Better, Faster, More Energy Efficient-Nortel Redefines the Unified Communications Data Network

Market Wire, March, 2008

The data network for unified communications has been strengthened with enhanced capabilities from Nortel(1) (TSX: NT)(NYSE: NT) that enable enterprises to dramatically improve the way they communicate. Nortel's solutions provide up to seven times the resiliency and about 20 times the performance at up to 50 percent of the total cost of ownership than competing products, according to independent test results. The reports from Tolly Group and InfoTech , commissioned by Nortel, tested a head-to-head comparison with competitors' similar local area network and data center products for unified communications.

Nortel's end-to-end data networking portfolio is a key component of the company's Unified Communications strategy, providing the resilient, high-performance infrastructure required for real-time applications, while at the same time improving business productivity. Nortel also announced enhancements to its mobile unified communications portfolio (see the announcement, Nortel Infuses Mobile Phones with powerful Unified Communications Desktop Calling Capabilities .)

Many existing data networks are limited in their ability to support unified communications solutions. Sub-optimal network reliability and performance in addition to a high cost of ownership compromises the productivity gains and cost savings from unified communications. Unified communications enable simple, one-click access to phone features such as IM and videoconferencing from the desktop.

"We chose a Nortel data network solution over other vendors because it delivered superior resiliency, performance and a lower total cost of ownership," said Allan Morris, executive director, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (2) in Australia. "Nortel also understands our business and where we want to take the University in regards to the use of technology in aiding and supporting, teaching, learning and research."

"Network IT buyers increasingly are looking for data networking solutions that don't restrict them to single-source vendors through proprietary equipment that offers mediocre performance," said Kevin Tolly, president/CEO/founder of The Tolly Group (2). "Our independent testing shows that Nortel solutions offered superior performance and reliability with a lower cost than other market rivals tested. Nortel delivers compelling solutions for users deploying data networks for unified communications."

"This independent testing confirms what thousands of customers already know - that Nortel data solutions are purpose-built for unified communications," said Joel Hackney , president, Enterprise Solutions, Nortel. "Our mission is to simplify how people communicate. Our data network solutions were tested head-to-head against our competitors and came out on top by a large margin. These tests underscore that Nortel's technology delivers communications simplicity while also being the best performing, most reliable and most energy efficient."

As part of Nortel's commitment to lower energy consumption, the company has introduced the Nortel Energy Efficiency Calculator. With an energy consumption modeling capability, the calculator helps IT professionals achieve energy reductions of up to 50 percent . This helps network planners analyze the impact of current or planned network infrastructure deployments to support unified communications.

"With the growth of IP telephony, Unified Communications, and network virtualization, companies need to be able to analyze consumption trends. Nortel's Energy Efficiency Calculator is a proactive tool to understand energy efficiency," said Cindy Borovick, Research Vice President, Datacenter Networks, IDC.

"Sierra Atlantic is expanding in India and we were looking to deploy a state of the art data network which would cater to our present needs as well as provide us the backbone for our future applications." said Ram Kumar, director-IT, Sierra Atlantic. "We chose a Nortel data network solution after a stringent competitive technical evaluation, which went on for four months. The Nortel solution proved to be the most resilient, delivered superior performance, and was the most energy efficient. The support competency and commitments were far above any competition."

Nortel is demonstrating the Energy Efficiency Calculator and other unified communications solutions this week at VoiceCon Orlando 2008 (2) (booth #1011).

For more information on why customers are choosing Nortel's data network solution as they deploy unified communications data network solutions, visit nortel.com/data .

About Nortel

Nortel is a recognized leader in delivering communications capabilities that make the promise of Business Made Simple a reality for our customers. Our next-generation technologies, for both service provider and enterprise networks, support multimedia and business-critical applications. Nortel's technologies are designed to help eliminate today's barriers to efficiency, speed and performance by simplifying networks and connecting people to the information they need, when they need it. Nortel does business in more than 150 countries around the world. For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com . For the latest Nortel news, visit www.nortel.com/news .