During the event, Ericsson and Polycom are previewing integration between the Ericsson IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) network and Polycom infrastructure and telepresence endpoints, in the first collaborative step between the companies.

The collaboration between Polycom and Ericsson – driven by dispersed work forces, globalization, travel restrictions, and green workplaces – responds to the rising adoption rates and increasing customer demand across enterprises of all size, and will extend visual communications as a truly global mass market service. The new solutions are based on the standardized IMS technology, the same underlying technology used by telecom operators today.

‘Availability of visual communications as an affordable, reliable and high-quality service through telecom operators will help usher in global, mainstream adoption,’ says Joe Burton, chief technology and strategy officer, Polycom. ‘Furthering our UC Everywhere and cloud strategies, Polycom is excited to collaborate with Ericsson around standards-based solutions with the open interoperability needed to easily connect people across devices and networks.’ ‘Ericsson believes in visual communications,’ says Magnus Furustam, Vice President and Head of Core and IMS at Ericsson. ‘The preview at the Mobile World Congress is a first significant proof point of Ericsson and Polycom cooperation to create an interoperable end-to-end solution for mass market deployment, enabling telecom operators to offer network-based video services to business users and consumers.’ Notes to editors: Business Communication Suite – Ericsson’s solution for Unified Communication www.ericsson.com/ourportfolio/telecom-operators/business-communication-suite?nav=marketcategory005%7Csubarea002 Related article in Ericsson Business Review www.ericsson.com/ericsson/corpinfo/publications/ericsson_ business_review/index.shtml Promotional movies: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mggZbNG8GEw www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUSpc2vnnro www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnAvVJ-6xlA Our multimedia content is available at the broadcast room: www.ericsson.com/broadcast_room Ericsson is the world’s leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. Ericsson is the leader in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile technologies, and provides support for networks with over 2 billion subscribers and has the leading position in managed services. The company’s portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and the media industry. The Sony Ericsson and ST-Ericsson joint ventures provide consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices.

Ericsson is advancing its vision of being the ‘prime driver in an all-communicating world’ through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 90,000 employees generated revenue of SEK 203.3 billion (USD 28.2 billion) in 2010. Founded in 1876 with the headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX, Stockholm and NASDAQ New York.

Hosted VoIP or hosted PBX (News - Alert) solutions, such as an auto attendant, are emerging as the new way to explore the best of VoIP at the least cost. It is estimated that through hosted VoIP, you can reduce the overall operational costs by 20 to 80 percent, depending on the business scenario and the service provider. Hosted VoIP  features self-service portals for management of the enterprise PBX, so enterprise users and their employees can quickly move, add or change the VoIP systems as and when required.

The auto attendant, a well known hosted VoIP solution in large enterprises and now small businesses, can add a professional tone in your interaction with customers or business clients. The auto attendant feature also helps you direct the calls to the right person or department in an efficient manner, eliminating the lengthy and wasteful “hold” experience typical of the traditional phone systems.

Since hosted VoIP offers the extension of an auto attendant dialing feature, you can reach your co-workers just by pressing three or four digits from your phone system. All employees within the organization can be contacted using this feature. Another feature, call forwarding, ensures that the call reaches to the right person wherever he/she is. Through the auto attendant feature in hosted VoIP deployments, you can also add a forwarding number, such as your mobile phone.

Some of the sophisticated systems also allow you to add multiple phone numbers and tell the system to ring them simultaneously or sequentially (‘find-me-follow-me’). Some allow you to set up forwarding rules based on day of the week or time of day. Voicemail is another important feature of hosted VoIP and the auto attendant. With this feature, you get improved access to messages. Most of these services also provide e-mail alerts when a message reaches the voice mailbox. Some of the VoIP services also send the message via e-mail, either as a digital recording piece or transcribed text.

With so many services to be covered by hosted VoIP and an auto attendant solution, it is no wonder that Parlance, a provider of speech-enabled call-routing solutions, follows a company-wide philosophy promoting the necessary responsibility in connecting the caller.

