By Ray Horak, Technology Editor telecomreseller.com
Aastra mobility solution now available for Microsoft Lync
Aastra Technologies Limited (TSX: AAH) is a leading developer and manufacturer of telecommunications networking products and services based on IP as well as traditional TDM technologies. The Toronto-based company, formed in 1983 as an R&D business, grew to offer a portfolio of communications servers, gateways, telephone terminals, VoIP endpoints, wireless products and advanced software applications for enterprise markets. We keep a pretty close eye on Aastra from our lofty editorial vantage point here at Telecom Reseller. The company has built a reputation for being quick on its feet and highly innovative. Those are important attributes these days.
Among the more recent innovations is the integration of SmartSIP 2.0 for Microsoft Lync Server 2010 from Network Equipment Technologies (NET) with Aastra’s award winning SIP-DECT mobility solution and broad portfolio of standards based SIP phones. The Aastra SIP-DECT phones are the first to be fully certified with NET SmartSIP, by the way. NET’s SmartSIP 2.0 is a software app that provides Lync voice interoperability for SIP devices. In a Lync environment, SmartSIP 2.0 includes presence functionality, extends the enterprise’s existing SIP endpoints and enables 802.11 WiFi and DECT wireless Devices. As a result of this level of integration, Aastra’s SIP-DECT handsets operate just as any other SIP endpoint on the Lync IP network, but provide the added dimension of mobility that is so critical in industries such as healthcare, retail, hospitality, and distribution/logistics. Aastra’s SIP-DECT handsets offer a number of considerable advantages over WiFi, including spectrum diversity, which avoids competition for bandwidth with other devices, resulting in improved QoS and security through special encryption algorithms. As DECT consumes considerably less power than Wi-Fi, SIP-DECT phones have much longer talk and standby times. Aastra’s SIP-DECT is also highly scalable and includes a variety of handsets to suit a range of business requirements. Thanks to pre-built configuration files, SmartSIP supports automatic provisioning.
Aastra’s SIP-DECT solution is based on mature technology and open standards, so it is equally effective on not only Aastra and Lync platforms, but also on all third-party systems or Centrex platforms of Internet Telephony Service Providers (ITSPs). In other words, VoIP solutions, including multi-cellular DECT radio networks, can be installed wherever data lines are available in a company. This includes remote company locations such as branches or factories, interconnected via a Virtual Private Network (VPN), for instance.
Also recently released are Aastra’s 6725ip and 6721ip IP desk phones for Microsoft Lync. These IP endpoints feature embedded Microsoft Lync 2010 Phone Edition, offering seamless integration to Microsoft’s Lync Server 2010 and, thereby, providing for the fullest Lync feature set available, including simplified installation, management and configuration. Aimed at the knowledge worker, the 6725ip provides a synchronized integration with the desktop client enabling enhanced functionality, including click-to-dial and desktop control of calling features such as transfer, hold, call park and conferencing. The 6725ip features both a full color 3.5” LCD screen and a separate Unified Communications (UC) presence icon providing direct access to features and presence indications in Lync. The 6721ip provides a lower cost option for users who still require the benefits of a true IP phone, including dual Gigabit Ethernet ports and message waiting light indicator – but do not require the full UC desktop integration capabilities of the 6725ip. The 6721ip is an ideal selection for Hot-desking applications and common areas, such as lobbies and meeting rooms.
More at aastrausa.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment