Nortel is strengthening its
small and medium business (SMB) portfolio with the addition of two new data
products, as well as enhancements to existing SMB solutions.
Nortel’s new SMB products and enhancements include: Business Ethernet
Switch 200 and Business Ethernet Switch 50 portfolios, Business Communications
Manager 50 Release 2 and enhancements to the Digital Mobility portfolio. These
new offerings are designed to specifically address the unique business needs
of smaller businesses to boost employee productivity and satisfaction,
streamline business operations and costs, and deliver superior customer
service.
From Internet access and wireless connectivity to converged voice and
data solutions, Nortel provides a complete end-to-end solution for SMB
businesses, allowing customers to build a network that fits their needs today
and into the future. Nortel’s new Business Ethernet Switch 200 and Business
Ethernet Switch 50 bolster the Company’s recently announced SMB portfolio of
voice, data and wireless solutions to bring the power of wireless LAN,
Ethernet switching, security and converged voice and data to smaller
businesses. The Business Ethernet Switch 200 series will be available in late
November and the Business Ethernet Switch 50 series will be available in
December 2006.
“Because our company handles a large volume of emergency calls when
people are without heat, we need our communications systems to be reliable and
offer quality and advanced features. We had a Nortel Norstar phone system for
years and knew we’d turn to Nortel when it was time to update our system,”
said Gary Bekolay, president of 72 Degrees Heating & Cooling Solutions, Inc.
in Carp, Ontario. “We are now using a complete Nortel SMB communications
solution, including the Business Ethernet Switch 50, Business Access Point 120
and Business Secure Router 222, to deliver a superior service experience for
our customers.”
For nearly 20 years, Nortel has provided voice communication solutions to
more than 15 million SMB employees in more than 80 countries, and its
award-winning BCM50 sold more than 22,000 units globally during its first year
of availability. A key enhancement to Nortel’s BCM50 is the addition of
Intelligent Contact Center and Multimedia Contact Center, giving SMBs access
to detailed reporting, real-time statistics and Web presence features
previously only available to large enterprises. Nortel’s BCM50 Release 2 and
Digital Mobility additions will be available in December 2006.(+)
“The BCM50 is simple to administer and use yet as powerful as many
fully-featured IP PBX’s. It is a product that comes with its own future
proofing,” said Bill Morgan, managing partner of W and J PARTNERSHIP, a
professional services firm in Castro Valley, California. “The BCM unified
messaging application alone has already improved the efficiency of our
company. In fact, we believe that by 2007 our savings will equate to the
annual salary of one of our most senior engineers.”
With the addition of these new SMB products, Nortel is introducing new
SMB specific sales training and on-demand marketing tools to assist its
channel partners. New tools available to channel partners include an SMB
configuration and pricing tool to assist partners in quoting and ordering
Nortel products, as well as an SMB-specific Marketing on Demand design tool to
help channel partners create co-branded collateral for events, direct mails
and promotional items.
As part of its strategy to strengthen its SMB portfolio, Nortel recently
introduced regional campaigns to address the needs of SMBs and channel
partners. In North America, new and existing resellers have access to
pre-defined, easy-to-sell SMB voice and data packages that address the
distinctive requirements, challenges and budgets of smaller businesses. In
addition, Nortel’s IPT 1-2-3 initiative provides simple, easy to implement
options that help enterprises migrate or upgrade to IP telephony at their own
pace and at a more affordable cost.
Nortel also extended its broad channel partner ‘Assurance’ services
portfolio for Europe, Middle East and Africa with the addition of the SMB
Partner Assurance Contract (PAC) and launched a new momentum marketing
campaign focused on “Grow your Business. Think Small”. In India, the recently
announced focus on SMBs will provide customers simple, scalable and easy to
use products at a very affordable price.
