NEC Enhances UC Portfolio with New Products and Support for Microsoft's Unified Communications Software

JCN Newswires, Oct 17, 2007

Tokyo, Japan, Oct 17, 2007 - (JCN Newswire) - NEC Corporation today announced several products and services that will enable customers to easily integrate unified communications into their business to enhance productivity, increase customer satisfaction and drive revenue. NEC will offer a USB handset, collaboration middleware, and a Media Gateway, all of which will be optimized for use with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Communicator 2007.

In addition, NEC will tightly integrate the latest voice, data and video technologies from NEC with Microsoft Corp.'s unified communications and collaboration software including Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Office Live Meeting, Office Communications Server 2007, Office Communicator 2007, Office SharePoint Server 2007, and other Microsoft technologies. Taking advantage of the mobile features of this offering, NEC will utilize fixed and mobile devices to enable real-time, collaborative work within NEC's UNIVERGE(R) portfolio.

NEC is committed to delivering to its customers best-of-breed UC solutions that work with a company's existing solutions for presence, mobility, collaboration, unified messaging, conferencing and contact centers. Supporting Microsoft's interoperable and open-standards based unified communications products is a key ingredient in offering customers a versatile UC solution. These new products and services will be offered by NEC in the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific regions and will provide customers with one source for combined Microsoft and NEC environments. NEC is committed to enhancing its UC product lineup and capabilities to support and deliver the most advanced telephony features for enterprise UC users.

"As business communications and VoIP move to software, a new world of opportunity emerges for NEC and our customers. NEC continues to provide global innovation by offering a migration path for customers to easily integrate VoIP technology into their existing communications," said Mr. Kazuo Tsuzuki, Associate Senior Vice President, NEC Corporation. "NEC is uniquely positioned to offer customers new services and products built on Microsoft's unified communications platform to best meet customers' business needs and seamlessly integrate into their current technology environments."

"According to market studies, NEC is the leading provider of telephony lines worldwide, and as communications shifts to software, its efforts in collaboration with Microsoft will be important to help customers maximize their existing investments while moving to a software-based communications infrastructure," said Kim Akers, general manager of Unified Communications, at Microsoft.

New UC Devices

- Basic Media Gateway

NEC's MGW for Microsoft Office Communicator provides the PSTN/ISDN inter-connection functions to Microsoft Office Communication Server 2007. It also works as a gateway by providing the VoIP connectivity to an existing PBX and KTS for the Microsoft Office Communication Server 2007.

- USB Handset (UTR-UC-1)

The USB handset is a USB device that can be plugged directly into a USB port, enabling the high-quality wideband voice input and output capabilities of a standard desktop phone for Microsoft Office Communicator 2007.

NEC and Microsoft have built a partnership for device development, solution deployment, and UNIVERGE telephony server integration with Office Communication Server 2007. Building on a relationship of more than thirty years, NEC and Microsoft are working together to help customers harness the power of UC by delivering real business value through converged communications.

* UNIVERGE is a registered trademark of NEC Corporation. All other products and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

About NEC Corporation

NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701) is one of the world's leading providers of Internet, broadband network and enterprise business solutions dedicated to meeting the specialized needs of its diverse and global base of customers. NEC delivers tailored solutions in the key fields of computer, networking and electron devices, by integrating its technical strengths in IT and Networks, and by providing advanced semiconductor solutions through NEC Electronics Corporation. The NEC Group employs more than 150,000 people worldwide. For additional information, please visit the NEC home page at: http://www.nec.com

Source: NEC Corporation

Contact:

Japan
Hiroe Okajima
NEC Corporation
Tel:  81 3 3798 6511
Email:h-okajima@ax.jp.nec.com

US
Kris Kozamchak
NEC Unified Solutions, Inc.
Tel: 214 262 6528
Email: Kristi.kozamchak@necunified.com

Europe
Robert van Amerongen
NEC Philips Unified Solutions
Tel:  31 35 689 1521
Email: Robert.van.amerongen@nec-philips.com

APAC
Masako Hirano
NEC Asia Pte Ltd
Tel:  65 6379 2570
Email: m-hirano@nec.com.sg

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