Allstream Launches U.S. UC Service

Allstream, Canada’s all-business communications provider, has introduced a cross-border service for its Hosted Collaboration Solution (HCS), to bring its wares to the United States.

eLoyalty, part of TeleTech Technology, will offer HCS functionality and 24/7 support to clients with locations in the United States.

Allstream HCS is a hosted and fully managed unified communications and collaboration (UCC) solution which delivers the Cisco Unified Communications and Collaboration suite of applications to Canadian businesses in a cloud-based model. All Canadian services will be hosted locally and delivered to customers over Allstream’s SIP-enabled, fiber IP network. U.S.-based services will be hosted in the United States and delivered via the customer’s preferred network provider.

“Businesses on both sides of the border are looking for ways to improve and simplify their communications while enabling their staff to collaborate easily with unlimited mobility,” said Edith Cloutier, vice president of sales and marketing at Allstream. “Our Hosted Collaboration Solution is backed by the security and reliability of our national fiber network and, being a cloud-based service, offers customers the benefits of simpler budgeting and greater agility with their IT and collaboration services when operating in both countries.”

This cross-border solution is priced on a per-seat, per-month basis in Canadian or U.S. currency as appropriate. Geo-redundancy is also provided “in-country” with operational and customer data only being routed to the corresponding geo-redundant site.

“Allstream and eLoyalty are the first service providers to bring to market a cross-border collaboration solution over national MPLS and SIP networks,” said Jack Denault, senior vice president, technology sales and alliances, TeleTech. “Together we are leading the way with a cost-effective, efficient and effective cloud collaboration solution, which helps customers operate their businesses in Canada and the U.S. as seamlessly as possible. No other Cisco HCS service provider or Cisco value added reseller is offering a solution of this type today. Ours is the only cloud option of choice for all trans-national organizations looking to collaborate regardless of location, preferred end-point devices or documentation that needs to be shared.”