Nortelhas joined forces withMicrosoftto offer firms an in-house
audio and video conferencing platform that is designed to cut
external conferencing bills.
By giving every employee access to their own always-open desktop
conference room, workers can quickly connect with anyone, anywhere
in the world without the hassle of making a reservation, said
Nortel.
Multimedia Conferencing 5.0, the newest product in Nortel's
Unified Communications portfolio, cuts costs dramatically by
eliminating third-party conference operator fees. With Nortel's
latest system, companies can expect full payback in as few as six
to 24 months, said the network supplier.
"Customers have told us that pressures to improve business
performance and reduce travel costs are forcing more and more
employees to meet virtually - the challenge is to do it without
breaking the bank," said Dave Murashige, general manager for
Multimedia Applications at Nortel.
"With Multimedia Conferencing 5.0, businesses get a low-cost
software-based system that stems the pain of pay-as-you-go
collaboration."
Multimedia Conferencing 5.0 is fully integrated with Nortel's
flagship Communication Server 1000 as well as Microsoft's Live
Communications Server 2005 and Office Communicator 2005
systems.
The Nortel and Microsoft integration provides a single desktop
environment for instant messaging, presence,
audio/video conferencing and desktop communication.
Integration with Microsoft's Office Communications Server 2007
is expected in the first quarter of 2008.
The integration of Multimedia Conferencing 5.0 is the latest
component of the Nortel and Microsoft Innovative Communications
Alliance.
In October, Nortel unveiled plans to be first-to-market with the
industry's broadest portfolio of Unified Communications solutions
and applications built around Microsoft's new Office Communications
Server 2007 and Office Communicator 2007.