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Mark Donahue Mark Donahue is an associate editor for Telephony magazine. Previously, he worked in The Associated Press’ Chicago bureau, as well as two trade publications. He graduated from...more

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AT&T AND ORACLE COMBINE FORCES TO DELIVER A SUBSCRIPTION-BASED PEOPLESOFT SOLUTION FOR MIDSIZE BUSINESSES

AT&T is combining the power of its global network platform with a subscription-based PeopleSoft solution from Oracle to provide midsize companies in the U.S. with a better way to handle human resources, payroll and back-office operations.  

AT&T Inc. recently announced an end-to-end, hosted PeopleSoft payroll and payroll tax solution that combines AT&T’s business process outsourcing services with its innovative utility computing platform and application management capabilities. It gives companies the ability to use a PeopleSoft application to add employees quickly, track pay and benefits and connect with financial back-end systems while calculating payroll deductions.

The solution is targeted to midsize companies as a bundled package that includes a monthly, per-employee fee, which helps businesses reduce the upfront costs typically associated with a large, complex software implementation and softens the impact of license fees.  

The solution is delivered over AT&T’s next-generation Synaptic HostingSM platform that creates a virtual infrastructure that lets customers add computing capacity, bandwidth and storage space as needed. The platform further allows customers to adjust capacity quickly, while paying only for the amount used. In addition, AT&T is offering a fixed-fee, fast-track program for out-of-the-box PeopleSoft solutions that helps speed the installation time and cut costs when compared with a customized PeopleSoft implementation. 

The announcement builds upon the long, strategic relationship between AT&T and Oracle. AT&T is a PeopleSoft Application Hosting Partner and an Oracle PartnerNetwork Certified Advantage Partner. 

“The relationship between AT&T and Oracle is a testament to the commitment we share to each other’s success,” said Ronald E. Spears, president and chief executive officer, AT&T Business Solutions. “Today’s announcement is further proof of how the intelligence of AT&T’s network and its software service-based delivery model complements Oracle’s application solutions to make it possible for even more businesses to operate successfully at greater scale and velocity.”  

Keith Block, executive vice president, Oracle North America Sales, said: “We are excited to work with AT&T to address the need for a cost-effective, predictably priced human resource service for companies that prefer to focus their efforts on their core differentiators. This is especially true in today’s uncertain economic climate where companies of all sizes are looking for ways to reduce costs, increase flexibility and decrease business risk.”  

AT&T is committed to delivering, managing and supporting sophisticated applications of all types required by companies of all sizes. For example, AT&T today provides solutions for companies that want to extend their business-critical information to mobile employees through hand-held devices. AT&T recently announced new mobility services, AT&T Mobile Enterprise Applications, that are designed to help companies in targeted vertical industries deliver mobile field service automation, sales force automation and information technology support for Oracle applications. 

As a Certified Advantage Partner in the Oracle PartnerNetwork, AT&T has a strong history of implementing and supporting hosted Oracle products including Oracle® Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE) for multinational companies. OBIEE provides interactive dashboards with real-time analytics such as ad-hoc queries, alerts, enterprise and financial reporting in formats that are simple and intuitive to interpret. The dashboards are published and delivered over the AT&T network in familiar formats including mobile handsets.  

More information about AT&T’s hosting and application services can be found at http://www.business.att.com/enterprise/Portfolio/application-hosting-enterprise.

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Verizon Business Helps IT Leaders Set Sights for 2009

Global Communications and IT Solutions Leader Identifies Top Technology Trends to Help Businesses Reach New Heights in Year Ahead  

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – The global economy is front and center, and enterprises worldwide are looking to get the biggest bang for their buck in 2009.  With that in mind, Verizon Business has identified 10 business technology trends to help corporate and government information technology (IT) leaders do more with less.“These challenging times present IT leaders with an opportunity to make technology work harder and smarter to get the job done,” said Nancy Gofus, senior vice president of global business products for Verizon.  “We’re at a crossroads, where cost-cutting and technological innovation can actually unite to create new business capabilities in spite of the economic climate.  Verizon Business stands ready to help large businesses and government agencies worldwide make the most of communications and IT to propel their enterprises forward.”

Here’s Verizon Business’ list of 10 hot trends for 2009:

Enterprise 2.0 

The workplace is ever-changing and yesterday’s work style is being replaced with a more interactive exchange of ideas inspired by social networking tools such as Facebook, Wikis, Mash-ups, Twitter and Digg-it. Web 2.0 is quickly evolving into Enterprise 2.0 as these rich capabilities are creating new business models for some companies and empowering new strategies for others.  Removing traditional barriers of walls, wires, time and distance — reflective of today’s often globally dispersed enterprises — in favor of new social networking tools will enable workers to connect to their extended network of customers, suppliers, vendors and employees in new and exciting ways. Look for Enterprise 2.0 to help organizations take their game to the next level through enhanced collaboration, communications and sharing ideas.   

