Innovative Communications Alliance

The Innovative Communications Alliance (ICA) whith-in the field of telecommunications is an alliance between Microsoft and Nortel created on July 2006 to co-develop, integrate, market, sell and support unified communications products.

Many companies create agreements and partnerships, but most are superficial.^[1] The Microsoft and Nortel alliance is very different because it is a deep relationship of joint product development, integration and support. The two companies will also share developing technologies and patents within unified communication products.

The two companies are working together and creating integrated hardware and software solutions that join together voice, video, and data communications without requiring gateways or middleware. ^[2]

Differnet Views of the Alliance

The two companies announced the formation of the strategic agreement on July 18, 2006, both technological and commercial. Behind this agreement, it speaks well of certain technologies (primarily VoIP) from Nortel that will be gradually integrated ( "digested") into bundled software from Microsoft. This is unprecedented for a telecommunications equipment manufacturer and leaves observers puzzled.

In the view of some, to sign such an agreement with Microsoft is “You’re dancing with the devil; you’re giving up your crown jewels “, they see Nortel as abandoning its technology, and believe that reaching an agreement with Microsoft is like uniting with a black widow.^[3]

For other observers, this agreement is a reunion of interest. Microsoft has tried for several years to have a credible offer on the market for business communications and runs into various obstacles, including market access. Developing a comprehensive proposal with all the features required also takes time. Nortel brings some these features and technologies faster because the Canadian group has already developed them. Both companies also face the rising power of a competitor, Cisco Systems after the takeover of WebEx in March 2007.^[4]

Nortel will benefit from the wake of Microsoft. Many users in companies are familiar with the Microsoft environment, and may want Nortel preferred to other equipment suppliers. For Nortel, it is finally the opportunity to accompany as smartly as possible the inevitable momentum of the market away from hardware to software, expanding its business of professional services. The company plans to add more than one billion dollars in sales through 2009 through the provision of professional services and through sales of products for voice & data network systems.^[5]

Cisco and IBM annouced an alliance to bring together Sametime collaboration and Cisco Unified Communications Portfolio creating a direct competion between the Cisco-IBM team and the Nortel-Microsoft team.^[6]

Accomplishments

Secured 500 joint ICA customers as of Feb 2008. This is an increase of 200 from last year.
Completed 2 integrated collaboration centers - Visited by more than 1100 customers
- Raleigh, NC
- Maidenhead, England
Built 150 Microsoft/Nortel technology integration centers with live ICA product demonstrations
The ICA has been recognized by the Gartner group as a Unified Communications Leader^[7]

ICA Products

The agreement

The agreement between Nortel and Microsoft was introduced by the CEOs at a press conference in July 2006.^[8]
Microsoft and Nortel agreed to and have created joint development teams, which have integrated the Microsoft Office 2007 applications with the Nortel telecommunication Hardware (Communication Server 2100, Communication Server 1000, Secure Router 4134, and LG-Nortel IP Phone 8540. The two companies initially focused on integrating the Microsoft and Nortel unified communications products for customers of Microsoft and Nortel who seek to integrate software suits (office, calendar, mail, etc.). Into business communications solutions (secure instant messaging, presence, voice and video telephony, web conferencing).
The two companies are using the alliance to accelerate the process of adopting a unified communications solution and to evangelize, educate and train the market.
The agreement commits the two companies in terms of patents sharing, technology, marketing and business, and the joint development of all Unified Communications products between the two companies.
The agreement provides for the exchange of licenses (intellectual property issues).
Nortel brings its 100 years of voice telecommunications; which will be reported into the Microsoft environment, particularly in the area of contact centers, IP telephony, mobility features and advanced data networks.
The two companies are both investing in the following resources: marketing, business development and deployment.
The joint teams will development, and integrate the products, under take the testing of the product integration prior to marketing the solutions to customers and partners. The agreement also provides for joint training initiatives and bonuses for sales forces, and provides significant resources for the promotion, business development and the provisioning of the solutions to customers.
The two companies have established demonstration centers across the globe where companies can test the upcoming features, interoperability between products, and integration with applications.
Services and Integration: Nortel has been certified a "Microsoft's Elite Gold Certified Partner", this qualification is held by less than 3% of Microsoft partners. The Canadian manufacturer has developed 11 specific modules in its service offerings that span the entire life cycle of a project: design, deployment, support & development. Nortel based on its own internal resources (2,200 experts in VoIP, 10,000 engineers and technicians from its Global Services division) and on a broad ecosystem of partners.
Microsoft and Nortel are deploying each other's technologies in their respective corporate networks.

