Toshiba Offers uMobility One-Device UC to Strata CIX Customers

With so many wireless modes: cellular, Wi-Fi and plans one’s belt or purse becomes a gadget collection but with a cacophony of jarring sounds when they ring sometimes and increasingly often at the same time. At the same time these intersecting networks afford opportunities for individuals and their organizations to rein in high cell voice and data costs by using the most affordable yet high quality network in range.


These issues go away and/or become easier to manage and tap into for customers of Toshiba’s Strata CIX VoIP business communications systems. Toshiba (News - Alert) has added uMobility, a fixed mobile convergence (FMC) solution from Varaha Systems that enables seamless and automatic handoff between their mobile carriers and the enterprise wireless networks on a single smartphone.

When used with Toshiba’s Strata CIX systems, uMobility provides VoIP over Wi-Fi wireless with seamless, SQA (Service Quality Aware (News - Alert)) handoff between the Wi-Fi wireless and cellular networks. This allows each user to utilize one smartphone with a single business number and one voice mailbox for all their mobile business voice communication needs. An industry-leading voice engine is embedded in uMobility for the best possible voice quality. Varaha holds a patent for the uMobility technology.

“With uMobility, Strata CIX users turn their smartphones into their office telephones both in and out of the office, while continuing to use the same smartphones for their private calls, “explains David Fridley, director of product management of Unified Communications (News - Alert) Solutions, Toshiba America Information Systems, Telecommunication Systems Division. “And they can do it without having to provide their private mobile numbers to their callers. This frees the users to roam, moving calls between the landline and cellular network at will, so they can stay on a call, even after they leave the office and drive away.”

Using uMobility with Toshiba CIX VoIP systems helps enterprises reduce communication costs.  By using the enterprise Wi-Fi wireless network for voice calls instead of costlier cellular minutes, enterprises get the best of both Wi-Fi wireless and cellular coverage in a single device.  uMobility mobile routing applications also help reduce costs by providing optimal routing of expensive cellular international calling to cheaper landline rates and eliminating international roaming charges with the use of a local SIM card.

By allowing the user’s smartphone to function as a business telephone, users get the best of both Wi-Fi wireless and cellular calling, including access to the device’s telephone book contacts and call history functions.  These functions are natively integrated with the uMobility client, resulting in a single application that meets the user’s needs. Since the user is using their smartphone, there is virtually no learning curve with uMobility, resulting in increased productivity.

Varaha’s uMobility is certified as interoperable with Toshiba’s entire Strata CIX IP family.  It is compatible with a wide variety of smartphones, including most devices running Windows Mobile or Symbian operating systems including popular models from Nokia, Samsung, HTC (News - Alert), and more.  The uMobility roadmap includes support for iPhone and Blackberry devices later this year.

“Varaha’s uMobility ‘Mobile Desk, Global Reach’ solution cuts communication costs while giving Strata CIX enterprise and SMB users a new level of mobility and Unified Communications from their telephone systems,” says Brian Metherell, vice president and general manager for Toshiba Information Systems, Telecommunication Systems Division.  “Our relationship with Varaha demonstrates Toshiba’s unwavering commitment to its Mobility Portfolio and reinforces its promise to empower enterprise users to communicate anytime, anywhere with virtually any device.”

“Varaha’s uMobility allows Strata CIX users to answer their office telephone calls from their smartphones anytime and anywhere and gives them 24/7 access to the enterprise telephone system, no matter where they are located,” says Jogen Pathak, CEO, Varaha Systems (News - Alert).  “With uMobility from Varaha, Strata CIX users gain increased mobility and cost savings, without needing to change carriers or buy expensive data plans.”