Work as Activity Versus Place 

Organizations want their employees to get their jobs done no matter where they are.  For that reason, teleworking is becoming a strategic imperative.   Companies will continue to recognize the productivity-boosting benefits of enabling mobile teleworkers or at-home teleworkers to remain securely connected to corporate resources.  The environment will also benefit as more businesses, government agencies and municipalities recognize the energy savings that can result from teleworking and “hoteling” (using office space on an as- needed basis, like a hotel room). Telework, including new high-definition virtual meetings, will create an increased focus on work as an activity versus a physical location, and companies will be able to hire and retain professional talent regardless of where they are located.  Managed mobility offerings will help businesses track, monitor, secure and manage the plethora of mobile devices accessing corporate networks. 

Doing More with Less

Businesses and governments everywhere are looking for ways to do more with less.  That holds true whether it means using managed services or tuning up existing networks instead of building new ones. IT organizations are also looking for the right technologies, such as sophisticated automated speech systems, to better serve customers.  In 2009, it’s all about productivity. Companies can choose which functions to keep in-house and which to hand off to a third party. Flexibility, the need for specific skill-sets and globalization are making selective out-tasking the preferred model. With managed services, companies can focus on what they do best and leave some of the highly specialized work such as IT, security, networks and call centers, to experts. 

Visual Communications 

Video will continue to play a starring role, as companies make the most of their IP connections to create a culture of collaboration.  From the boardroom to the desktop to the laptop to the mobile phone, more collaboration will take place, as companies increasingly embrace the cost-savings, productivity and environmental benefits of virtual meetings versus business travel.   High-definition video will begin to pay off for extended enterprise communications between employees, customers, suppliers and partners.  In addition to interactive video collaboration, video functions will be incorporated in the enterprise for on-demand content distribution, including on-the-job training.  As high-definition video equipment becomes more affordable and interoperable, the opportunity to video-enable corporate IP network endpoints will allow companies to rev-up their existing networks with minimal investment.

Unified Communications Integrated Into Business Processes 

If voice over IP (VoIP) is thought to be the first return on an IP network investment, unified communications (UC) will be the gift that keeps on giving.  Unified communications uses Internet protocol networks to integrate various systems, media, devices and applications to help streamline business processes, accelerate decision-making, and reduce costs. With UC now at the forefront of business communications strategies, companies are making decisions about voice telephony that will help them achieve greater collaboration and productivity.  Workers leveraging presence capabilities in a UC environment can gain more control over work flow and time management as well as expedited communications.  What’s next: UC integrated into automated business processes, where human and machine intelligence commingle in an IP world to drive even greater business growth.

 

Ready, Set Go IPv6            

The number of IP-addressable devices and systems is skyrocketing within enterprises and few organizations have current documented data on what those IP assets are, how they are being used and which ones are most critical to their operations.  Knowing which IP addressable elements are linked to which business needs will enable IT leaders to prioritize the data and applications that will need to be future-proofed with IPv6 capabilities while phasing out those that are idle or counter productive to operations.  IPv6 will be a necessity for companies to achieve mobility and scalability with increased efficiency and ultimately move their businesses forward.   

Getting SaaSy

The network becomes king once again in 2009 making it the perfect platform for software-as-a-service (SaaS) delivery. Serving content, applications and security in a centralized online environment will become the rage.  Buying computing resources a la carte will help companies control costs while attaining the security, performance, scalability and reliability required for the enterprise.  Consuming IT resources (connectivity, server and storage) on an as-needed basis will keep IT costs in control and eliminate the need, time and effort to outfit every desktop. Centralization will keep IT departments on top of their game in 2009.    360 Security  

Professionals will need to be security-conscious in and out of the office. Whether at home or on-the-go, security needs to be considered every step of the way.  Three hundred sixty-degree security, mandatory on any IT checklist, requires that the flow of data be protected in and out of the corporate network and through the extended enterprise of widespread and mobile customers, partners, suppliers and employees. Security will touch every endpoint, every device and every situation, both physical and logical. Home and office require equal protection as boundaries continue to blur.

Eco-Responsibility as Sound Business Strategy 

Companies will evaluate eco-responsibility along with their technology investments as part of an overall business strategy.  Corporate social responsibility is becoming increasingly important in how companies are viewed by their employees, customers and investors.  What’s good for the environment also happens to make good business sense.  According to “Smart 2020: Enabling the low carbon economy in the information age” published by The Climate Group, information communication technology (ICT) can reduce total global carbon emissions by 15 percent by the year 2020. If companies can reduce their energy consumption, they can also reduce their energy costs to gain a competitive advantage.  What’s more, savvy companies today are embracing the green initiative to get ahead of government and business mandates that will eventually force the issue.

Cutting Through the Compliance Clutter 

Compliance and regulatory oversight are here to stay. In 2009, expect more, not less, with IT in the hot seat for ensuring IT systems are fully compliant and all the right controls are in place. Enterprises should be prepared to be strategic, think innovatively and act decisively.  Professional services and Web-based dashboards that help track, monitor and enable controls for compliance will provide the foundation for companies looking to get it right.  These “smart” tools also will allow an organization to quickly review whether its partners, customers and suppliers, which form an extended network, are complying with relevant standards and regulations, a critical consideration in today’s increasingly connected world. 