The three market stages of evolution

The industry of telecommunications networks (including telephony) and the computer processes remain separated. The market was "divided" on one side with manufacturers of network equipment (including PBX / IP PBX) as Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Cisco Systems, Nortel and the other side software-focused from Microsoft, IBM, and other software publishers.

The migration of business networks to the Internet Protocol, the arrival of new standard protocols (including SIP), porting applications on servers telephony software trade, now allows the users to access and interface (the same client software) telephony services to the company and various other advanced services from the workstation, from fixed intelligent terminals (example - videophone), and nomadic (mobile phone, and smart-phones etc.. .). The user can be reached from the same address. The flow of voice and data communications are transmitted over the same network ( "unification of the network"). Infrastructure, software is coupled and communicates with each other but they still reside on distinct hardware platforms.

The first phase to removing the barriers is phase called "integration" and began in 2006-2007. It will gradually lead after maturation of products and market around 2010 to the third stage ("transformation") characterized by the complete fusion of infrastructure on a single platform. The application "telephony" would have been completely absorbed by computers. All the manufacturers (IBM, Microsoft, Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco Systems, Nortel ...) know that the market is moving in this direction. They are preparing in different ways depending on their positions on the market, their interests (eg installed base), and their strategy: position of attack, defensive stance, position of accompaniment, intermediate positions and/or dilatory.

Roadmap

Available as of Q2 2007

Unified Messaging: native SIP Interoperability between Nortel CS 1000 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging. Services Integration Nortel for the definition of the solution, its deployment and support. Simplification joint deployment. Generally Available as of Q2 2007.
UC Integrated Branch: Housing multiservice preconfigured (IP telephony Nortel, Microsoft UC, router secure commutation ...), which enables users to access services at remote sites.

Available as of Q4 2007

Solution allowing operators to provide communications services to their customers unified SMEs mode SaaS / ASP. Microsoft software HMC (Hosted Messaging and Collaboration) is coupled to the switch software Nortel CS 2000, which enables operators to host Exchange, Sharepoint and Office Live Communications Server for their customers.
Conferencing: Extension services Nortel Multimedia Conference to Microsoft Office Communicator 2007, a single customer ergonomics for services such as voice, IM, presence, and conference audio / video.

Deployments

2007

Approximately 110,000 lines British and Dutch Royal Dutch Shell - Microsoft servers and Nortel CS 1000, as well as various types of terminals.
After one year the two companies have announced and signed more than 100 contracts and sold more than 430,000 licenses.

2008

MAY 20, 2008, TAIPEI, Taiwan – ASUSteK Computer, one of the world's largest computer and IT suppliers, is using unified communications solutions from Nortel and Microsoft, for its employees.^[9] ^[10]

Competing Solutions

Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC2) Cisco Systems IBM

References

External links

Additional Citations & Ext References

<- - !! The ICA page was RFD and deleted for lack of referances in Dec 2007; the following is an extensive list of referances to validate the notability | Please assist in integrating the following list into the article. - ->

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[1] Nortel Microsoft chart unified communications progress

[2] Microsoft Unified Communications Open Interoperability Program

[3] VoiceCon Spring 2007 Daily Update—Tuesday, March 6, 2007

[4] Cisco Buys WebEx for $3.2 Billion

[5] Nortel’s Future

[6] IBM and Cisco team against Microsoft and Nortel

[7] Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications, 2007

[8] Microsoft, Nortel Announce Innovative Communications Alliance (ICA)

[9] Taiwan’s ASUS Embraces Unified Communications with Nortel and Microsoft Solutions

[10] ASUS Selects Nortel and Microsoft Solutions For Unified Communications

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