Siemens Delivers Fixed Mobile Convenience with Dual-Mode WiFi/Cellular Integration

Today's business cards tell the story: one person, many phone numbers. But they don't speak to the wasted productivity, lost cycles and total cost of ownership that come with managing all of those numbers and devices across an enterprise. Now Siemens Communications, Inc. fully addresses these issues with its HiPath MobileConnect solution, offering the world's first end-to-end enterprise Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) solution that delivers seamless roaming between Voice over Wireless LAN and cellular networks.

HiPath MobileConnect has two elements. One is an "appliance" located between an enterprise's IP-PBX and its wireless LAN (WLAN). It monitors and manages a mobile user's device continuously, whether on the corporate or public network. The other is a dual-mode handset client that provides access to the IP-PBX features. Based on open standards, HiPath MobileConnect can interoperate with virtually any SIP-supported IP-PBX, WLAN and dual-mode handset. Siemens has certified HiPath MobileConnect with the Siemens HiPath 8000 communications server, the Siemens HiPath Wireless platform and selected dual-mode handsets. Ongoing testing with other platforms and devices is underway.

Part of the Siemens Open Communications architecture, MobileConnect delivers on the promise of enterprise FMC by seamlessly combining fixed enterprise VoIP, Voice over Wireless LAN and cellular mobility on a single mobile device. HiPath MobileConnect enables users to roam freely -- and transparently -- across wireless (Wi-Fi) and cellular networks without dropping calls and with all the call features of their companies' IP-PBXs. One phone number, one voicemail and a broad feature set offer users a more unified communications experience than ever. Plus, colleagues can reach them more easily and almost any time by dialing direct corporate extensions - cutting down the time-consuming game of phone tag. One phone number also allows clients and customers to quickly and more easily reach users, resulting in enhanced efficiency and greater responsiveness to needs.

"HiPath MobileConnect can help boost business productivity and keep today's increasingly mobile workforce in touch with each other and with their customers and clients," said Eve Aretakis, CEO, Siemens Communications, Inc. "At the same time, it has the potential to help enterprises dramatically cut costs and gain greater control over the proliferation of hand-held devices among their employees. It's a win-win solution."

"IDC survey research shows that telecom managers believe approximately 28 percent of their employees are using mobile phones as their primary work phone. That 28 percent and rising populace often represents high-value sales, field service, and executives who now rely on a communication channel outside of enterprise control," says Nora Freedman, an analyst with IDC. "If enterprises are looking to provide greater mobility to their employees while leveraging the robust functionality of their IP PBXs, enterprises should look toward enterprise FMC solutions that allow for single-number dialing to aid in regaining control of mobility costs."

By unifying communications across the enterprise and out into the cellular domain, HiPath MobileConnect provides convenience, productivity and reachability to the growing mobile workforce, speeding up business decisions and improving customer service in the process.