“To these predictions,” concluded Gofus, “we will add one more: Businesses worldwide will need to be quick and nimble in the coming year. Those that leverage the benefits of technology to power their business objectives will weather the storm and become even stronger in the long run. Our expert staff is trained to help companies navigate these turbulent waters and deliver a comprehensive suite of integrated, secure communications and IT solutions, including managed and professional services that enable companies to focus on their core business.”     

About Verizon Business

Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a global leader in communications and IT solutions. We combine professional expertise with the world’s most connected IP network to deliver award-winning communications, IT, information security and network solutions. We securely connect today’s extended enterprises of widespread and mobile customers, partners, suppliers and employees — enabling them to increase productivity and efficiency and help preserve the environment.  Many of the world’s largest businesses and governments — including 96 percent of the Fortune 1000 and thousands of government agencies and educational institutions — rely on our professional and managed services and network technologies to accelerate their business. Find out more at www.verizonbusiness.com. 

#### 

VERIZON’S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon’s News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news.  To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

AT&T ENHANCES AT&T TELEPRESENCE SOLUTION WITH MULTIPOINT INTERCOMPANY CISCO TELEPRESENCE CAPABILITIES

DALLAS, Texas, and SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 8, 2008 — AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) announced today the availability of multipoint, intercompany connectivity via the AT&T Telepresence Solution. The solution allows companies to extend Cisco TelePresence multipoint meetings beyond the enterprise boundary to help enable meetings with customers, suppliers and partners using the AT&T Business Exchange.

The AT&T Telepresence Solution creates unique, “in-person” experiences with the simplicity of a phone call as well as provides a “meet me” feature with a secure PIN code that simplifies intercompany calling — a key component and an industry-first feature that distinguishes the AT&T solution from any other telepresence offer available today. Cisco TelePresence Multipoint is the ability to bring many rooms together in a single meeting, so that people can sit face to face in one virtual meeting room, without any performance degradation.

AT&T Telepresence Solution now offers unique multipoint functionality and highly secure intercompany capabilities, which allow multiple locations within and between companies to connect to each other. These new capabilities represent the latest milestone in AT&T’s efforts to provide businesses with powerful and cost-effective collaboration tools while helping decrease costs associated with business travel.
“The availability of the multipoint capability demonstrates the progress AT&T and Cisco are making together in the delivery and continued development of the AT&T Telepresence Solution,” said Ronald E. Spears, president and CEO of AT&T Business Solutions. “The economic benefit to subscribers of the AT&T Telepresence Solution is now stronger than before — more locations in a highly secure, reliable, high-quality meeting environment can further reduce travel costs, shorten cycle time and improve decision making.”

Marthin De Beer, senior vice president for Emerging Technologies at Cisco, said: “We are very pleased to be working closely with AT&T to enable more businesses to receive the financial and productivity-enhancing benefits of Cisco TelePresence solutions. Now more than ever, companies need to make prudent business decisions in a cost-effective manner. Cisco TelePresence enables companies to improve productivity and reduce expenses while at the same time collaborate better and improve business innovation.”

The AT&T Telepresence Solution enables businesses to interact and collaborate with others, using the power of Cisco TelePresence to deliver life-size images via High Definition video (1080p) and spatial audio within a specially designed environment. This creates the experience of being in the same room with remote participants, whether they are down the street or halfway around the world.

The AT&T solution also features concierge service and a scheduling and administration portal, which complements common enterprise calendar applications, making it easy to schedule a multipoint intercompany call with just the push of a button.

The AT&T Telepresence Solution provides AT&T-owned Cisco TelePresence equipment, installation, full monitoring and management of the application, remote help desk service and on-site equipment maintenance and repair and works over AT&T Virtual Private Network transport. Three-screen and one-screen site options are available, based on the Cisco TelePresence System 3200, Cisco TelePresence System 3000, Cisco TelePresence System 1000 and Cisco TelePresence System 500 endpoints.

Cisco TelePresence, introduced in 2006, is Cisco’s fastest-growing new product category, with more than 200 customers and 1,000 systems worldwide. Cisco has also implemented more than 300 Cisco TelePresence rooms on its own internal network for productivity and effective collaboration.

About Cisco

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For more news, visit http://newsroom.cisco.com.

 About AT&TAT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates, AT&T operating companies, are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. Among their offerings are the world’s most advanced IP-based business communications services and the nation’s leading wireless, high speed Internet access and voice services. In domestic markets, AT&T is known for the directory publishing and advertising sales leadership of its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations, and the AT&T brand is licensed to innovators in such fields as communications equipment. As part of its three-screen integration strategy, AT&T is expanding its TV entertainment offerings. In 2008, AT&T again ranked No. 1 on Fortune magazine’s World’s Most Admired Telecommunications Company list and No. 1 on America’s Most Admired Telecommunications Company list. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com. © 2008 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.Note: This AT&T news release and other announcements are available as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss. For more information, please review this announcement in the AT&T newsroom at http://www.att.com/newsroom.

