SoTel Partners with Siemens Enterprise Communications to Distribute Comprehensive UC Suite for SMBs in North America

SoTel Systems (SoTel), a wholesale supplier of business communications products and SIP services provider, has entered into a strategic two-tier distribution agreement with Siemens Enterprise Communications Group (SEN Group), a premier provider of unified communications (UC) solutions. SoTel has become the primary distributor of the SEN Group's HiPath OpenOffice ME (HOOME) in the US. Targeted at small to medium size businesses (SMBs), HOOME is an IP-based UC platform that has not only become a key offering for SoTel, it has also become the backbone of the company's own communications system.

As an SMB, SoTel has a long history of providing quality telecommunication products with a focus on Voice over IP (VoIP) and resellers who effectively understand the needs of this market. With a strong presence in the region, a deep understanding of SEN Group solutions and the value of VoIP, plus relationships with over 500 resellers, SoTel is well positioned to immediately deliver value and support to businesses looking to leverage the efficiencies of UC. By delivering the solution via two-tier distribution, SMB customers can now also take advantage of additional value-added services and ongoing support that SoTel can offer, tailored to their specific needs.

HOOME is a unique all-in-one UC appliance that provides a high quality toolset enabling organizations of 20-150 workers to benefit from productivity, mobility and collaboration features that are typically only affordable for much larger organizations. It includes OpenScape Office with advanced, enterprise-class features including presence awareness, conference management, Microsoft Outlook integration and mobility capabilities; HOOME can help businesses boost employee efficiency and responsiveness to deliver outstanding levels of customer service.

First Hand Knowledge of Business Drivers and Product:

In an effort to support its own sales staff in working more efficiently, streamline administration and prove product value, SoTel also selected HOOME to replace its existing Nortel communications infrastructure. Because SoTel's TDM telephony solution from Nortel was approaching the end of its lifespan and the company recognized the value of SEN Group's SMB products, it made perfect sense for SoTel to deploy HOOME in its own offices. "We wanted to improve the way we communicated with each other at SoTel and externally with our customers, but we also wanted to be able to vouch for the value of HOOME when presenting it to our customers," John Reynolds, CMO at SoTel said.

"Because we run HOOME in our own offices, we can tell potential customers first hand about the rich features and benefits of this product. Since deploying it, we have recognized pure efficiency gains by moving to UC, including utilizing presence information, intelligent call routing and drag-and-drop auto conferencing, which have helped us serve our customers quicker and better," said Reynolds.

One example of how the company is better serving its customers thanks to HOOME came shortly after deployment. A customer called an account representative on a Saturday looking to get two license cards delivered by Monday. The system routed the message to the representative based on his personal settings, allowing him to get the request and overnight out the cards in time to meet the customer's requirements. This was "a five thousand dollar opportunity that would have been missed, if not for the system," added Reynolds.

"HOOME delivers superior UC tools and gives SMBs looking to take advantage of improved collaboration and productivity to help grow their businesses, access to enterprise-grade functionality," said Michael Garland, Vice President of Channel Management and Development for SEN Group. "By leveraging the two-tier distribution model with SoTel, the SEN Group expects to drive more value for the customer by focusing on providing high-quality solutions through partners that understand the needs of this specialized market and can deliver the right products and services."

About SoTel Systems

In addition to distribution of hardware and software products, SoTel is an Internet Telephony Services Provider (ITSP) offering SIP service products to replace traditional TDM local and long-distance services. Distribution is primarily through SIP service agents who market SoTel SIP Service products and receive generous residual compensation.

Utilizing a unique soft switch technology developed internally by SoTel, dubbed SIPCore, the company also offers a wholesale program for resellers. SoTel provides 24/7 Customer Support and the peace of mind of 99.999% network availability. The target market for SoTel SIP Service is in the SMB and Enterprise market to clients requiring six business lines and above. Whether the application is to link multiple customer sites, create connectivity for remote employees, or simply network savings, SoTel is the SIP Service provider of choice. For more information about SoTel IP Services, visit www.sotelsystems.com.

About Siemens Enterprise Communications Group (SEN Group)

The SEN Group is a premier provider of end-to-end enterprise communications, including voice, network infrastructure and security solutions that use open, standards-based architectures to unify communications and business applications for a seamless collaboration experience. This award-winning "Open Communications" approach enables organizations to improve productivity and reduce costs through easy-to-deploy solutions that work within existing IT environments, protecting investments and delivering operational efficiencies. It is the foundation for the company's OpenPath(TM) commitment that enables customers to mitigate risk and cost-effectively adopt UC. Jointly owned by The Gores Group and Siemens AG, SEN Group companies include Siemens Enterprise Communications, Cycos, and Enterasys Networks.

For more information about the SEN Group or Enterasys please visit www.siemens-enterprise.com or www.enterasys.com.

Note: Siemens Enterprise Communications GmbH & Co K.G. is a trademark licensee of Siemens AG. HiPath, OpenOffice, OpenScape and OpenStage are registered trademarks of Siemens Enterprise Communications GmbH & Co K.G. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. All other company, brand, product and service names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

This release contains forward-looking statements based on beliefs of Siemens management. The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "forecast," "expect," "intend," "plan," "should," and "project" are used to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the company's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the actual results to be materially different, including, among others, changes in general economic and business conditions, changes in currency exchange rates and interest rates, introduction of competing products, lack of acceptance of new products or services and changes in business strategy. Actual results may vary materially from those projected here. Siemens does not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Siemens Enterprise Communications Group

http://www.siemens-enterprise.com

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