Alcatel-Lucent unveils cloud-based UC service + updates enterprise suite
Struggling telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent is following in the footsteps of rival Cisco and turning to the cloud for business growth. The company last week augmented its unified communications (UC) portfolio with a hosted solution geared towards helping small and medium-sized businesses reduce IT maintenance costs.
The new OpenTouch Office Cloud platform is described as a “comprehensive unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) offer” designed to improve employee productivity and streamline customer care. It runs on Alcatel-Lucent’s OmniPCX Office RCE module, a Linux-based communications server with out-of-the-box support for Voice over IP (VoIP) analog and TDM technologies. Already used to support more than 17 million end-users worldwide, the system is relatively simple to deploy and doesn’t require any specialized skills to maintain, features that the company says can make it easier for distributors to keep up with accelerating cloud adoption among SMBs customers. Plus, the large install base makes the service highly accessible.
OpenTouch Office Cloud is a slimmed-down version of the OpenTouch Enterprise Cloud, a hardware-agnostic software suite that was introduced in May 2013 to let partners power their own UCaaS solutions. The offering, which is now available with IT transformation services to streamline implementation, has been enhanced with a “virtual” call center capability that adds a new way for provides to differentiate. Both editions are available immediately through regional resellers.
”The ability to help business adopt cloud-based services is the focus of our OpenTouch Cloud suite,” noted Eric Penisson, the general manager of Alcatel-Lucent’s Enterprise Communications division. “Both OpenTouch Office and OpenTouch Enterprise Cloud give employees the collaborative experience they want, and have been extremely well received by our channel partners who recognize the value our cloud-based services bring to their existing and potential customers.”
photo credit: Marty.FM via photopin cc
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