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Telstra announces unified communications in the cloud

Claudio Castelli

Telstra announces unified communications in the cloud

Telstra is one of the first telcos to announce the integration of its hosted IP telephony services (TIPT) with Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS), in line with its plans to move from network operations to service integration. As part of its progressive approach, it will initially focus on customers with lower entry costs.

Cloud communication services will generate new value for telcos

Telcos are spending billions of dollars transforming their networks. While the motivation is in part the telcos' intent to reduce costs, many of these networks will offer the enterprise new cloud-based communication services. Ovum believes that enterprises should start to evaluate their supplier's approach to cloud capabilities.

Telstra's announcement is part of its broader strategy of integrating services in the network. This strategy includes Microsoft and Cisco as key partners. By integrating its existing IP telephony hosted solution based on Broadsoft with Microsoft OCS, it will enable enterprises to place voice calls directly from Microsoft applications including Office Communicator, Outlook and SharePoint.

The question is whether Telstra will stick to its key partners or create a framework that will allow a larger number of ISVs to use its networks to deliver their services. The risk of the latter approach is in losing the customer relationship and being commoditised. Telstra's SaaS delivery platform T-Suite has the capability for this but so far applications are being cautiously selected, with Telstra keeping customer billing.

Cost of entry is key

Surprisingly, Telstra will initially target larger organisations rather than SMEs, despite the high appetite for hosted and managed services we have detected amongst SME clients. Our research shows that 79% of the SMEs in Australia prefer to have a predictable monthly recurring charge per user for telecoms equipment and services.

The reason is that Telstra has already identified good potential amongst existing OCS customers and will first explore this installed base. In our view this makes sense. Customers already using some of the solution components will face lower entry costs and less complexity with their deployments. Furthermore, they will be more familiar with some of the functionalities, requiring less effort in user education and business customisation. The Network Enterprise Services division created last year is expected to play the systems integration role.

In a second phase, Telstra will extend its focus to its existing TIPT customer base. Then we expect the focus will shift to SMEs, with a full hosted and managed approach for unified communications offerings, combining TIPT with SaaS delivered through its T-Suite platform.

Paving the way for mobile unified communications

In a cloud communication approach, the networks can orchestrate services to any device, whether a fixed terminal or a mobile device. Services have to ultimately be consistent from one individual to the next, regardless of their location, profile or state.

Telstra's announcement follows its launch of the Microsoft Mobile Enterprise Solution in July, and is expected to be extended to mobile users with Windows Mobile devices. In addition, the Microsoft Systems Centre Mobile Device Manager will allow IT managers to control their mobile fleet in a similar way as they do their desktops, which should reduce the management complexity.

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