Today, Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft Corp., and Jeff Raikes, president of the Microsoft Business Division, announced the worldwide availability of Microsoft’s unified communications software, taking the first step toward streamlining workplace communications and helping reduce the cost of the average corporate voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) system by half.

“In the next decade, sweeping technology innovations driven by the power of software will transform communications,” Gates said. “Working with partners, we’re making rapid advances that will enable fundamental advances in the way people communicate and collaborate at work.”

Joined by customers and partners, the Microsoft executives launched unified communications and VoIP software that includes the following:

— Microsoft(R) Office Communications Server 2007. Software that delivers
VoIP, video, instant messaging, conferencing and presence within the
applications people already know and use such as Microsoft Office
system applications and upcoming versions of Microsoft Dynamics(TM) ERP
products and the Microsoft CRM release due later this year
— Microsoft Office Communicator 2007. Client software for phone, instant
messaging and video communications that works across the PC, mobile
phone and Web browser
— Microsoft Office Live Meeting. The next version of Microsoft’s advanced
conferencing service that enables workers to conduct meetings, share
documents, utilize video and record discussions from virtually any
computer
— Microsoft RoundTable(TM). A conferencing phone with a 360-degree camera
that captures a panoramic view of meeting participants, tracks the
speaker and can record meetings
— Service pack update of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. The industry’s
leading e-mail, voice mail, calendaring and unified messaging platform

“Unified communications software will transform business communications as fundamentally as e-mail did in the 1990s,” Raikes said. “Today, Microsoft is in the VoIP game, and our customers and partners are already winning with better economics and new business opportunities.”

Dramatic Business Results for Customers

Gates and Raikes were joined today by hundreds of customers (http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies) reporting dramatic time savings due to more efficient communications and cost savings of 25 percent to 30 percent over traditional communications technologies. Gibson Guitar Corp., Global Crossing, L’Occitane, Quanta Computer USA Inc., Sanofi-Aventis, The Shaw Group Inc., Virgin Megastores and Volvo Group were among the customers that joined the event to discuss the positive impact of Microsoft technology on their business.

“We are deploying Office Communications Server 2007 globally, and already people are seeing substantial time savings and productivity gains,” said Etienne de Verdelhan, chief information officer with L’Occitane, a leading global retailer of natural ingredient cosmetics with more than 900 stores in over 60 countries. “Not only are we able to launch new business communications with just one click, but user setup and administration is extremely simple, which is critical for a company growing at our rapid pace.”

Supporting these findings, Forrester Consulting found in a study commissioned by Microsoft that organizations may achieve significant productivity improvements and cost savings with unified communications. The Forrester study,(1) created from the results of 15 in-depth interviews of Microsoft unified communications customers, found that these customers can achieve more than 500 percent return on investment (ROI) over three years by deploying Office Communications Server 2007.

Partner Support

More than 50 partners joined Microsoft to announce new products and services built on Microsoft’s unified communications platform. These partners include the following:

– Systems integrators. Seven hundred ninety-three partners have achieved Microsoft’s UC Specialization in less than four months since Microsoft opened the program. These partners are trained to help customers deploy Microsoft unified communications software. — Telephony providers. Three global telephony leaders are announcing their road maps to build next-generation software applications on Microsoft’s voice platform: - Nortel Networks confirmed pending availability of five software-based solutions and applications to enhance Office Communications Server as part of the Innovative Communications Alliance (http://www.innovativecommunicationsalliance.com). Nortel also confirmed it is on track to more than double the number of Office Communications Server certified engineers in the UC Systems Integration practice. - Ericsson announced the Ericsson Enterprise Mobility Gateway, which will be built on VoIP call management in Office Communications Server to bring office communications to any mobile device, reducing mobile costs and maximizing existing investments. - Mitel Networks Corp. announced plans to develop a software-based solution that leverages Office Communications Server’s VoIP call management capabilities to meet the specialized telephony needs of small and medium-sized businesses in vertical markets. — Independent software vendors. Independent software vendors announced plans to incorporate presence and click-to-communicate features from Microsoft’s unified communications platform into their software applications. In addition, SAP AG plans to integrate Office Communications Server with Duet software, which is jointly developed with Microsoft and provides access to SAP processes and data through Microsoft Office applications. This will enable business users to see presence and to click to communicate while working within Duet. — Phone and device manufacturers. Seven manufacturers announced global availability of 15 new Microsoft UC-qualified phones and devices today, increasing choices for customers. Microsoft is working closely with more than 15 strategic partners to develop new UC-enabled endpoints including handsets, wireless phones, webcams and laptops. Conferencing leader Tandberg also announced its plans to build a video and webconferencing solution incorporating Microsoft unified communications software to ensure that customers can maximize their investment in existing infrastructure.