David Shimell from VideoCentric said, “Cyviz has designed and developed stereo 3D technologies since 1998 and their wealth of commercial and technical experience has resulted in the evolution of solutions that exceed the highest expectations of senior directors in some of the biggest companies in the world”. He added, “Image quality, synchronisation, precision alignment, physical stability and ease-of-use are paramount, and it is in these areas that Cyviz excel, with VideoCentric bringing together IP network integration, Cisco (formerly Tandberg)accreditation and first class levels of UK serviceand support based on Cisco’s state-of-the art, C90 and C60 telepresence codecs”.

VideoCentric’s initial sales successes come from the 2D-Bizwall and smaller one-channel C1 offerings, but new orders are in place fo rfurther C1 and 3D-Vizwall solutions in 2Q1 1and beyond. All solutions are aimed at highly collaborative environments such as oil & gas research, emergency planning, product design & manufacturing, medical diagnosis & training, where there is a high visual content and where decision making time is of the essence.

VideoCentric’s showrooms in Edinburgh and The Thames Valley have high speed links through to the Cyviz Technology Centre in Stavanger, Norway, enabling UK customers the ability to view their innovative solutions at a moment’s notice.

Interoperability is not just limited to Tandberg or Cisco Telepresence systems. For those looking to establish full confidence that Cyviz can work with existing investments, VideoCentric’s unique interoperability suite in Wokingham can demonstrate these Cisco-based platforms working with the latest HD & SD videoconferencing systems from almost every other major manufacturer (eg Polycom, Lifesize, RADVision, Emblaze-VCON, AverComm and pre-Cisco Tandberg & Codian systems), all under one roof.

Its Mobile Partner Program targets mobile carriers operating in markets with weak 3G bandwidth. Skype is offering a partnership in which carriers preload the Skype communications app onto phones.

Partner carriers benefit from differentiating phones in their roster with a Skype app, and users win by getting free calls to other Skype users, and calls at lower rates to friends and family abroad.

Count on the apps we’re likely to see as being functional for making calls, but rather limited in other regards. In Skype’s own words “The versions of Skype delivered through this program are optimised (sic.) for efficient bandwidth usage…” We expect the apps to be light and lean, rather than visually rich and dripping with features.

Skype’s courting of carriers isn’t new. In the U.S., a similar Skype Mobile app launched in 2010 for select Verizon smartphones.

A report by research firm In-Stat, entitled The Worldwide IP Phone Market: Wired, DECT, and Wi-Fi, revealed sales of VoIP increased last year.

The analysis predicted this trend to continue as more and more firms turn to IP telephony solutions rep.

Corded phones are the market standard and will remain in a dominant position for the next five years, it added.

Reacting to the figures, vice-president of Digital Entertainment at In-Stat Norm Bogen said: “IP phones are enabling businesses and consumers to use their telephone system for more advanced communications.”

The expert added that businesses understand this type of solution more clearly and it is steadily overtaking the use of traditional phone networks.

Cloud computing, which includes services such as IP telephony, is set to grow significantly in the next few years, an expert has suggested.

In a speech at the annual Intellect Regent conference in London, TechmarketView managing partner Anthony Miller remarked that the cloud computing sphere, which includes IP telephony, will grow significantly in the next 12 months, Computer Weekly reported recently.

Grandstream solutions provide for automated XML provisioning with BroadWorks device management software. As a result, devices can be deployed in mass quickly, seamlessly and cost-effectively. Superior HD voice quality, XML customization flexibility and productivity applications for the enterprise and call center customers are readily available in the new GXP series of enterprise SIP telephones. More specifically, these qualities are available in the GXP2100, GXP2110, GXP2120, and GXP1450.

Those enterprises and call centers seeking advanced IP telephony functionality, secure and automated provisioning capability, crystal clear voice communications and a broad SIP interoperability, and integrated Web applications will benefit from this interoperability and the available features in the GXP series of SIP phones. “We are pleased to have completed interoperability testing with the BroadWorks platform and our new HD phone and multimedia phone product lines.

Grandstream strives to continually innovate and raise the bar of quality, value and user experience on its advanced desktop voice and video communication devices,” said David Li (News - Alert), CEO of Grandstream, in a statement.

“We are excited about our relationship with BroadSoft and look forward to continued innovations in providing the best unified communications solutions in the market.”

Grandstream’s new GXV3175 IP multimedia phone is designed to appeal to the enterprise and residential customer seeking a more advanced, integrated multimedia communications experience. This phone offers instant access to real-time Web and social multimedia applications and is positioned as redefining such applications for the desktop.