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Customers Hungry for Holiday Pies Get Prompt Response from Virtual PBX

Customers Hungry for Holiday PiesVICORP Restaurants Relies on Innovative Call Queuing System
To Ensure That Bakers Square and Village Inn Pie Fans Get Their Treats on Time

Virtual PBX®, the inventor and leading supplier of hosted business phone services, and VICORP Restaurants Inc., which operates Village Inn and Bakers Square restaurants, are working together to ensure that orders for award-winning pumpkin, French silk, pecan and apple pies are handled responsively this holiday season.

Village Inn and Bakers Square receive an incredibly high volume of calls to reserve pies during the busiest pie buying season of the year. Virtual PBX’s business phone system helps the restaurants provide top-notch customer service since callers won’t experience the frustrations of getting a busy signal when trying to reach their favorite pie shop. more

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TECH MAHINDRA, FANFARE DELIVER TEST AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS THROUGH GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP

MUMBAI, India, and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – December 9, 2008 – Tech Mahindra, a global systems integrator and leading provider of IT solutions to the telecom industry, and Fanfare, the leading innovative testing solutions provider, have announced a global partnership to deliver offerings that are geared to meet the increasing demand of test automation solutions from Telecom Equipment Manufacturers (TEMs), Telecom Service Providers (TSPs), and enterprises.

Tech Mahindra will use iTest®, Fanfare’s flagship test automation product, to expand its test offerings and build a test practice around it. Using iTest, Tech Mahindra will create vertical test assets that target the needs of global TSPs for service delivery and regulatory compliance. This will include compliance testing for next generation technologies like IPv6 and LTE, as well as end-to-end testing on emerging services such as IPTV, data over wireless, and WiMAX. Tech Mahindra will also jointly go to the market along with Fanfare to provide professional services in the form of consultancy, tool migration and test interface development to meet the increasing global demand for test automation solutions.

“This partnership enables Tech Mahindra to strengthen its position as an end-to-end testing services provider both on the TEM and the TSP sides. Through this partnership the two companies will address a wider complement of customers globally to meet their testing needs,” said Atul Kunwar, Chief Business Development Officer, Tech Mahindra. “Using iTest as the cornerstone of our testing practice, we are building vertical packaged offerings, in areas such as IPv6,WiMAX, IPTV etc to help our customers accelerate product and service releases without compromising quality,” added Atul.

iTest is a comprehensive testing solution that accommodates for standardization of device testing of heterogeneous systems. iTest ensures early identification and resolution of bugs for enhanced network quality deployment and maintenance. iTest enables the transferability of test assets and a common platform for communication. Because test assets can be leveraged, collaboration between teams and across companies is simplified and speedier bug verification and resolution is possible.

“Tech Mahindra is widely recognized and respected in the services, testing and outsourcing market, so the decision to standardize their testing practice on Fanfare solutions is significant,” said Tom Ryan, president and CEO of Fanfare. “Their confidence in Fanfare is a clear signal that the market is ready to embrace standardized, automated testing practices, and we are pleased to be at the forefront of this shifting dynamic,” Ryan continued. “Ultimately this agreement gives our customers additional options for solving their testing needs by either augmenting their in-house teams, or outsourcing a project. This ensures customers will be able to leverage the automated testing assets that are generated to drive costs down and reduce time to market.”

About Fanfare
Fanfare provides software solutions to high-tech equipment manufacturers, service providers and enterprises that simplify and accelerate device and system testing. Developers and testers create and share automated tests that control and analyze results from multiple devices, traffic generators, and applications while automatically documenting each test with pass-fail criteria. With Fanfare solutions, companies can move along the path toward automation while accelerating QA cycles, reducing time to market, and increasing the quality of released products. Industries such as communications, aerospace and defence, consumer electronics, automotive, industrial, and medical devices have benefited from Fanfare products. For more information please visit www.fanfaresoftware.com.

About Tech Mahindra
Tech Mahindra is a leading provider of solutions and services to the telecommunications industry, majority stake owned by Mahindra & Mahindra, in partnership with BT Plc. With total revenues of USD 934.7 million in the year ended March 31, 2008, Tech Mahindra is India’s 6th largest software exporter, and serves telecom service providers, equipment manufacturers, software vendors and systems integrators. Tech Mahindra solutions enable clients to maximize returns on IT investment by achieving fast time to market reduced total cost of ownership and high customer satisfaction. Tech Mahindra achieves this through its domain and process expertise, distinctive IT skills, research and development, proven innovative delivery models and approach to off-shoring.

Assessed at SEI-CMMi Level 5 and PCMM Level 5, Tech Mahindra’s track record for value-delivery is supported by over 23,000 professionals who provide a unique blend of culture, domain expertise and in-depth technology skill-sets. Its development centers are ISO 9001:2000 & BS7799 certified. Tech Mahindra has principal offices in the UK, United States, Germany, UAE, Egypt, Singapore, India, Thailand & Australia.

