Fusion Ties Up with NEC in IP Phone Solutions
NEC's UNIVERGE SV7000 and FUSION IP-Phone Work Together

Fusion Communications Corporation and NEC Corporation have teamed up in the field of IP phone solutions for corporate customers. NEC's SIP-enabled UNIVERGE SV7000 telephony server is now compatible with Fusion's IP subscriber telephone service, FUSION IP-Phone.The two companies began selling IP telephony solutions combining the UNIVERGE SV7000 and FUSION IP-Phone on Nov. 4.

NEC offers a UNIVERGE Partner Program to promote collaborations with partner companies aimed at enhancing "integrated solutions for IT networks" and expanding sales of its UNIVERGE products. The Fusion Service Partner Alliance is a policy that Fusion has adopted to expand the IP telephone market based on an "open ISP" and "open vendor" approach. The new alliance was formed through efforts on both sides.

The main features of the IP phone solutions being provided by NEC and Fusion are presented below.

1. Lower Telecommunications TCO
   
   Users of FUSION IP-Phone are able to make calls to any location in Japan at the rate of 8.4 yen for 3 minutes, with free calls to other subscribers, thereby reducing telecommunications costs.
   The in-house IP telephone function works with simply a LAN connector, thereby cutting down on worker hours required for moving or installing additional telephones. In addition, modification of the settings for the UNIVERGE SV7000 can be performed centrally as personnel are transferred and organizational changes are made. This improves systems operation and management efficiency, thereby reducing the telecommunications-related total cost of ownership (TCO).



2. Higher Business Efficiency and Intellectual Productivity
   
   IT/network integration strengthens the following types of IP telephony systems to achieve smoother, more effective communications and information sharing. It helps to speed up management decisions within the enterprise, raise intellectual productivity, and improve the quality of the enterprise's response to customers.
   
   
   1. The introduction of UNIVERGE mobile solutions sets up an "anytime, anywhere environment" that provides, for example, the handling of incoming calls whether generated internally or externally using cell phones, PDAs, wireless IP phones, or other devices.
   
   
   
   2. "Unified communications" provides integrated use of phone, e-mail, and voicemail. It allows users who are out of the office or on a business trip to confirm by e-mail that a call has come in to their desk.
   
   
   
   3. A presence server provides real-time information about the called party's status (presence information such as whether the party is available, busy, out, or in a meeting) to help the caller choose the best means of communication depending on the message and level of urgency--whether phone call, voice message, e-mail, etc.