rates for providers.

Market research firm Ovum projects that unified communications will represent a $5.5 billion opportunity for service providers by 2002. Ubiquitous Internet access and the proliferation of mobile devices is driving demand for new solutions that can help end users manage their communications more efficiently. At the same time, increasing competition among service providers is driving demand for enhanced service capabilities that increase profit margins and customer loyalty. iBasis OneCore delivers on both counts.

“With today’s announcement, we are delivering truly unified, Internet standards-based communications services. OneCore goes well beyond mere message access, enabling service providers to quickly and cost-efficiently offer device independent, real-time voice and data services,” said Ofer Gneezy, iBasis president and CEO. “With OneCore, iBasis offers an ‘apps on tap’ approach that enables service providers to respond quickly to new market opportunities by leveraging the applications infrastructure and operational efficiencies of a comprehensive hosted solution.”

Powered by technology from industry leaders Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, Software.com and EMC, iBasis OneCore leverages a scalable and extensible IP infrastructure and iBasis’ expertise in IP service operations and management. In addition, OneCore is backed by the same world-class engineering and 24X7 global network management teams that have enabled iBasis to become the VoIP provider of choice for 11 of the top 12 international carriers in the US and the only IP communications provider to offer Service Level Agreements for VoIP.

“Cisco, HP, and Software.com are working with iBasis to help service providers respond to the unprecedented worldwide demand for enhanced communications services,” said Bill Wolfe, general manager for the Unified Communications Software Business Unit at Cisco Systems. “iBasis understands that Unified Communications is a breakthrough technology, enabling for the first time, a broad range of multimedia capabilities including voice, voice mail, e-mail, fax and other media types that can be easily integrated with other Internet-based services. iBasis’ flexible, hosted solution enables service providers to immediately pursue this significant market opportunity with minimal capital investment.”

Demand for Unified Communications services is growing rapidly. The Philips Group predicts that converged network solutions such as Unified Communications will triple the demand for outsourced services by 2004. And US Bancorp Piper Jaffray estimates that the communications Application Service Provider (ASP) market, driven by new services such as UC, will reach $7.2 billion by 2003.

iBasis is the first IP-based communications service provider to address this rapidly growing market with a complete, flexible hosted UC solution for service providers. Backed by world-class IP communications and network operations teams, iBasis OneCore is integrated with the iBasis Network, recognized for its proven ability to service the world’s largest carriers.

Driven by a fiercely competitive environment fueled by deregulation and the increasing commoditization of basic communications services, both next-generation service providers and incumbent carriers alike are aggressively seeking new, higher growth, higher margin revenue sources to expand market share. OneCore offers a competitive edge to service providers, enabling them to deliver new, feature-rich services that strengthen customer loyalty and enhance subscriber productivity and responsiveness.

Unlike unified messaging solutions to date, OneCore uses an open, highly scalable and extensible platform that surpasses traditional store-and-forward messaging to deliver integrated, real-time inbound and outbound communications capabilities independent of location or device. By delivering advanced, intelligent call management services such as message notification and directory dialing services, OneCore helps service providers quickly deploy a broad range of robust, Internet-centric voice applications.

OneCore delivers Unified Communications services as a comprehensive, flexible, hosted solution. OneCore hosted solutions enable service providers to leverage iBasis’ unmatched IP communications infrastructure and expertise, including:

• An established, global VoIP footprint that offers efficient, worldwide reach;
• A 24X7 Network Operations Center (NOC);
• iBasis’ proprietary Assured Quality Routing (AQR) technology for carrier-grade performance;
• Sophisticated network management, service personalization, IP billing and mediation, and operational support systems to ensure high service availability and redundancy; and
• Global teams of highly experienced IP architects and application development, NOC, database, storage and traffic engineers.

Developed by iBasis and delivered to its service provider customers as part of the complete OneCore solution, the Unified Service Manager is an XML-based application that simplifies service deployment, subscriber provisioning and personalization, and ongoing service management, including IP billing and mediation. The Unified Service Manager shields providers from the complexities of back-end service integration and management and provides access to the OneCore Knowledge Base, a repository of service data and call detail records that offers business intelligence on customer usage patterns.

The Unified Service Manager also offers providers a customizable, brandable interface through which its subscribers can personalize elements of the OneCore solution, including preferences and parameters for message notification and single number reach.

“As the Internet and mobile communications drive consumer demand for enhanced IP-based services, hosted unified communications solutions, such as OneCore, will help providers deliver these new services quickly and reliably,” said Mark Winther, group vice president, Worldwide Telecommunications, International Data Corporation. “Service providers who outsource the infrastructure and ongoing management complexities of unified communications to experienced global IP-based communications service providers like iBasis will be first to market and be able to more efficiently manage growth and ensure the quality of these new services.”

OneCore Integrates Technology from Industry Leaders Available to service providers immediately, iBasis’ OneCore operates on key hardware and software from HP, Cisco Systems and Software.com as well as world-class enterprise storage capabilities from EMC all seamlessly integrated and tested to ensure carrier-grade performance, scalability and reliability. Included in OneCore are:

• Hewlett-Packard carrier-grade servers;
• Cisco’s uOne software and networking infrastructure;
• Software.com’s InterMail platform; and
• EMC’s robust enterprise storage systems.

iBasis OneCore features include:

• Message Management: Full-featured voice messaging, PC and telephone access, Web-based system and user administration, inbound fax, fax redirect/outbound fax, text-to-speech (fax headers, e-mail);
• Notification Services: Subscriber notification indicates new incoming messages;
• Single Number Reach: Personalizable “find-me, follow-me” services;
• Call Screening: Caller name identification capability; and
• Instant Callback: Automatic inbound number capture and single-button call return from within voice mail.

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