This phone is a sleek, tablet-like device with a 7” touch screen LCD. It also offers a 1.3 Megapixel camera, integrated WiFi (News - Alert) (802.11b/g/n) and PoE. An always-on phone, the GXV3175 also offers an integrated and powerful Web browser for convenient, one-touch access to personalized feeds, weather, IM, Google (News - Alert) Voice, major Web photo sites and so much more. Enterprise users seeking more advanced telephony features will find those available shortly.

“We support Grandstream’s commitment to providing innovative next generation CPE products,” said Ken Rokoff, Vice President, business development, BroadSoft (News - Alert).

“We believe the completion of interoperability testing between our BroadWorks product and Grandstream’s newest enterprise voice and multimedia terminals demonstrates our continued focus on ensuring our service provider customers can take to market a broad range of IP-based communications solution.”

In other BroadSoft news, TMCnet recently reported on the company’s announcement that its communication applications have been optimized for 4G networks.

According to officials with BroadSoft, MobileMxD, an integrated suite of Consumer and Unified Communications (News - Alert)(UC) services, is optimized for 4G networks and the growing variety of smartphones and tablet devices.

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

“We at Toshiba have listened to our customers and our valuable Authorized Toshiba Dealers in designing the new Toshiba IP 5000-series telephones. We have redesigned the new IP 5000-series telephones to be even more cost effective while retaining the same feature-rich capabilities,” said Eric Abing, product manager, Toshiba America Information Systems, Telecommunication Systems Division.

The new IP 5000-series telephone models have a similar look and feel to other Toshiba IP 5000-series telephones and are capable of performing all the same IP station features and functions. These new models are available at an affordable price for SMB and enterprise customers.

The three new models are:

IP5522-SD—Includes a four-line (144×48 pixels) LCD display without backlight, 10/100Mbps Ethernet, 10 flexible buttons, and full duplex speakerphone.

IP5622-SD—Includes a four-line (144×48 pixels) LCD display with backlight, 10/100Mbps Ethernet, 10 flexible buttons, and full duplex speakerphone.

IP5631-SDL—Includes a nine-line (150×168 pixels) LCD display with backlight, 10/100Mbps Ethernet, 20 flexible buttons, and full duplex speakerphone.

With these new models, Toshiba customers now have eight different IP 5000-series telephones from which to choose. Models range from four- to nine-line telephones, with 10 to 20 flexible buttons, and most have backlit LCD screens. Models are available with either Gigabit Ethernet or 10/100Mbps Ethernet connection. All models come standard with a PC interface, headset interface, and Ethernet cable.

System Compatibility
Compatible with the entire family of Toshiba Strata CIX IP business telephone systems, Toshiba IP 5000-series telephones are also compatible with the Toshiba IP User Mobility feature and can function as supported IP stations for the Toshiba Video Communication Solution (VCS®).

Pricing & Availability
Prices vary by model selected. The new Toshiba IP 5000-series telephones are available through Authorized Toshiba Dealers. To find an Authorized Toshiba Dealer in your area, visit the Toshiba Web site at www.telecom.toshiba.com.

About Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. (TAIS)
Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., TAIS is comprised of four business units: Digital Products Division, Imaging Systems Division, Storage Device Division, and Telecommunication Systems Division. Together, these divisions provide mobile products and solutions, including industry-leading portable computers; televisions, TV/DVD Combination products, Blu-ray Disc and DVD products, and portable devices; imaging products for the security, medical and manufacturing markets; storage products for automotive, computer and consumer electronics applications; and IP business telephone systems with unified communications, collaboration and mobility applications. TAIS provides sales, marketing and services for its wide range of products in the United States and Latin America.

TAIS is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation. Toshiba is a world leader and innovator in pioneering high technology, a diversified manufacturer and marketer of advanced electronic and electrical products spanning information & communications systems; digital consumer products; electronic devices and components; power systems, including nuclear energy; industrial and social infrastructure systems; and home appliances. Toshiba was founded in 1875, and today operates a global network of more than 740 companies, with 204,000 employees worldwide and annual sales surpassing 6.3 trillion yen (US$68 billion). For more information on Toshiba’s leading innovations, visit the company’s Web site at www.toshiba.com.