Businesses to benefit from seamless interaction between desktop and mobile applications

Comverse announced the commercial availability of its Unified Communications offering that allows telecom providers to deliver seamless mobile and PC-based voice and data communications to small and medium-sized businesses inside and outside the office setting.

The solution, which is built on the Comverse Netcentrex Converged IPCentrex telephony solution and the Microsoft Solution for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration (HMC) 4.5, integrates messaging and presence services on a business desktop PC environment with high-quality, packet-based services to create a wide range of voice and data features for users:

*** Control phone calls from desktop computers using the Microsoft Windows Messenger and the Microsoft Office Communicator, all integrated within the Microsoft Office desktop environment;

*** Click and call contacts listed in the computer’s address book, which also informs them if their contacts are online;

*** Begin a phone call on their office phone and continue the conversation on their mobile phone when travelling to an out-of-office appointment; and

*** View and manage all voice messages in an inbox with date, time, message length, caller number and identity when available. Known as visual voicemail, this allows employees to return phone calls by simply clicking on the message.

“We see significant synergy in this collaboration with Microsoft,” said John Bunyan, Chief Marketing Officer at Comverse, the world’s leading supplier of software and systems enabling value-added messaging and content services, converged billing and active customer management, and IP communications.

“This strong offering combines our field-proven Converged IPCentrex with Microsoft’s well-rounded Unified Communications solution,” Bunyan said. “Because this solution offers many benefits for small and medium-sized companies, telecom providers can make a compelling business case, which will help drive revenues while decreasing churn.”

Tech Mahindra is the Microsoft Unified Communications system integrator, with whom Comverse has partnered for the launch of this offering. Upon deployment, telecom providers can offer hosted services in a pre-IMS or IMS environment, offering a package of integrated Unified Communication services, including email, Instant Messaging (IM) and phone lines.

“Comverse’s offering enables telecom providers to offer an integrated communications solution for businesses, which can increase employee accessibility and responsiveness, as well as improve real-time collaboration among employees, partners and customers,” said John Zanni, general manager of the Worldwide Software plus Services Industry team for the Communications Sector at Microsoft.

At the upcoming Mobile World Congress, visitors can see a demonstration of the joint offering at the Comverse stand (Hall 8 Stand 8B 83.)

For more information, please visit their webpage:
http://www.comverse.com/mobileworldcongress/netcentrex.asp.

Comverse offers a full range of IPCentrex solutions to deliver hosted telephony services to the business segment, including an advanced telephony feature set, integrated applications (network announcements, voicemail, IVR, conferencing, attendant console), an integrated session border controller (SBC) and web-based self-care portals. Comverse IPCentrex solutions offer a range of
services for all sizes and types of businesses to adapt the communications services to their different employee work styles, such as office-based, remote workers, nomadic workers or frequent travelers.

About Tech Mahindra

Tech Mahindra is a leading provider of solutions and services to the telecommunications industry, majority stake owned by Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, in partnership with British Telecommunications plc. With total revenues of USD 934.7 million in the year ended 31 March 2008, Tech Mahindra is India’s sixth largest software exporter, and serves telecom service providers, equipment manufacturers, software vendors and systems integrators. Tech Mahindra solutions enable clients to maximise returns on IT investment by achieving faster time to market, reduced total cost of ownership and high customer satisfaction. Tech Mahindra achieves this through its domain and process expertise, distinctive IT skills, research and development, proven innovative delivery models and approach to offshoring.

Assessed at SEI-CMMi Level 5 and PCMM Level 5, Tech Mahindra’s track record for value-delivery is supported by over 24,000 professionals who provide a unique blend of culture, domain expertise and in-depth technology skill-sets. Its development centres are ISO 9001:2000 & BS7799 certified. Tech Mahindra has principal offices in the UK, United States, Germany, UAE, Egypt, Singapore, India, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Philippines, Canada and Australia.

About Comverse

Comverse is the world’s leading provider of software and systems enabling value-added services for voice, messaging, mobile internet and mobile advertising; converged billing and active customer management; and IP communications. Comverse’s extensive customer base spans more than 130 countries and covers over 500 communication service providers serving more than two billion subscribers. The company’s innovative product portfolio enables communication service providers to unleash the value of the network for their customers by making their networks smarter. Comverse’s solutions support flexible deployment models, including in-network, hosted and managed services, and can run on circuit-switched, IP, IMS or converged network environments. Comverse is a subsidiary of Comverse Technology, Inc. (CMVT.PK).

For more information, please visit their website; http://www.comverse.com

All product and company names mentioned herein may be registered trademarks or trademarks of Comverse or the respective referenced company(s).