The new release of Ericsson’s BusinessPhone system is designed to improve simplicity, performance and investment optimization for SMEs with between eight and 250 employees – with particular focus on mobility, IP convergence and application integration.

New to the BusinessPhone range are: a new entry-level system for enterprises with 8–30 employees; a new Integrated Application Server (IAS) that hosts all BusinessPhone applications; enhanced Computer–Telephony Integration (CTI) capabilities that support mobile working from a variety of locations and devices; and improved IP telephony functionality. There is also a new graphical user interface available for the Sony Ericsson P900 smartphone that makes accessing BusinessPhone’s Mobile Extension features easier and more intuitive.

“The philosophy behind BusinessPhone has always been to offer ‘big system’ capabilities at a size and price that makes sense for SMEs,” said Stefan Vekeman, Sales Manager Converged Solutions at Ericsson Enterprise. “With this latest release, we’ve really focused on simplicity in all aspects of system acquisition, adaptation and operation. SMEs can be sure that, whatever their starting point, they will have a system that meets their long-term needs with minimal total cost of ownership.”

The new member of the BusinessPhone range, BusinessPhone Compact, is a prepackaged ‘start-up’ system for enterprises with between eight and 30 employees. As well as offering the full range of communications features, BusinessPhone Compact includes a complete messaging solution, offering voicemail, automated attendant, operator queue messages, call center queue messages, music on hold and conversation recording and archiving capabilities. The system can be extended with additional capacity, IP telephony, integrated cordless, Unified Messaging or Call Center solutions.

The new IAS is a blade server that can be installed in any BusinessPhone system. It comes preinstalled with all applications – including Unified Messaging, BackStage (a CTI application) and the Call Center Application suite. Every pre-installed application on the IAS can be selectively activated through a simple software-based license. This saves enterprises time and money by reducing installation effort and eliminating the need for separate application servers. Ericsson is including a 60-day free trial of all BusinessPhone applications, together with a complete BusinessPhone Management Suite (BMS) platform for free, with every IAS purchase.

One of the hosted applications on the IAS is the new BackStage CTI and IP softphone solution for SMEs. This improves both personal and corporate efficiency by ‘pushing’ all PBX features in a simple and efficient way. For example, users can now automatically route all calls to the device of their choice according to their calendar settings (in Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes). BackStage also offers extended support for mobile workers. For example, BackStage can send SMS notifications to users when they have a new voicemail or meeting request.

Enhanced support for mobile professional is provided through a new software application for the Sony Ericsson P900 smartphone. This provides BusinessPhone users with the Mobile Extension feature to use their mobile phones as if they were a normal office extension, wherever the user may be. The new software enables the user to access all PBX features, like call transfer or diversion, using intuitive menus and icons, instead of key codes.

BusinessPhone’s IP telephony capabilities have also been enhanced. The IP telephones now offer exactly the same feature set as the digital telephones in the range. Improved IP networking enables larger enterprises to integrate several BusinessPhone systems into one converged communication solution, including the Ericsson MD110 PBX, and share centralized investments such as Unified Messaging systems or Centralized Operator Services deployed at the headquarters.

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