ACADEMIA

Network Equipment Technologies announced a strategic initiative with BT to significantly simplify the deployment and installation of Microsoft Lync 2010, greatly reducing the time it takes for service providers and large enterprises to deploy advanced unified communications (UC) solutions. Utilizing NET's UX Series platform, BT will provide best-of-breed managed and professional solutions that add value to on-premise enterprise application systems.

"Businesses are seeking ways to reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve customer service. Being able to communicate and collaborate with anyone at any time, whether you are using phone, e-mail, application sharing, messaging or conferencing is key to achieving these goals," said Matthew Krueger, Vice President Business Development at NET. "The combined BT and NET solution offers customers an innovative option to the challenge of deploying UC and cloud-based managed services."

NET's Unified Exchange (UX) Series high performance mediation platform is based on a modular 1U platform that has been purpose-built for unified communications and enterprise session border controller applications. As a session mediation platform, UX Series products reduce both capital and operational expenses by eliminating the need to purchase separate infrastructure components such as a PSTN gateway, session border controller, and application server. The UX Series is qualified as an enterprise Survivable Branch Appliance for Microsoft Lync(TM) 2010.

BT's Managed Lync solution provides the benefits of convergence -- where previously separate technologies come together on one platform -- without the upheaval or cost of a completely new infrastructure. The initiative between NET and BT will augment BT's existing global Managed Lync services offering -- part of the BT One portfolio. Specifically, by combining voice and data communications on one platform, customers can achieve improved efficiencies for their staff at a reduced cost for call and data transmission and management.

"This initiative was designed to address the unique customer requirements for a Lync-based 'cloud' managed service," said Randy Schrock, Vice President, Corporate Alliances, BT Global Services. "We're excited to be able to introduce NET's UX Series products as part of our Microsoft Lync solution strategy in order to help our customers benefit from improved unified communications productivity at substantially lower costs. This initiative with NET expands both our professional and managed service solutions we offer to U.S. domestic customers and complements our global strategic approach by continuing to drive innovation and business value into our core network services."

BT established operations in North America more than 20 years ago and now employs around 4,000 people in 35 offices with headquarters in Irving, TX.