TANDBERG and BroadSoft Announce New Hosted Business Video Communications Solutions

Partnership enables service providers to deliver integrated video and voice solutions to businesses of any size

NEW YORK; OSLO, NORWAY & GAITHERSBURG, MD. —TANDBERG (OSLO: TAA. OL), the leading global provider of telepresence, high–definition video conferencing and mobile video solutions, and BroadSoft, Inc., the leading worldwide provider of VoIP applications, today announced new video communications solutions for telecommunications service providers serving business customers.

In today’s challenging economic environment, video has proven to be a reliable tool to help companies do more with less through superior communication and collaboration. By seamlessly integrating video with voice, a host of new productivity-enhancing capabilities can be realized.

TANDBERG and BroadSoft® have partnered to offer BroadSoft’s BroadWorks® Hosted Unified Communications (UC) application platform with TANDBERG’s best-in-industry portfolio of visual communications solutions, including the E20 video IP phone, the 1700 MXP personal telepresence system, the Profile 6000 MXP, and the TANDBERG Codian MSE 8000 Series multipoint control units. By combining BroadWorks’ advanced business features with TANDBERG’s video solutions, service providers can deliver unique business solutions to customers in a Software as a Service (SaaS) model. Organizations that may have lacked the resources to deploy on-premise video communications solutions enterprise-wide can now easily capitalize on the benefits of video UC. Together, BroadSoft and TANDBERG are bringing business-quality video and voice to the masses in an easy and affordable solution.

“Video is increasingly important in the way enterprises do business, and its integration with voice, presence, mobility, Web 2.0 and business applications allows employees to be more productive from any ‘touch point’ — phone, mobile device, video phone, video console or business application,” said Michael Tessler, co-founder and CEO of BroadSoft. “Despite the incredible benefits of advanced video communications, the inherent complexity of deploying an on-premise solution is a major deterrent for many businesses. By providing video solutions ‘in the cloud,’ service providers are in a unique position to fulfill a demand of an underserved market. Businesses, regardless of size, can now benefit from the power and productivity of video-enabled unified communications.”

“With the TANDBERG/BroadSoft solution, mass deployment of high-quality video is easy and cost effective for organizations large and small,” said Fredrik Halvorsen, CEO of TANDBERG. “By incorporating personal video solutions like TANDBERG’s E20 video IP phone into unified communications platforms, everyone can stay visually connected and have access to traditional telephony features from one device. Through this relationship, we are empowering organizations to drive efficiencies, increase knowledge sharing and realize an almost immediate return on investment.”

"PCCW Global is pleased to be a strategic partner to both TANDBERG and BroadSoft in promoting the benefits of high definition video conference (HDVC) among enterprises. We find the mix of high definition video and VoIP conferencing capability becoming more critical to day-to-day business operations, given the current cost saving environments worldwide,” said PCCW Global CEO Marc Halbfinger. “We use a mix of both TANDBERG and BroadSoft HD video and audio conferencing for internal communications and have realized extensive travel savings. In addition, we have begun packaging these services to enterprise customers using our global IP-MPLS network. We believe that as the service quality is further appreciated, enterprises will not only reduce travel cost, but also enhance the quality of their business operations.”

By connecting colleagues, customers and suppliers in a face-to-face environment, the BroadSoft/TANDBERG solution can reduce travel costs, improve customer satisfaction and increase workforce productivity and collaboration. The largest gains in productivity come from providing business quality video access to everyone, from senior executives to front line employees. The solution delivers innovative and highly-effective ways of working for an organization, including:

* Video Receptionist – add a “virtual” front desk by providing two-way video and audio communication between a remote employee and a visitor
* Video Training – deliver training from an experienced instructor while letting employees learn in their own environment
* Video Customer Care/Call Center – watch an informational content video while waiting for a customer support representative
* Video Mail – send and receive video-mail messages
* Video Ringback – create a custom video greeting for incoming calls

The solution will be demonstrated in the TANDBERG booth at VoiceCon 2009, March 30 through April 2 in Orlando, Florida.