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NEC Adopts IBM SmartCloud, Expands Cloud Services

In an effort to help its small- and mid-sized customers improve internal communication, IT network services provider NEC (News - Alert) Corporation is expanding its lineup of cloud services for telecommunications carriers, by adopting IBM’s SmartCloud for Social Business service.

The IBM (News - Alert) SmartCloud for Social Business offers features such as social networking, instant messaging, e-meetings, e-mail and calendaring, which can enhance the productivity and efficiency of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB), according to Bethann Cregg, vice president of IBM Social Business Cloud.

“Small- and mid-sized businesses have a lot to gain from social collaboration in the cloud,” Cregg said. “The combination of highly reliable business applications with the flexibility of cloud delivery models makes it easy to work seamlessly with people inside and outside of the organization.”

IBM’s SmartCloud is ideal for SMBs, as it is priced per user and doesn’t require a large capital outlay, according to Ken Sugata, general manager of NEC’s Carrier Cloud Division. Combined with NEC’s carrier cloud services, IBM SmartCloud for Social Business allows carriers to quickly prepare Software as a Service (SaaS (News - Alert)) collaboration solutions for their business users, he explained.

“NEC’s carrier cloud services have pioneered the provision of customized SaaS, Desktop as a Service (DaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) platforms for leading carriers all over the world,” Sugata said. “We expect the IBM SmartCloud for Social Business to further improve the convenience of our business users.”

Earlier this year, NEC launched a cloud telephony service specifically for Australian SMBs, TMCnet reported.

With the new service, SMEs have access to a scalable cloud telephony solution. NEC’s cloud-delivered private branch exchange (PBX (News - Alert)) and unified communications (UC) platform can be scaled quickly from four extensions, including up to 200+ extensions at single or multiple sites, company officials said. This will allow businesses using NEC’s service to grow without incurring additional infrastructure and integration costs.

To find out more about IBM visit the company at ITEXPO West 2012. To be held Oct. 2-5 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, TX, ITEXPO (News - Alert) is the world’s premier IP communications event. Visit IBM in booth # 1324. For more information on ITEXPO West 2012, click here.

Edited by Braden Becker

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