VoiceCon: Siemens announces OpenScape UC 2010

Unified Communications (UC) platforms were really on display at VoiceCon this week and in particular software based UC. Siemens' OpenScape UC Server 2010 is a case and point, showing itself to be hardware agnostic and have a scalable subscription model.

The software package updates Seimens' UC offerings with a cross-portfolio, standards-based open virtualization strategy and new hosting and subscription pricing options that take into account the tough economy.

Adrian Brookes, VP Office of the CTO at Siemens Enterprise Communications, explained that OpenScape might be the only offering that has elastic subscription-based licences billed "per user, per month." What does that mean? If a subscribing company uses 100 licenses in January, they pay for 100 licenses in January and when they only use 85 in February, they only pay for 85. The model will also work across versions, so companies' can roll out the new version to  a few employees at a time using the elastic subscription model as well.

OpenScape Fusion offers packaged integrations that further simplify integration of real-time communications solutions with other business applications. "The main differentiator we have is you don't have to buy any additional products like some of our competitors," said Brookes. "If you've got the capability of OpenScape, all these things are opening up... we made the decision about five years ago that we were going to move away from the hardware environment--the innovation is in the software environment and an open software environment as well."

For more:
- read the release

Update: Siemens' OpenScape 2010 also won a best of show award at VoiceCon. Release

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