Continued Commitment to Interoperability

Microsoft also unveiled Unified Communications Open Interoperability, a telephony system qualification program, to give customers the assurance that Microsoft unified communications software works with their telephony systems. A list of qualified products, including eight products from five companies that have already received the qualification, is available at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=87482.

Sagem-Interstar Inc. (SAFRAN Group), the global leader in boardless IP fax software for VoIP networks since 2002, will be demonstrating its new XTrax fax workflow solution at the upcoming Cisco IP Telecommunications Users Group (CIPTUG) event, being held October 29 to November 1, 2007. Deployed with its market-leading XMediusFAX T.38 boardless FoIP server, Sagem-Interstar’s XTrax (Release 5.5) solution enables organizations of all sizes to better manage and track their fax workflow to enhance productivity, reduce costs, and facilitate compliance with regulations (i.e. HIPAA, SOX) governing the security, accountability and confidentiality of their information flow.

The CIPTUG 2007 Annual Conference, held at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas, is an annual event which focuses solely on Cisco IP Communications products and targets the CIPTUG user community, Cisco customers and partners. (Sagem-Interstar: Booth 430)

“With Unified Communications on the rise, Sagem-Interstar is well-poised to maintain its leadership in the VoIP market as the IP fax vendor with the largest * number of boardless T.38 FoIP integrations on Cisco equipment,” said Jean Champagne, General Manager of Sagem-Interstar. “Our XMediusFAX and XTrax FoIP solutions for VoIP deployments are field-proven, reliable and crucial building blocks for a comprehensive Unified Communications infrastructure. Our “one-stop” approach to delivering IP fax technology quickly and economically adapts to the evolving IP Telephony needs of all types of corporate, government and service provider accounts.”

* Source: According to fax industry analyst Davidson Consulting, Sagem-Interstar is the boardless FoIP pioneer, and since 2002 grew its #1 market position in T.38 boardless fax server solutions to more than a 75% market share.

As a Cisco Technology Developer Partner, Sagem-Interstar will be spotlighting XTrax 5.5 alongside its XMediusFAX 5.5 — the VoIP industry’s first fax server to interoperate with Cisco MGCP VoIP gateways, in addition to SIP and H.323 support. XMediusFAX 5.5, launched in September 2007, features enhanced Active Directory Integration, as well as support for VMware, XML metadata, and Cisco MGCP VoIP gateways.

XTrax 5.5, also equipped with enhanced Active Directory support, enables users to optimize desktop faxing by offering easy-to-use capabilities for viewing, searching, processing, OCR scanning, routing and archiving of faxes. Network administrators can effortlessly import existing users and user groups for centralized and efficient user administration and authentication. This decreases deployment costs and boosts employee productivity.

TransCore announces the integration of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) into the company’s U.S. version of 3sixty™ Freight Match, an internet-based logistics service that facilitates matching shipper’s freight to available trucks.

One of the early promises of voice over IP technology was the potential to incorporate communications right within business applications, simplifying the user experience and removing steps that create drag, distractions, or errors. For the competitive commercial trucking market, where margins are tight, 30 seconds can make the difference securing a good paying load from a reliable broker or shipper. VoIP is also appealing because it is priced more economically than traditional phone services and can reduce a trucking company’s long-distance phone bill since all calls are free within the 1click2call network.

Tim Bickmore, executive vice president for TransCore’s Commercial Technology Group, explained, “Almost 53 million tons of goods move nearly 12 billion ton-miles on the multimodal transportation network on a typical day. TransCore’s freight matching network alone facilitates approximately $40 billion in freight transactions annually, much of it set in motion by telephone transactions between brokers and carriers.

“Depending on load volume, brokers or carriers will make anywhere from 15 calls a day to hundreds. Traditionally, each call might take two minutes or more to complete. When that’s assessed across agents, companies, days, months, the time lost on the phone multiplies. By integrating the immediacy of VoIP, literally one click of a mouse, a business can reclaim hours of lost time vital to moving freight.”

In initial research, TransCore found that anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of the company’s customers were already using VoIP, so a user base already existed with a familiarity to the technology. By integrating and customizing the PC-to-PC or PC-to-landline calling feature within the freight matching logistics work flow, the 1click2call feature, available free to all 3sixty Freight Match customers, allows a user to complete a business transaction at a faster rate. Instead of identifying a load and then shifting back and forth between the computer, phone and databases, a customer can now with one click immediately call the broker or carrier from the search results screen with all the essential data provided on a customized pop-up screen.

