Nortel has expanded its Business Communications Manager (BCM) portfolio with several new products that provide SMBs with a path to unified communications.
The Business Communications Manager (BCM) 450 enables businesses up to 300 employees to transition from existing legacy digital equipment to a unified communications solution. The BCM450 is available from Nortel, or through its strategic vendors, including AT&T. Key features include:
- Unified messaging, consolidating voice, fax and e-mail messages onto a single device.
- Message forwarding, available in one to two months, which sends voicemails and faxes to the most convenient desktop or mobile device. For workers on the move, this can save long distance and roaming charges when retrieving messages.
- Meet-Me Conferencing that can establish teleconferences for up to 120 participants. This can eliminate the need for external services and reduce teleconferencing expenses.
- Computer Telephony Integration, which allows the use of third-party applications to control telephone services, such as click-to-call or automatic screen “pop” with customer information when they call.
- Intelligent Contact Center functionality, which quickly directs clients to the right contact.
The Business Services Gateway (BSG) 8 and 12 combine data infrastructure components needed to run unified communications. Available in North America, the Business Services Gateway (BSG) 8 and BSG12 replace multiple equipment and software with a single solution by including: a router; advanced security including firewall; VPN and intrusion detection; wired and wireless switching; a resilient SIP gateway with an integrated Analog Telephony Adapter; and application-aware QoS.
Business Services Gateway 8 provides routing, wired/wireless switching, and SIP capabilities. It is specifically targeted at SMBs, small branch offices and teleworkers with fewer than 100 users. The solution supports SIP Phones, a single analog station and fax machines as well as LAN connected PCs or network devices.
The Business Services Gateway 12 combines multiple functions, including broadband router, sophisticated security services, Power over Ethernet (PoE) managed switch, modular Wi-Fi access point, and a Survivable SIP Gateway.
Nortel estimates its single solution approach reduces the initial cost by up to 45 percent and provides the backbone upon which SMBs can build out an effective and cost-efficient network. The BSG8 and BSG12 also serve as a client-side data infrastructure platform for carriers who deliver hosted VoIP services to SMBs with Nortel’s IP Powered Business Solutions .http://www.nortel.com
