Siemens Simplifies UC Deployments

Siemens Enterprise Communications (SEN) has recently introduced the OpenScale Service Packages, leveraging its Unified Communications experience to eliminate complexity and address any issues faced by customers. As the needs of today's multi-vendor and multi-site UC deployments are not yet met by traditional IT and telephony services, OpenScale Service Packages provide unique capabilities and options according to each customer's needs, as well as providing cost savings and scalability.

The OpenScale Service Packages are available from either Siemens directly or from reseller partners. Enterprises can purchase a level of services specific to their location and needs, with flexible options, Service Level Agreements, and reporting options, while keeping standard remote services at the core of the offering

There are three available packages, which all deliver standardized services and help customers manage their UC deployment. Each can be purchased separately or with another package, and offer unique service level agreements by site rather than by product.

OpenScale Service Packages include OpenScale Total Care, which offers remote maintenance, OpenScale Proactive Support to help maintain and ensure a reliable communications infrastructure, and OpenScale Advanced Performance, which gives customers complete visibility across their network infrastructure. Siemens Enterprise Communications also offers OpenScale Active Monitoring for channel partners, which provides monitoring and polling of devices.

"Siemens is reinforcing its position in the transition of telephony as a key software component of unified communications by focusing on integration and management tools and expertise services, rather than pushing traditional, proprietary telephone system hardware," says Art Rosenberg of UCStrategies. "This is a practical direction for the business communications market, which will need, constant ongoing support for evolutionary software changes to work with different UC endpoints, modalities and business process applications. Enterprise organizations, both large and small, won't have the IT expertise to handle such changes, especially when such applications have to exploit mobile smartphone usage.” He notes, however, “I’m a bit surprised that the mobility support perspective was not mentioned as one of the OpenScale Service Package offerings."

Rosenberg adds: "By focusing on the software implementation and remote management tools for UC activities, Siemens is also able to attract channel partners that also want a piece of the new UC action to replace the old telephony hardware support action that UC will displace. Needless to say, traditional enterprise telecom and business application personnel will be affected by this strategy, which is well suited as a service offering, and is both flexible and practical for the migration of legacy telephony to UC."

For more information, visit www.siemens-enterprise.com .