How to use PC-to-PC Calling within TransCore’s 3sixty Freight Match

The 1click2call feature is part of the recent 1.2 software upgrade of 3sixty Freight Match for U.S.-based customers. For new customers, 1click2call feature is automatically installed with activation. For existing customers, the download of Freight Match version 1.2 is convenient and fast. As users log in to 3sixty Freight Match they are led through the automatic upgrade.

TransCore’s 1click2call network service provider is Skype™, a popular Internet phone service with more than 220 million subscribers worldwide. TransCore’s design engineers worked with the Skype application program interface to develop a customized VoIP application to work within the freight matching logistics environment and work flow process, incorporating necessary load posting and contact data, icons, and calling features.

To enable the 1click2call application, freight match users simply sign up for the free Skype subscription at http://www.skype.com. Within the Skype network PC-to-PC calling is free and PC-to-landline calling is only $0.02 per minute in North America or $29.95 per year for unlimited calling. In an initial promotional campaign timed with the launch, a significant number of the freight match system’s heaviest users have already signed up for the service.

Other features included in the Freight Match 1.2 software upgrade include:

* Additional alarm features for specific dates
Now users can save time by requesting alarm match results only for a specific date.
* Expanded filtering capabilities by company
3sixty Freight Match now filters out companies that users do not want to include in alarm matches or results.
* Simplified retrieval of forgotten passwords
If a user forgets a password, no problem. They simply enter their user name in the login box and click “I forgot my password.” 3sixty Freight Match immediately sends the password to the registered e-mail address.
* Exclude partial loads
Users that don’t want to see partial loads can now exclude them from alarm matches
* Save frequent searches and postings as templates
User’s can save frequently used searches and postings as templates, saving precious minutes re-entering data.
* Easier and streamlined user setup
3sixty Freight Match’s new set-up wizard makes adding new users and workgroups faster and much simpler than before.

For more information, visit http://www.3sixty.transcore.com/

Key ASIC, a leading fabless design service provider of ASIC and System-on-Chip (SoC) products and an ARM® Partner; has completed the implementation of an ARM926-EJ-S™ processor optimized for operation at 350Mhz in 130nm CMOS process. Key ASIC has completed the design and hardened the ARM926EJ-S processor with 16K of I and D cache implemented on Silterra’s CL130G, 130nm CMOS process.

“We have designed this optimized ARM926EJ-S processor with the specific intent of targeting consumer markets requiring CPU intensive functions such as single processor-based VOIP applications”, said Wei-Kong Chia, CTO of Key ASIC, Inc.

As mobile VoIP applications take off, device power efficiency, coupled with low-cost becomes critical for successful mass deployment. “Single processor-based implementations have a significant advantage towards catering to this market”, said Ron Victor, VP, Marketing & Business Development for HelloSoft, Inc. “HelloSoft’s award winning VoIP technologies enable both high-performance and low-power, and the Key ASIC ARM 926 implementation is an excellent fit.”

“We are pleased to see Key ASIC create high performance implementations of our CPU cores for the cost sensitive consumer market. By enabling end devices based on high quality soft-DSP VoIP, and eliminating the need for a dedicated DSP processor, Key ASIC is addressing the cost and power requirements of the coming generation of converged multimedia devices driving consumer product innovation.” said Ian Drew Vice President, Segment Marketing, ARM.

Key ASIC has licensed the ARM926EJ-S and ARM946E-S processors and is a member of the ARM Connected Community. Key ASIC’s optimized ARM926EJ-S processor is available as a hardened core for its customers. The silicon validation will be completed in early 2008. Key ASIC is now providing its high-speed optimized ARM926EJ-S processor and support to selected customers.

CyberData Corporation today announced the release of its new VoIP Intercom. The Intercom is a SIP-enabled two-way communications device that easily connects into existing local area networks. It operates as a door entry phone with access control capabilities, or as an emergency phone with mass notification capabilities. The VoIP Intercom is capable of two-way communication with a dedicated extension, and one way-communication with a paging zone or call-all. A DTMF operated relay can activate a door opener or other auxiliary controls.

“The VoIP Intercom allows for a cost effective access control or emergency notification, utilizing existing local area networks,” said Phillip Lembo, President of CyberData Corporation, “while saving installers and end users time and resources due to its ease of installation.”

CyberData’s VoIP Intercom is scheduled for release on October 31, 2007 and will be at display at the Fall VON 2007 trade show in Boston on October 29 to November 1 at booth D-925. It can be purchased from a variety of distributors and resellers. Please visit CyberData’s website for details.