Media Contact:
Marisa Marzano
Big Sky Communications
(705) 484-5105
marisa@bigskypr.com

For further information on Tech Mahindra:
Inquiries about this news release can also be made to Rupal Sancheti
Email: rupals@techmahindra.com.
All Tech Mahindra news releases can be accessed at our web site: www.techmahindra.com.

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Enhance Technology Joins Emulex Technology Partner Program

Delivering Scalable & High Performance Fibre Storage Solutions to the Markets

 

Release Date: December 02, 2008

 

Santa Fe Springs, CA. – Enhance Technology, Inc., a world leader in data storage solutions for Enterprise and SMBs, is proud to announce it has joined the Emulex Technology Partner Program, ensuring compatibility between Enhance Technology’s RS8 FS and RS16 FS Hybrid RAID storage with Emulex’s LightPulse® family of Host Bus Adapters (HBAs), including the LP1150/1100x and LPe1150/1100x. By combining Enhance Technology and Emulex solutions, high-performance RAID storage meets high-performance HBAs to offer superior interoperability and scalability. 

 

The RS8 FS and RS16 FS are both 4Gb Fibre-to-SAS/SATA RAID storage devices, designed to operate in mission critical and data-intensive network environments. Features include hot-swappable drive trays and cooling fan modules, as well as a built-in RAID controller that can remotely monitor and manage the storage system through a web based GUI. This brings together protection, manageability and maintenance without interruption of services.

 

In staying with Enhance Technology’s direction to go green, the combination of Enhance’s UltraStor RS8 FS/RS16 FS and Emulex’s LightPulse HBAs is perfect for VMware ESX 3.5, the leading server virtualization solution. Leveraging VMware ESX 3.5 and Emulex’s Virtual HBA technology, Enhance Technology provides high storage capacity with the use of a single station, compared with multiple server stations, saving energy, space and the need to purchase unnecessary equipment to reach ultimate operator cost efficiency.

 

While Enhance Technology provides the high capacity storage, Emulex provides the link between storage and station. Emulex’s LP1150/1100x and LPe1150/1100x HBAs provide industry-leading SAN connectivity, offering full-duplex data throughput, simplified installation and configuration using a common driver model, as well as superior quality and reliability to ensure data availability.

 

The collaboration between Enhance Technology and Emulex delivers maximum efficiency and reliability to Enterprise and SMB storage users. The need for more storage is constant and Enterprise and SMBs demand scalability. Enhance Technology and Emulex are helping customers save energy, reduce waste, increase efficiency, while providing an effective high-performance storage that meets their ever-increasing storage needs.

 

“Emulex works closely with Enhance Technology to deliver interoperable products that offer industry-leading I/O connectivity and features for networked storage environments,” said Taufik Ma, vice president of product marketing, Emulex. “As server virtualization continues to drive storage area network (SAN) attach rates, Emulex LightPulse HBAs provide end users with a comprehensive feature set that ensures their environments are optimized for Fibre Channel SAN connectivity.”

 

“The partnership between Enhance Technology and Emulex enables us to accelerate the delivery of the latest Fibre 4G storage systems and solutions into the enterprise storage market”, says Steven Huang, General Manager, Enhance Technology, Inc.  “Enhance Technology’s UltraStor RS Series Fibre Channel storage systems combine with Emulex’s LightPulse HBAs provide channel partners and VARs with affordable and robust Fibre Channel SAN storage solutions.”

About Enhance Technology Inc.

Founded in 1997, Enhance Technology designs and manufactures high performance storage systems and products for the digital content creation, medical imaging, security surveillance, and IT market spaces. Headquartered in Santa Fe Springs, California with Asia branch in Taipei Taiwan, Enhance Technology has become a world leader in hybrid I/O storage design and development.  For more information about Enhance Technology Inc. and UltraStor RS8 FS & RS16 FS Series, please visit www.enhance-tech.com or call 1-866-537-5140.

 

Media Contact:

Mary Huang

Enhance Technology, Inc.

562-777-3488 ext. 107

mary@enhance-tech.com

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Verizon Business Rolls Out Enhancements to Make Voice Over IP More Flexible, Efficient

Verizon Business Rolls Out Enhancements to Make Voice Over IP More Flexible, Efficient

New Interoperability Lab, PBX Platform Choice, Call Rerouting Expansion Combine to Make Verizon VoIP Portfolio Even More Robust

December 04, 2008

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Enterprise customers will be able to get a bigger bang for their voice-over-IP (VoIP) buck by leveraging several enhancements to Verizon Business’ leading global VoIP portfolio.

“Verizon Business continues to enhance and expand its VoIP capabilities to deliver a powerful platform for unified communications and collaboration,” said Jim Tyrrell, vice president of marketing for Verizon’s global business voice solutions. “With these additional capabilities, our customers can make their IP networks work smarter to meet and speed their business objectives while igniting innovation across an extended enterprise of employees, customers, suppliers and partners.”

New capabilities announced today include:

- A new Verizon VoIP Interoperability Lab where customers can test drive the compatibility of their premise equipment with Verizon’s VoIP or IP Contact Center products.

