Siemens Delivers UC to SMBs via Simple Software Upgrade

Unified communications (UC), one can argue, is best suited for small/midsized businesses (SMBs) because they can benefit the most through utilizing the solutions’ abilities to handle contacts quickly, and more efficiently and effectively, bolstering their competitiveness. Moreover, the SMBs culture is ideally suited for UC, unlike that of many larger firms because their employees are accustomed to pitching in and doing more with less. These companies can never have afforded the ‘it’s not my department’ attitude of their larger brethren that if there is one upside to the downturn that such thinking is rapidly going away.

 

Yet UC tools have traditionally been too expensive for SMBs even when the ROIs have been there because of limited budgets. It is not so much the purchase prices that quash potential projects, say industry sources, but the hidden IT costs, such as having to install IP telephony, that can make them unaffordable.

 

Siemens Enterprise Communications has now made UC affordable and practical for SMBs. The OpenScape Office UC application suite is now available on its HiPath 3000 converged voice system, complete with fully-integrated, presence-enabled contact center functionality.

 

The OpenScape Office UC application scales so that organizations of up to 384 users can access easy-to-use voice and conferencing services, presence, mobility, voicemail, messaging, and contact center capabilities. Because OpenScape Office now operates on Siemens’ (News - Alert) HiPath 3000 platform, UC can now be deployed through a simple software upgrade across not only IP but also TDM, and analog environments. This gives Siemens’ customers more flexibility in migrating to UC. That means SMBs can upgrade to UC even they do not have IP, which avoids CAPEX costs.

 

OpenScape Office is designed to help SMBs address hidden communications costs, which were recently highlighted in a global report by SIS International Research on SMB adoption of UC. The study showed companies of 100 employees could be wasting more than $500,000 each year by not addressing these hidden costs and estimated that up to 20 percent of these costs can be eliminated through UC.

“OpenScape Office truly democratizes UC by bringing enterprise-class functionality to a broader range of customers,” says Michael Garland, Senior Vice President for Channels and Alliances at Siemens Enterprise Communications (News - Alert). “Unified communications is no longer just for SMBs with IP environments. For our existing installed base of approximately 500,000 HiPath 3000 customers, we can now offer a simple and more affordable software upgrade to UC with little or no CAPEX required. For prospective customers wishing to improve their existing communications infrastructure, we can provide an open, standards-based and more cost-effective path to UC.”

OpenScape Office on the HiPath 3000 can utilize the powerful capabilities of UC designed to address challenges facing SMBs. Key features include:

*Integrated presence designed to tackle problems associated with inefficient coordination and waiting for information by enabling individuals to easily view co-worker availability for a phone call or an ad-hoc teleconference

*Contact center functionality, including call routing capability, designed to allow SMBs to deliver accelerated levels of customer service, which would reduce customer complaints and pave the way for return business

 

*AutoAttendant and Call Journal functions designed to significantly decrease unwanted calls that can hamper employee productivity

 

*Mobility features designed to address the demands of today’s on-the-go workforce by breaking down barriers to collaboration, making it possible for employees to seamlessly work together regardless of location

OpenScape Office is also now available on HiPath OpenOffice ME, an all-in-one unified communications appliance that provides a high-quality toolset that can enable organizations of 20-150 workers to benefit from productivity, mobility and collaboration features that are typically only affordable for much larger organizations. With enterprise-class features including presence awareness, conference management, Microsoft (News - Alert) Outlook integration and mobility capabilities, it says HiPath OpenOffice ME can help businesses boost employee efficiency and responsiveness to deliver outstanding customer service.

 

“With built-in unified communications functionality, OpenScape Office extends the value of a call to meet our needs,” says Jim McCaskill, Base21 Director of Operations.

 

“Siemens has provided us with the communications tools that produced both high-tech functionality and cost saving platforms. These tools are critical to our executive briefing center’s infrastructure which hosts the latest in today's advanced communication technologies.”