SPIRIT DSP, the world’s leading provider of embedded voice and video software products, announced today the availability of TeamSpirit® Voice&Video Engine PC Version 3.0 for telecommunications, cable and broadband service providers worldwide. The TeamSpirit Voice&Video Engine PC 3.0 delivers the highest quality voice and video over IP (V2oIP) networks to a broad range of PC-based communication applications. The new version of the engine lets broadband operators and service providers quickly offer their subscribers an easy PC-download to enable a rich and smooth voice and video experience, with unprecedented quality.

The VoIP market continues at an aggressive pace. In Europe and N. America, branded VoIP represents more than 50 percent of all VoIP calls on broadband networks, according a recent analysis by broadband management company Sandvine Inc. And according to ABI Research, there were more than 37 million VoIP subscribers worldwide last year, and the firm predicts that number will increase more than seven fold by 2012.

Slava Borilin, VP Products at SPIRIT DSP, said “The flourishing VoIP market has reached mass-market adoption and a video-soft-phone under the operator brand is quickly becoming a ‘must-have’ service offering for cable, telco and broadband service providers. They know that new IP-based applications are critical to keeping their subscribers and attracting new ones. Our innovative TeamSpirit Voice&Video Engine PC 3.0 gives them a cost-effective and completely pre-integrated solution for rapid time-to-market with amazing VoIP and video conferencing quality, even on impaired networks. Unlike others, we have wideband voice and standards-based video tightly and seamlessly integrated, ready for operators and service providers to deploy today.”

The TeamSpirit® Voice&Video Engine PC 3.0 is a complete, pre-integrated IMS-ready solution that encapsulates wideband voice and video processing to offer the smoothest video and voice integration experience. The Engine seamlessly bundles standard and proprietary wideband voice and video codecs, echo cancellation, noise suppression, PLC, jitter buffer and more, allowing fast and easy integration into complex products designed to deliver low-latency voice and video over IP. Thanks to unique proprietary technology, the Engine successfully solves all the issues encountered in V2oIP communications, including voice and video lips sync.

It includes speech enhancement algorithms for superior toll voice quality, network optimizing functionality, voice/video synchronization, CPU load control, packet loss concealment and a library of highly optimized speech and video codecs. The engine supports next generation IMS features: 3gp voice/video sharing, voice/video recording, 3gp playback/record, RTSP/SDP protocols and push-to-talk. The Engine is compatible with Microsoft® Windows® 98/2K/XP/Vista, Apple® Mac OS® X, and Linux operating systems.

Empirix® Inc., which helps organizations adopt complex communications solutions with confidence, announced today the availability of its Hammer G5 test platform, the most comprehensive single-box solution for testing Voice over IP (VoIP) among other real-time applications in its class. The Hammer G5 offers an integrated package for pure feature and load testing, in addition to more sophisticated scenarios of functional-load testing. These capabilities are in particular demand from the world’s leading network infrastructure suppliers, Cable/PacketCable labs, and Voice over “X” application test labs for fixed and mobile operators. The first unveiling of Hammer G5 will be at Fall VON Boston from Empirix booth #955.

Since 1992, the Hammer product line has been focused on the end-to-end user experience, with a particular emphasis on voice applications. Empirix’s Hammer started with the earliest forms of computer telephony — testing packages for Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) — and then was able to adapt to the industry’s technological advances over the years in order to stay competitive. This includes the next wave of basic Voice over IP (VoIP), the expansion into the broader set of Next Generation Network (NGN) requirements for signaling, media and quality assessments, and the latest extensions of voice over anything with IMS.

Empirix has received many product awards during its five years in existence, such as market-share leadership for VoIP test from Frost & Sullivan (four consecutive years), to product accolades from a variety of industry-leading publications for its Hammer solutions.

The new Hammer G5 platform is built on Empirix’s Hammer FX (VoIP feature test) and Hammer NXT (high density VoIP load generation) products, offering the combined capabilities of both in a unified user and programming interface.

The Hammer G5 will be most valuable to the large and globally installed base of Hammer customers, where Empirix has shipped well in excess of four million test ports. In addition, there will be a variety of upgrade packages for customers varying from software-only to hardware-accelerated for performance test, with no impact to any scripting and automation packages.

