Aastra SIP-DECT Phones First to be Certified with NET SmartSIP

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.

Cisco and T-Mobile Team to Deliver a Wi-Fi Calling Solution with an Enterprise-Class Voice-Ready Wireless LAN

Ben Stricker | December 15, 2010 at 5:00 am PST

When it comes to business mobility and collaborating with customers, partners and colleagues, a “good” mobile experience isn’t “good enough.” As mobile workers increasingly adopt dual mode smartphones to remain connected in any environment, the requirement to deliver reliable, business-quality voice and data access across cellular and Wi-Fi networks has become business critical.

Wi-Fi calling is becoming a must-have technology for the enterprise, as corporations seek new ways to reduce costs and improve productivity for employees in the office and traveling overseas. With the joint solution Cisco and T-Mobile announced today, more organizations can meet the mobility and connectivity demands of their employees with the added benefits of improved voice quality, fast roaming and extended battery life. ..one more step towards a true, borderless network experience that connects users securely, reliability and seamlessly anywhere, anytime, on any device.

To address these customer challenges, Cisco and T-Mobile are collaborating to deliver mobile calls over Wi-Fi, enabling reliable, seamless roaming of voice and data traffic between cellular and Wi-Fi networks, allowing businesses to reduce cellular voice calling costs.

This joint solution from Cisco and T-Mobile is a great example of how enterprises can save significantly – up to 30-40% on both domestic and international cellular usage – by not using their wireless minutes when employees leverage a campus Wi-Fi network or other open Wi-Fi access point. Customers such as Cytec Industries are using the joint Cisco and T-Mobile solution to establish a secure and reliable wireless infrastructure that takes advantage of Wi-Fi calling’s cost effective benefits across the globe.

Wi-Fi calling on your smartphone can help you save minutes, improve voice quality and productivity. Cisco and T-Mobile are partnering to deliver mobile calls over the wireless network you already have, enhancing the value of your existing wireless network.

The two companies are combining their market-leading technologies to deliver an enterprise-class Wi-Fi access solution based on the Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) standard, optimized with Cisco’s Unified Wireless Network and Cisco Compatible Extensions (CCX) for both large and mid-sized enterprises. This joint solution complements Cisco’s broad portfolio of mobile voice and collaboration solutions, providing another method for enterprises utilizing a Cisco Unified Wireless Network to access voice and data services with T-Mobile Wi-Fi enabled smartphones.

Tested and validated for interoperability with the Cisco Unified Wireless Network and CCX features, T-Mobile’s Wi-Fi calling solution can save enterprises significant costs, improve their users’ experience, and ensure pervasive, high-performance wireless coverage.

What does Cisco add to the experience? CCX enhances the performance of T-Mobile’s Wi-Fi enabled smartphones with features like improved quality of service, secure fast roaming and intelligent power savings. T-Mobile business subscribers using dual-mode UMA smartphones can also roam and hand over voice calls between cellular and Wi-Fi networks.

Cisco’s 802.11n wireless network provides a ‘voice-ready” wireless platform that delivers the security, scalability and reliable performance needed to optimize Wi-Fi calling in the enterprise. As part of Cisco’s Borderless Networks architecture, innovations like CleanAir technology and ClientLink as well as Radio Resource Management and Voice Troubleshooting tools make all the difference when your business communications depend on an enterprise-class mobility experience.

Cisco says "Go Wireless or Go Home"

Posted by Karen Smyth on Aug 18, 2010 11:10:12 AM

Prior to Cisco, I worked for mostly small businesses. This has given me pretty good insight into how small business decisions are made. As there are so few layers of management, often times the same person that weighs the pros and cons of free soda for employees is also deciding whether to make a major technology purchase. More than anything right now, I’d say that one of the most important decisions a small businessperson can make is whether to “go wireless or go home.”

The benefits of a good business wireless network and solid voice set-up extend beyond the office and can positively influence customer experiences. If you’ve ever been placed on extended hold because the person you were calling had to walk to another location or find someone, you know what I’m talking about. After a short time, that recorded voice over smooth jazz telling me, “my call is important” begins to lose its sincerity. Its hard to say what’s worse for me, listening to a cheesy recording or working through my fear of abandonment issues when the on-hold experience is just silence.

I recently read an article in a marketing publication that said most callers on-hold stay on for just shy of a couple minutes before becoming annoyed and hanging up. About a third of these callers never call back. Ouch! Remember all that money you spent on advertising just to get those calls?

As for me, I’ve been there, done that and wrote the Yelp review. In this era of everything immediate, and dare I say it, short-attention spans, I think we’ve all become programmed to judge a company by its responsiveness. That bar is getting higher and higher just as our threshold for Kenny G. gets lower.

The company that gets my repeat business and a shout-out to 500 of my closest Facebook friends is the one that can answer my question without putting me on hold. It’s the salesperson that picks up his business line from his mobile phone while he’s in the break room with the art director. It’s the dry cleaner that tells me his closing time even though he’s away from the front counter. It’s the jewelry shop owner confirming on his laptop from the showroom floor that the secret admirer who sent me diamond earrings was Clive Owen (OK so this last example is purely hypothetical, but you get what I mean, right?).

In any case, Creative Video Services is a company I am very familiar with. It’s a small business that understands the importance of wireless technologies. From producers, editors to salespeople they have lots of folks on the move. After seeing what they do firsthand, its tough to imagine how they were doing business without wireless. Then again, It’s easy to see that through the help of a Cisco partner and Cisco wireless phones and access points, how they are setting themselves apart and focused on getting things done.

Take a look.