 "IBM Simplifies Unified Communications For SMEs")
IBM has announced a new, self-managing, ‘office in a box’ appliance for small and midsized enterprises (SMEs) that combines all of the unified communications and collaboration (UCC) tools needed to run a business with the ability to connect to telephony, in a single solution. For smaller businesses with limited IT expertise, the solution reduces complexity and enables employees to instantly access people and information, resulting in increased efficiency and productivity.
The new Lotus Foundations Reach solution customises and extends the IBM Sametime UCC capabilities in a single appliance designed specifically for SMEs that have limited IT skills and smaller budgets. In about an hour, a business can install and configure its entire UC environment in a system small enough to fit under a desk. Foundations Reach minimises the need for human intervention with self-managing technology that automates IT tasks such as adjusting to workload demands, conducting proactive system checks for security and reliability of the network, and detecting and repairing potential issues.
Lotus Foundations Reach enhances the user experience by reducing the complexities associated with deploying and managing communications and collaboration solutions. From one platform, Lotus Foundations Reach combines key UC features such as instant messaging (IM), Presence awareness to see who is online and available, e-mail, calendars, contacts, office productivity tools, network security, remote access, file and print sharing, and backup and disaster recovery. The ability to access these capabilities from a mobile device makes it easier for users that travel or work remotely.
By communicating and collaborating virtually, SMEs can reduce costs by decreasing the need for travel, supporting remote workforces to cut down on office space, and decreasing long-distance telephone expenses with VoIP capabilities.
Many telephony partners are opting for IBM’s open approach, which allows them to incorporate their products with IBM’s to reduce the costs and complexity of IP telephony. This results in comprehensive communications solutions that were not previously available to SMEs. Lotus Foundations Reach enables telephony partners to extend IBM’s self-managing capabilities and provide expanded features such as click-to-call, click-to-conference, the ability to see if someone is on the phone or not, and voicemail access.
“Until now, the complexity and cost of creating an IT solution combined with UC and IP telephony capabilities have been a deterrent for small businesses,” said Caleb Barlow, director, Lotus Foundations, IBM. “With Lotus Foundations Reach, IBM enables telephony partners to combine their technologies with IBM’s UC solution to create an offering that is affordable and simple for small businesses.”