- Certification of an additional Nortel IP PBX for Verizon’s IP Trunking offering.

- Availability in Europe of automatic call rerouting for VoIP customers, to provide business continuity benefits unavailable in a traditional voice communications environment.

“These enhancements demonstrate Verizon’s commitment to SIP trunking which has not been seen yet by other international service providers,” said Lucy Hipperson, an analyst with Ovum Research’s Enterprise Practise. “Verizon Business is expanding the possibilities of VoIP by extending SIP trunking interoperability with an additional IP PBX platform. At the same time, it is addressing the concerns of customers surrounding SIP trunking by establishing a try before you buy Interoperability Lab and a SIP trunking backup solution to enable business continuity.”

Verizon VoIP Lab Offers Test Drive
To help U.S. customers advance the use of VoIP, Verizon Business is introducing a lab environment next month where they can test the compatibility and capabilities of customer premise equipment (CPE) that has not been certified with the Verizon VoIP or IP Contact Center (IPCC) portfolios. By participating in the Verizon VoIP Interoperability Lab, a company can test drive virtually any piece of equipment, for example an IP PBX or a Premise Session Border Controller, during a two-week trial period, using a simple Internet connection and Verizon VoIP or IPCC service (including IP Toll Free and IP Interactive Voice Response). Following a successful trial, customers can then elect to contract for VoIP or IPCC, using their CPE. The Verizon VoIP Interoperability Lab supports multiple services across the enterprise for large business and government customers.


New IP PBX Platform Affords Greater Choice and Capability

For customers who choose to work with IP PBX equipment that has already been rigorously tested and certified as compatible with the Verizon VoIP portfolio, Verizon Business is adding a new IP PBX platform from industry leader Nortel. The Nortel Communications Server 1000 Release 5.5, a cornerstone of Nortel’s Unified Communications platform, offers customers a mobile and highly flexible unified communications technology designed to be the most energy efficient available. Nortel delivers industry-leading unified communications solutions and is the only company to have delivered over 80 million voice lines and 80 million data ports to its global customers.

The new offering is available to customers in the U.S. and Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Ireland, Italy and Sweden.

Automatic Call Rerouting Helps Maintain Business Continuity
The company is also expanding the availability of its Inbound Failover feature, enabling Verizon IP Trunking and Verizon Integrated Access customers in Europe to benefit from this capability, which previously had been available only to U.S.-based companies. The feature is now available in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Ireland, Italy and Sweden to customers who use Private IP with VoIP.

Inbound Failover automatically forwards calls to another IP address in the event of unforeseen circumstances, a cost-effective feature which will provide business continuity benefits not available to customers using traditional TDM (time division multiplexing) services.

As a result, customers can leverage load-balancing capabilities that enable them to distribute traffic between IP terminations, enhancing utilization of failover resources. Together, Inbound Failover and load balancing can provide a cost-effective business continuity solution.

Verizon Business is a leader in developing and delivering IP solutions helping large businesses and government agencies transition to VoIP on their own path and pace. Verizon VoIP solutions enable high-quality voice communications in a converged network environment, leveraging Verizon Business’ vast national and international footprint and a wide range of innovative features. The Verizon VoIP portfolio also allows customers to use their existing infrastructure, enabling them to mix and match services, whether network or premises-based.

About Verizon Business
Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a global leader in communications and IT solutions. We combine professional expertise with the world’s most connected IP network to deliver award-winning communications, IT, information security and network solutions. We securely connect today’s extended enterprises of widespread and mobile customers, partners, suppliers and employees — enabling them to increase productivity and efficiency and help preserve the environment. Many of the world’s largest businesses and governments — including 96 percent of the Fortune 1000 and thousands of government agencies and educational institutions — rely on our professional and managed services and network technologies to accelerate their business. Find out more at www.verizonbusiness.com

VERIZON’S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon’s News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

Media Contacts:

Maria Montenegro

703-886-6063

maria.montenegro@verizon.com

Jo Perrin
+44 770 252 5868

jo.perrin@verizonbusiness.com

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Radiant Networks Unwires City of Solon, Ohio with Proxim

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Radiant Networks Unwires City of Solon, OH

Radiant Networks Selects Proxim Wireless for Solon, Ohio’s Public WiFi Mesh Network

Solon, OH, December 3, 2008– Radiant Networks, with headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky and regional offices throughout the Midwest, today announced that the city of Solon, Ohio has deployed a public access mesh network using Proxim Wireless’ (NASDAQ: PRXM) ORiNOCO® Wi-Fi Mesh and Tsunami™ MP.11 point-to-multipoint product lines as the foundation. Radiant Networks, one of the country’s leading wireless engineering companies, performed the initial site survey and feasibility study to design a redundant wireless network. Working with Winncom Technologies Corporation – a Solon-based wireless distributor – to supply the hardware, Radiant then provided the turn-key installation and certification of the network.

