OPTUS BUSINESS LAUNCHES INTEGRATED, HOSTED COMMUNICATIONS AND COLLABORATION SOLUTIONS FOR ENTERPRISE CUSTOMERS

Optus Business, in conjunction with SingTel, today announced the launch of Unified-Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS), a hosted suite of collaboration products that includes voice, video, messaging and presence for enterprise customers in Asia-Pacific. UCaaS combines SingTel’s expertise in the areas of cloud, mobility, voice and fixed data network services into the delivery of a single service offering.

In a first for an Australian telecommunications provider, Optus Business also announced the launch of Contact-Centre-as-a-Service (CCaaS) on Cisco’s hosted collaboration technology platform. CCaaS is an easy to manage contact centre solution that leverages the UCaaS platform.

UCaaS and CCaaS have been built over the Optus Evolve IP network, which eliminates the integration complexity for customers who want seamless services inclusive of their voice and data carriage. Both solutions are backed by the enterprise-grade security and reliability of a tier one regional carrier.

Optus Business and SingTel harnesses UCaaS across the Asia-Pacific

Designed to deliver productivity, cost and efficiency benefits for organisations, UCaaS is ideal for companies looking to shift from traditional PABX systems to a hosted, consumption-based unified communications service.

UCaaS is also hosted in diverse, world-class data centres in the Asia-Pacific, and is delivered through Asia’s leading Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network to provide a robust and resilient service.

John Paitaridis, Managing Director, Optus Business, said, “The future of enterprise communications is in the convergence of fixed, mobile and cloud technologies. The launch of UCaaS enables Australian and Asia-based enterprises to communicate and collaborate in a secure and cost-effective way across the Asia-Pacific region.”

“UCaaS empowers an enterprise’s workforce with a wide range of communications and collaboration tools on-the-go, and can enhance information sharing and organisational capability to better access market opportunities and develop a competitive edge.”

Ken Boal, Vice President, Cisco ANZ, said, “We’re proud to partner with Optus Business and SingTel to deliver benefits to customers through the launch of hosted collaboration services. For businesses with a regional footprint or those looking to expand into Asia, Optus Business can work with them to build the capability of rolling the service out across multiple locations via the SingTel network, reducing complexity and increasing speed to market.”

Increased flexibility and scalability to accommodate changing business needs

Unlike conventional unified communications solutions which require significant upfront capital investments and hosting on the customers’ premises, the Optus Business and SingTel solution is offered on a convenient, cost-effective, monthly subscription basis in a carrier-grade hosted environment.

This means enterprise customers can more confidently predict and manage operating costs and quickly scale-up or down the number of users on the system depending on their needs – ideal for organisations going through transformation or those experiencing rapid growth.

Services delivered on the UCaaS platform include:

• Enterprise telephony;
• Voicemail and unified messaging;
• Chat/instant messaging;
• Presence to quickly locate and connect with contacts;
• Video-enabled collaboration;
• Mobility; and
• Audio and web conferencing options.

UCaaS can also be implemented in phases so customers can optimise their existing PABX investment, while leveraging the extended capability of the hosted solution to empower their growing mobile workforce and enhance communications capabilities.

CCaaS: first Australian telco on Cisco platform

The Optus Business CCaaS solution is designed to meet customers’ demand for rich functionality that can improve interactions with their customers, by bringing additional channels such as web chat and email engagement into the mix.

“With CCaaS, customers can confidently shift their current contact centre services across to an enterprise-grade, hosted model that removes the need for significant up-front infrastructure spend,” Mr Paitaridis said.

“A ‘pay-per-agent-per-month’ billing structure also helps customers maintain a predictable expense base, enabling operational agility within their business.”

Greater support and capability for today’s mobile workforce

With 89 per cent of Australians now using smartphones and 56 per cent using tablets*, the combined UCaaS and CCaaS solutions deliver a specialised ‘Mobile Unified Communications Client’ to support this increasingly mobile workforce.

Designed to extend business telephony solutions to mobile handsets, this mobile client allows staff to access advanced unified communications and collaboration features no matter whether they are in the office or operating in the field.

Customers can also leverage Optus Business and SingTel’s expertise in consultancy and design of these solutions – providing the choice of deploying as a fully-managed service, depending on the size and scale of a customer’s in-house ICT capability.

Media contact

Derek Lau

Optus Corporate Affairs

0416 272 016

(02) 8082 7850

media@optus.com.au

* AIMIA Australian mobile phone lifestyle index, Oct 2013.