HP, Cisco, Software.com Offer Unified Messaging
HP has teamed up with Cisco and Software.com to offer a unified communications solution on an open IP (Internet Protocol) architecture. Unified communications builds on unified messaging—single access to voice, fax and e-mail—by adding real-time call management to both inbound and outbound communications, HP execs explained.
The solution, which makes use of Software.com's Intermail messaging infrastructure software, allows service providers to collect, notify and deliver messages to customers, regardless of their location, time or access device. Execs said that unified communications can help service providers penetrate the 125 million hosted voice mailboxes worldwide and deliver messages to the 25 million unified message boxes expected to be in service by 2003. The solution will also allow service providers to carry the 250 billion pages expected to be faxed via IP in 2004.
The integrated, pre-tested solution includes these components: HP's Services for solution deployment and support; HP solution management, including HP OpenView for management of service providers' environments and service level agreements, and HP Smart Internet Usage for usage metering; HP hardware, including HP-UX servers and HP SureStore E Disk Array; Cisco uOne software and Cisco connectivity hardware; and Software.com's Intermail platform.
"Through the Cisco, HP and Software.com relationship, we are creating a scalable IP-based solution that allows service providers to quickly and easily deploy UC [unified communications' solutions] to help customers achieve increased responsiveness by taking control of how, when and from whom they receive messages," Eugene Lee, Vice President of Marketing for Cisco's Internet Communications Software Group, said in a statement.
The joint solution is available now from HP.