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Nortel (News - Alert) is introducing a SIP-centric unified communications solution for small and medium businesses (SMBs). The new solution, Nortel Software Communication System (SCS (News - Alert)) 500, will enable smaller players to avail various technologies which were only available to large enterprises with bigger budgets in the past.

The new solution is based on open source technology and comes complete with presence/instant messaging, IP telephony, conferencing, and other advanced applications.

SCS500 is very easy to manage and user-friendly, and works across different networks and devices. This helps the new solution to make it easier for SMBs to tap the power of both IT and communications to transform their businesses and create new opportunities for market differentiation and growth.

 

The new offering is available this month on industry-leading hardware systems through Nortel's collaborations with IBM and Dell (News - Alert).

"Simplicity is the key focus of IT for many small and medium-sized firms," said Justin Jaffe, senior analyst, Small/Medium Business and Home Office Research, IDC (News - Alert). "Forward-thinking SMBs want the capabilities of a cutting-edge, highly integrated communications solution, but it must be easy to implement and simple to manage, in addition to delivering a quick and significant ROI."

“For the SMB, a unified communication solution has to score high in five areas: productivity, efficiency, flexibility, cost savings, and mobility, especially with today's dispersed workforce," said David Downing, general manager, Enterprise and SMB Communications Systems (News - Alert), Nortel. "SCS500 was designed to meet and exceed SMBs' expectations in every category."

The introduction of SCS500 can be seen as Nortel's move to enter a new market targeting SMBs with 30 to 500+ employees in highly collaborative work environments, including finance, real estate, manufacturing, and professional services. 

The SCS500 integrates communications infrastructure and business processes such as voice, video, instant messaging, and conferencing with key office applications which may result in saving 30 to 50 minutes per employee per day.

The new solution also offers plug-and-play simplicity throughout installation, configuration, and management. The user experience is intuitive and straightforward with a Web portal graphical user interface, giving employees the ability to personalize applications and settings in seconds.

SCS500 is a highly scalable, open source, SIP-based solution. It allows for a stronger return on communications investments, more efficient information flow and the flexibility to grow and evolve. While ideally positioned for up to 500 employees, it's also scalable for up to 1000 employees.