Some of the key attributes of this class-leading VoIP test platform include:

– Seamless upgrade for any Hammer FX-IP and Hammer NXT-IP customer;
– Wideband codec support for VoIP, be them in fixed and wireless
applications;
– Full IMS SIP User Equipment emulations;
– Emulation packages for SIP, H.323, MGCP, NCS, Cisco Skinny, and QSIG;
– Signaling and media transport over IPv4 and IPv6;
– Signaling transport over TCP and UDP, as well as TLS for secure
transport;
– Dynamic call rate control for characterization of the system under
test;
– Testing of Open Mobile Alliance Push to Talk (OMA PoC) based
applications; and
– Scalable from very low density feature tests to ultra-high density
stackable load test scenarios

“The Hammer G5 is Empirix’s most significant test offering this year, and certainly the most impactful solution we have introduced in the last two years,” said Duane Sword, Vice President of Product Management at Empirix. “By packaging functional and load testing into one unit with an easy-to-use interface, our customers will benefit from being able to switch from feature to performance testing seamlessly, and can execute a mix of complex features while applying realistic background load. The launch of Hammer G5 comes right at a time when the service providers are particularly concerned with service integrity and the impact of scale on quality, security and interoperability, and we’re happy to be the company that, yet again, is leading the way on product advancements for specific customer needs.”

AccessKey IP, Inc. announced this morning that its Consumer Electronics Subsidiary, TeknoCreations, has completed its newest consumer electronics product, the Wireless Visual Remote™, for worldwide users of Apple’s iPod™ digital media player. The Wireless Visual Remote™ product enables iPod™ users to operate and control all sound menu selections, music, volume, etc., without having to remove your iPod and look at the display. The wireless control unit for the iPod is a high tech wristwatch with a dot-matrix backlit display. Your songs, time, menus show up on the display of your Visual Remote watchface. With no messy connecting wires, you control your iPod wirelessly. Your iPod can now stay in its case, pocket, or purse and you have full single-handed control. You can be hiking or exercising or going through the shopping mall and be in full visual control of your iPod. The Wireless Visual Remote™ works with all iPods that have the data connector and are 3rd generation or above.

HelloSoft, Inc., a leading supplier of VoIP technologies for the converged market, announced today that they will be showcasing its award winning VoIP/IMS/VCC technologies October 24th from 8am to 4pm in the Napa Room at Palace Hotel in San Francisco just a short walk from the Moscone Center South Hall where CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2007 will be held.

While at CTIA you can take a short walk to experience HelloSoft’s exciting VoIP and Wireless technologies and you can learn what it takes to get your mobile device to be the hottest product in today’s mobile market. HelloSoft has a suite of highly optimized, world-class, power-efficient technologies to take your fixed-mobile convergence devices to the new era of converged communications. Come and see the future of carrier-grade commercially deployed VoIP that powers Skype, HTC, Accton, WNC, BenQ, Cellon and more.

To formally schedule a meeting with HelloSoft on October 24th between 8am and 4pm, please email Ms. Rina McCord at rina@hellosoft.com or call her at +1(408) 441-7110 x104.

HelloSoft’s products can enable mobile device manufacturers to design and architect products that are power efficient and provide substantial cost benefits. HelloSoft has a range of VoIP and wireless products to meet the price and performance needs of multiple high-volume markets, including multi-mode devices which enable OEMs, ODMs and semiconductor manufacturers to deliver VoIP enabled products with a shorter time-to-market.

SK Telink, an international telecommunications carrier in South Korea and a subsidiary of SK Telecom, today announced at the BroadSoft Connections 2007 Executive Users Conference that it will work with five major cable providers in South Korea to bring VoIP services to residential consumers, small businesses and home offices using BroadSoft’s BroadWorks® application platform.

SK Telink’s new offering integrates VoIP with customers’ set-top television cable boxes. The BroadWorks-based services work through customers’ cable boxes to display caller ID, a phone directory and other phone services on the TV, while customers watch television programs. These calling features can be controlled with the TV remote control. Residential customers can get premium services such as call pick-up, call transfer and shared-call appearance to use among family members.

“This is the first carrier-grade residential VoIP service based on cable infrastructure in South Korea and establishes SK Telink’s commitment to remain a leader among carriers in Korea and globally,” said Mr. Min-Lae Cho, CEO of SK Telink. “We will focus on rapid growth of residential customers in the next three years. Using BroadWorks allows us to inter-operate with cable TV boxes to offer features such as instant group call, sequential call, shared-call appearance, remote office and other residential services.”

“SK Telink’s move to team up with cable providers to offer these services is significant because it’s the first time that integrated carrier-grade VoIP services based on cable will be offered to residential cable TV customers in Korea,” said Jonathan Reid, vice president of Asia Pacific for BroadSoft. “BroadSoft specially configured the BroadWorks platform to enable SK Telink to deliver this unique offering. This new service demonstrates the platform’s flexibility for offering a diverse range of services to customers across the spectrum.”

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