Solon, Ohio is an affluent suburb approximately 20 miles east of Cleveland. With a population of approximately 24,000, the City planners have done an outstanding job blending its residential and business components into an ideal climate for living and working.  The success of the city allowed it to capture 42nd in Moneys “Best Places to Live” in 2005, and in 2007 it was named “Top Suburb” by Cleveland Magazine.  The city planners continue to work to improve the quality of life and business through this new wireless initiative.

The City of Solon envisioned using wireless technology as a key ingredient for community development and growth.  The initial network was to focus on two main applications to achieve this goal.  First, to provide free, public Wi-Fi access to their residents within their recently constructed Community Center and throughout their public parks area. And second, to create a wireless infrastructure that the city can use to provide low cost wireless access throughout the city of Solon. Radiant Networks designed the network using Proxim’s Tsunami™ MP.11 WiMAX-capable point-to-multipoint products and Proxim’s ORiNOCO® AP4000MR-LR high capacity, ruggedized Wi-Fi® mesh access points because they support voice, video, and data while minimizing latency and working in the harshest outdoor environments.

Free Wi-Fi access is now available in the Community Center and the Community Park.  The Solon Community Center is a  94,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility that contains meeting and banquet rooms, indoor and outdoor pools, gymnasium, jogging track, aerobics studio, free weight room, rock climbing wall and a fitness area. The Solon Community Park is situated adjacent to the Community Center. Students and families can now gather outside and utilize a free public Wi-Fi network. The 40 acre Community Center / Community Park area includes 10 baseball diamonds, tennis courts, two playgrounds, a sand volley ball court, wooded walking paths, and pavilion areas. The wireless network supporting this application uses true mesh technology to create Wi-Fi cells and backhaul bridging with multiple fail over locations. A resident can log into the network within the Community Center, decide to catch some sun at the pool, and then walk to the baseball fields to catch a quick game, without ever losing their session connection.

The City of Solon understands that cost effective, high bandwidth network connectivity can help lure companies into their community and provide existing companies with alternatives.  Therefore, they asked Radiant Networks to design a wireless infrastructure that would accomplish this goal.  The resulting design is a wireless multipoint network utilizing the City of Solon’s own 250’ RF tower, which is located at the center of the city. From this tower, the city plans on utilizing high-speed wireless access as an alternative option to either T1 replacements, or redundant links.

Jeffery Pokorny, Director of Information Technology for the City of Solon said, “This is another of many ways a city can work with their community to provide needed services and enhanced communications to a global market. Working with local Radiant Networks personnel and local firms provided a personal value to the success of the project.”

About Radiant Networks

Radiant Networks is one of the country’s leading Wireless Engineering Companies.  Radiant Networks draws on their broad experience, acquired from being a vendor agnostic organization. The company’s expertise stems from its strong RF engineering skill sets. Radiant Networks was founded by wireless engineers, and focuses exclusively on wireless solutions.  Areas of focus are wireless site surveys, indoor and outdoor WiFi mesh deployments, multipoint solutions, point to point back haul systems, leased line replacement, location/asset tracking, and inventory management/handheld scanners. Vertical markets include Government, Healthcare, Education, Manufacturing, and Retail. Information about Radiant Networks can be found at www.radiant-networks.com or by phone at 1-866-411-WLAN (9526).

About Proxim Wireless

Proxim Wireless Corporation (NASDAQ: PRXM) is a leading provider of end-to-end broadband wireless systems that deliver the quadruple play of voice, video, data and mobility to all organizations today. Our systems enable a variety of wireless applications including security and surveillance, VoIP, last mile access, enterprise LAN connectivity and Point-to-Point backhaul. We have shipped more than 1.8 million wireless devices to more than 235,000 customers in over 65 countries worldwide. Proxim is ISO-9001 certified. Information about Proxim can be found at www.proxim.com. For investor relations information, e-mail ir@proxim.com or call +1 413-584-1425.

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WEFI S60 SOFTWARE SELECTED AS 2008 FORUM NOKIA EMEA APPLICATION OF THE YEAR

The WeFi S60 software application from Tel Aviv-based WeFi Inc. has been voted by the audience at the Forum Nokia Innovation event in Barcelona on December 1st as the 2008 Forum Nokia Europe, Middle East and Africa Application of the Year. WeFi competed in the event among applications from 10 carefully pre-selected, advanced developer companies from different parts of Europe, Middle East and Africa.

WeFi is an application and service enhancing the Wireless Network user experience with Mobile and portable devices. It provides a high performance, open global broadband virtual wireless network by combining a community-generated database, a smart connection manager and a dynamic Access Point/Hotspot directory.

WeFi is helping make mobile Internet connections faster and easier-to-use for S60 based devices. After downloading and installing the software from WeFi’s website, www.wefi.com, when asked to choose an access point, users can simply select “Automatic – WeFi”, and WeFi will connect their device to the best connection. Users can connect to a growing list of more than 10 million Wi-Fi access points across 215 countries and territories.

“We are truly honored by this recognition,” said Uri Neeman, WeFi’s Vice President of Business Development. “WeFi has always valued innovation, quality of service, and flexibility in our service. To be recognized by Nokia at such a high level is further testament that WeFi continues to grow stronger as a leader in the wireless industry.”

