Mitel Launches Advanced IP Telephony and Unified Communications Solutions for SMBs

Market Wire, June, 2008

Mitel®, the trusted provider of unified communications solutions for growing businesses, today announced several enhancements to its market leading solutions that drive efficiency and productivity and help small- and medium-sized businesses ( SMB ) increase customer satisfaction and grow revenues. As the leader in the fast-growing SMB IP communications market, Mitel today announced new products that address top requirements for SMBs including simple-to-deploy messaging, audio and web conferencing, mobility solutions, and easy-to-use IP desk phones.

Pre-integrated IP applications for SMB

According to research conducted by Yankee Group(i), SMBs are looking for help to manage IP communications and high priority productivity applications. The Mitel Applications Suite 1.1 is a robust communications solution that unifies business critical applications in an easy-to-use, cost-effective package. The Mitel Applications Suite delivers multiple applications on a single server with a simple administration interface, and offers pre-integrated packages that simplify deployment and upgrades. The Mitel Applications Suite provides:

- Easy-to-use audio and web conferencing to allow businesses to collaborate more effectively, increasing productivity and reducing travel costs,

- Unified messaging to provide superior customer service and reduce operational costs, and

- Single-identity mobile integration and secure teleworker support for road warriors and remote workers.

The Mitel Applications Suite provides effective unified communications capabilities for small business, reduces communication complexity and reduces operating and management costs. The Mitel Applications Suite is currently available for the Mitel 3300 IP Communications Platform (ICP) and will be available for the Mitel 5000 Network Communications Solution by the end of 2008.

"The combined portfolio that resulted from the Mitel's acquisition of Inter-Tel further strengthened our extensive choice of feature-rich, cost effective solutions that help small- and medium-size businesses to grow," said Doug Michaelides, vice president of global marketing at Mitel. "No one understands the needs of SMBs better than Mitel with unified communications solutions such as the Mitel Application Suite that are secure, affordable, easy to install, manage and use."

Royal Oak Industries, a leading manufacturer of engine, fuel system, powertrain and other components for the automotive, heavy truck, and defense industries with operations throughout North America, has completed the upgrade of seven Mitel 5000 NCS systems.

"We were seeking a reliable communications system to connect our seven locations with customers and suppliers," said Jen Pineau, IT manager, Royal Oak Industries. "The decision to upgrade was based on the seamless integration between locations, the significant reductions in total cost of ownership and the presence management and automatic call routing functionalities of the system's Unified Communicator, System Manager, and Networked Attendant Consoles."

Rebranded Mitel 5000 Network Communications System

Mitel 5200, 5300 series IP phones, recognized for their advanced design and reliability, are now available for the Mitel 5000 with Release 2.4. The robust and cost-effective 5200 series IP phones provide users improved and easy access to the features and applications enabled by the Mitel 5000 communications platform. The 5300 series IP phones provide users with improved ease of use and flexibility for different job types and skill levels, large graphical displays, wideband audio support, and programmable self-labeling keys for one-touch access to speed calls, features, and much more. In addition, important accessories such as the Mitel Wireless LAN Stand, and the Mitel Gigabit Ethernet Stand are now available for the Mitel 5000 .

"The integration of Classic Mitel and Classic Inter-Tel products and services delivers significant channel value", commented Scott Bussey, National Director of Sales for Integra Telecom, Mitel's #1 Dealer in 2007. "An example of this is the former Inter-Tel 5000, now the Mitel 5000 , supporting the Mitel 5200 and 5300 series IP self-labeling phones as well as Gigabit Ethernet Stand and Wireless LAN Stand. These new capabilities enhance the competitiveness of the Mitel 5000 and allow partners to approach their installed base and new customers with enhanced offerings."

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, CDX Gas is an environmentally conscious, independent oil and gas company focused on the exploration, development and production of onshore North American unconventional natural gas resources located in coal, shale and tight gas sandstone formations. With a dedicated focus on its core business, CDX Gas is taking advantage of the enhanced feature functionality of the Mitel 5000 with the outsourced management and maintenance of their entire communications infrastructure through Mitel TotalSolution managed services offering.

"As an organization, we long ago decided that our mission is not in the maintenance of nine networked Mitel 5000s, or management of 250 endpoints and applications," said Craig Gaumer, IT director at CDX Gas, Inc. "With a set 60 month fee and a one source contact our users can access advanced telephony features and enhanced applications such as contact center suite, unified communicator and audio and web conferencing."