Nortel and Ingram Micro Join Forces To Grow Unified Communications Market In Australia

Strategic Relationship Solidifies Nortel’s Channel Strategy And Diversifies Ingram Micro’s Unified Communications Portfolio

SYDNEY, Australia - Ingram Micro, the world’s largest technology distributor, has joined forces with Nortel* [TSX: NT | OTC: NRTLQ] to distribute the company’s unified communications (UC) solutions to its network of IT resellers in Australia.

This distribution agreement will see Ingram Micro playing a significant role in distributing Nortel’s recently announced Software Communication System (SCS), which replicates all the functionality of a unified communications PBX on a standard server using out-of-the-box software. Ingram Micro will also stock Nortel’s extensive range of solutions designed to integrate with Microsoft and IBM’s UC platforms, including its highly-successful Business Communications Manager (BCM) IP PBX’s for small-to-medium enterprise and will carry Nortel’s established range of data networking products that form the foundation for any UC deployment.

“Nortel is a strategic player in the global UC market and has shown tremendous leadership both globally and in Australia with its software and hardware products in this space,” says David Lenz, general manager, Enterprise Technology Group, Ingram Micro Australia.

“Nortel’s strategic relationships with Microsoft and IBM will give our resellers a significant go-to-market lead when it comes to specifying UC solutions that can take early advantage of the features and functionality of these platforms,” he says. “In addition, Nortel’s independent UC solutions like the SCS will give our resellers even more choice when it comes to building custom solutions for their customers.”

“With Unified Communications increasingly becoming an important focus for IT departments as communications and IT converge, our Unified Communications products have become more relevant to the broader IT market ” says Neville James, channel director, South Asia, Nortel. “That market is Ingram Micro’s strength, so this partnership is a logical fit. Our product range will enable Ingram’s resellers to provide their clients with new options, and to increase the range of solutions they can provide, which in turn will help them grow their business. We will be working alongside Ingram Micro to support the reseller channel through in-depth technical support and training, and help resellers to take advantage of the growing Unified Communications market.”

Nortel is working closely with Ingram Micro in the lead-up to the official launch of the relationship this month and is holding training sessions over the next few weeks to increase its staff’s skills with Nortel’s solution. As part of the relationship and ongoing support to Ingram’s network of resellers, Nortel and Ingram will commit focused resources to the partnership. To learn more about the SCS, Nortel invites their customers and prospective customers to attend the SCS Roadshow which being held in Perth 23rd April, Sydney 28th April and in Melbourne 30th April. For more information call Shelley Staub at 03 8866 4551.

About Nortel
Nortel is a recognized leader in delivering communications capabilities that make the promise of Business Made Simple a reality for our customers. Our next-generation technologies, for both service provider and enterprise networks, support multimedia and business-critical applications. Nortel’s technologies are designed to help eliminate today’s barriers to efficiency, speed and performance by simplifying networks and connecting people to the information they need, when they need it. Nortel does business in more than 150 countries around the world. For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com . For the latest Nortel news, visit www.nortel.com/news .

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Use of the terms “partner” and “partnership” does not imply a legal partnership between Nortel and any other party.