REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 23, 2007 – On Oct. 16, Microsoft introduced the future of business communications with the launch of Office Communications Server 2007. More than 50 partners announced services, products and devices that support and enhance Microsoft’s unified communications platform, including global telephony leader Ericsson. PressPass spoke with Urban Gillstrom, president of Ericsson Enterprise, to learn more about the company’s strategy for unified communications and the recently announced Ericsson Enterprise Mobility Gateway, which will be built on the VoIP call management in Office Communications Server and turn the everyday mobile phone into a complete enterprise communications device.
PressPass: What did you announce last week?
Gillstrom: We announced we’ll be building future generations of the Ericsson Enterprise Mobility Gateway on the VoIP call management capabilities in Microsoft Office Communications Server. This is an expansion of our already-strong relationship with Microsoft around unified communications and mobility and leverages Ericsson’s long history and reputation as a provider of mobility and telephony solutions.
PressPass: What will this mean for end-users?
Gillstrom: With the Ericsson Enterprise Mobility Gateway, people can get all of their enterprise telephony features on their mobile phone. This means, for example, that you can put a call on hold or transfer it to an extension on your corporate network – all from your mobile phone. The solution also helps organizations reduce telephony costs by using least-cost routing, so an end-user can take a call on VoIP and avoid cellular charges where appropriate. While Office Communicator Mobile delivers presence and click-to-communicate to the mobile phone, Ericsson unites the corporate and mobile telephony environments and provides the behind-the-scenes intelligence to keep costs low and users productive.
PressPass: Why are you using Office Communications Server for your voice platform for this product?
Gillstrom: Microsoft’s unified communication platform provides a powerful solution for enterprises for communications-enabled business processes. Like Microsoft, we believe unified communications will be powered by software, and as such, we’re delivering one of the first value-added telephony feature servers built on the Microsoft voice platform, enabling us to focus on our value-add around mobility while Microsoft delivers the underlying platform.
PressPass: How will corporate unified communications work with mobile networks?
Gillstrom: This is where Ericsson has a unique understanding and experience. As mobile phones become an increasingly standard business tool that is funded by the corporation, organizations will drive to unify the disparate modes of communications including across private and public networks. Ericsson will innovate in making the Enterprise Mobility Gateway integrate with our carrier products and deliver new functionality and control of services to our enterprise customers.
PressPass: How big is this market opportunity for Ericsson?
Gillstrom: Microsoft estimates put the unified communications market at US$45 billion in 2010, and we believe, like Microsoft, that mobility is a critical part of any unified communications solution.
