Microsoft and Siemens Collaborate to Usher in New Era of Unified Communications

San Francisco, Jun 26, 2006, Siemens Communications Inc. and Microsoft Corp. today announced the expansion of global collaborative efforts to advance the transformation of telephony, audio-, video- and webconferencing, instant messaging, and e-mail into a single unified communications platform.

Cooperation between the two companies is rooted in a shared vision for unified communications that is people-centric, breaks down silos between different forms of communications systems, and expands on ongoing efforts by the two companies to integrate technologies around Microsoft® Exchange Server and Microsoft Office Live Communications Server.

Anchoring the initiative will be new products and Siemens systems integration and support services to integrate Siemens HiPath 8000 softswitch real-time telephony with Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Office Live Communications Server utilizing the OpenScape communications broker capability. This solution will provide enterprise customers with the ability to cost-effectively transition from conventional PBX and voice-mail communications systems to Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2007 in combination with HiPath 8000.

The combined technology, service and support offerings will enable enterprise customers to deploy Microsoft’s unified communications platform with features including innovative VoIP call management, conferencing, unified messaging and instant messaging. The approach brings unified communications capabilities to organizations in an evolutionary way and ensures the highest quality of service and security.

“As the world of work changes, companies are realizing that a unified communications environment can reduce the cost of communications while providing richer capabilities that keep them competitive,” said Anoop Gupta, corporate vice president of the Unified Communications Group at Microsoft. “The collaborative efforts between Microsoft and Siemens will deliver a simple and flexible path to a complete range of unified communications solutions.”

“Combining the integration experience and robust capabilities of Microsoft and Siemens technologies will enable customers to fully realize the productivity improvements and cost benefits of unified communications built on a high-quality, reliable platform without losing support for legacy devices and applications creating a new and more productive user experience,” said Thomas Zimmermann, president of Enterprise Network Systems at Siemens Communications. “The trusted integration services provided by Siemens in our integration channels also play a big role in providing assistance and quality as customers deploy these powerful new solutions.”


Siemens Communications
The Siemens Communications Group is one of the largest players in the global telecommunications industry. The company offers a full-line portfolio of innovative solutions for voice and data communication. Its comprehensive offerings range from devices right through to complex network infrastructures and services for wireless, fixed and enterprise networks. It is the largest Group within the Siemens organization and operates in more than 160 countries around the world. In fiscal 2005 (September 30), its 54,500-strong workforce posted sales of over 13 billion euros.

More about Siemens Communications at http://www.siemens.com/communications

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Barry Lawrence

Siemens Communications

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