WeFi CEO Zur Feldman added, “This is a great way to end what had been a fantastic 2008 for WeFi. We trust that in 2009, WeFi will continue to put open Wi-Fi on the map, literally, for millions of users around the world.”

“Nokia is proud to recognize outstanding developers from Europe, Middle East and Africa as participants in our 2008 Forum Nokia Innovation event. Forum Nokia is dedicated to provide the technical and business support services for innovators like WeFi and is excited to continue putting applications like this in front of consumers,” said Seppo Oksa, Director, Forum Nokia EMEA. “WeFi is a great example of an innovative solution utilizing Nokia platforms and the power of the community to enhance mobile end user experience.”

About WeFi

Founded in 2006, WeFi Inc. is the creator of the world’s first open and free global Wi-Fi network. Leveraging the power of Wi-Fi, WeFi brings free wireless Internet communications to everyone, everywhere with easy-to-use downloadable software that enables automatic connection to the fastest Wi-Fi hotspot around. WeFi is a social network, whose members benefit from a free, fun and interactive experience, while helping to build a truly seamless global Wi-Fi network by mapping open access points in any given location worldwide. Established in February 2006, WeFi Inc. is backed by leading VC companies Lightspeed, Pitango and Gemini Ventures. The company is incorporated in Delaware, U.S. with R&D facilities in Israel. For additional information on WeFi, contact Uri Neeman at WeFi: uri@wefi.com, +972 37699406 or visit www.wefi.com.

For more about WeFi:

Caroline Cohen or Jason Silberman at Koteret Public Relations:
Email: caroline_c@koteret.com or Tel: +972-3-5755778-ext.113
Email: jason_s@koteret.com or Tel: +972-3-5755778-ext.109

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RAD Unveils New Carrier-Class, Wireless Multiplexer for “Data Hungry” Applications

Airmux-400 Supports 50 Mbps Full Duplex Throughput of TDM and Ethernet over License-Free Bands

MAHWAH, New Jersey, December 2, 2008: RAD Data Communications has unveiled its new Airmux-400 broadband wireless multiplexer, which delivers robust carrier-class, high capacity, extended range voice and data for both today’s and tomorrow’s networks.

The Airmux-400 is a full-duplex, 50-Mbps capacity cost-effective multi point‑to‑point broadband wireless transmission device. It will transport both legacy TDM and next generation Ethernet services over license-free 2.3 to 2.5 GHz and 4.9 to 5.9 GHz bands.

“The Airmux-400 is designed to connect ‘data hungry applications’ such as cellular or WiMAX base stations to controllers, meeting the requirements of backhauling applications by transporting Ethernet traffic for maintenance and control,” explains Toby Korall, Senior Product Line Manager at RAD Data Communications.

“In addition, Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) can use the Airmux-400 to backhaul their traffic from the point of presence (POP) to the network operation center to achieve higher capacity and can offer bundled connectivity. The Airmux-400 also provides broadband Ethernet and leased line services to large enterprises and is ideal for networks spanning multiple sites that require transparent LAN connectivity across their campuses.”

RAD’s Airmux multiplexers consist of an outdoor unit and an indoor unit with redundant DC power supplies. The outdoor unit is suitable for mast or wall installation. An optional external antenna guarantees a transmission range of up to 120 kilometers.

Hub Site Synchronization (HSS) ensures simultaneous, multi point-to-point data transmission for all collocated radios by eliminating the interference that otherwise occurs when different outdoor units transmit and receive from the same site. HSS, which supports up to 16 collocated units, enables a complex radio environment of mixed services.

Built on advanced MIMO and OFDM technologies, the Airmux-400 ensures high robustness of the air interface even under interference and harsh conditions. Data transmitted over the air interface is encrypted using Advanced Encryption System (AES) with a 128-bit encryption key.

The device adaptively changes the modulation according to air conditions, targeting maximum rate while maintaining link stability. The rate drops temporarily after encountering interference, then automatically returns to the highest possible rate. When the link quality is out of limits, the Airmux-400 automatically searches for a clear channel within a pre-selected list of frequencies.

Because the Airmux-400 operates on license-exempt frequencies, it can be deployed in record time, eliminating the costs and delays involved in leasing lines or trenching fiber.

About RAD
Established in 1981, privately owned RAD Data Communications has achieved international recognition as a major manufacturer of high quality access equipment for data communications and telecommunications applications. These solutions serve the data and voice access requirements of service providers, incumbent and new carriers, and enterprise networks, by reducing infrastructure investment costs while boosting competitiveness and profitability. The company’s installed base exceeds 10,000,000 units and includes more than 150 carriers and operators around the world. These customers are supported by 21 RAD offices and more than 300 channel partners in 164 countries. RAD is a member of the RAD Group of companies, a world leader in networking and internetworking product solutions. RAD Data Communications site: www.rad.com

Press Contact
Bob Eliaz, Media Relations Manager, RAD Data Communications
Tel: +972-3-6458134
Fax: +972-3-6498250
E-mail: bob@rad.com

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