Channel-friendly business services provider Windstream has entered into an agreement with Mitel to offer the MiVoice and MiCollab solutions in a fully managed, cloud-based Unified Communications as a Service (UcaaS) solution, powered by Mitel’s MiCloud for service providers.
Businesses will have access to features and functionality from advanced UC, mobile and desktop collaboration, to messaging and other applications — available in a subscription-based service.
“Today’s business environment is constantly evolving — and with that, so is the way businesses communicate with their customers,” said Tim Whelehan, vice president of business development for Windstream. “By offering industry leading, cloud-based UC solutions such as Mitel’s MiCloud for Service Providers, we can provide the technology and expertise that helps these businesses ease into this new environment — all without the upfront capital costs of a traditional UC solution.”
The Windstream UCaaS offering, is in customer trials and should be launched in the fall. It bundles the Mitel MiVoice and MiCollab solutions with Windstream’s business cloud solutions powered by VMware, in a way that can offer both geo-redundancy and local survivability.
The solution also leverages Windstream’s SIP and data solutions to provide a full, turn-key solution for businesses both large and small, to include services such as analog or VoIP lines, unified messaging, desktop video and a variety of mobility solutions.
“Mitel’s unique single stream of software provides the ease of use and flexibility that service providers like Windstream need to provide powerful solutions to their customers for premise, cloud or hybrid deployments,” said Joe Vitalone, Mitel’s executive vice president for the Americas. “Windstream is a leading service provider in the U.S. and with this new cloud offering, their business customers will have even greater choice and opportunity to select the services best suited to their needs.”
As with Windstream’s other managed services offerings, the UCaaS product will provide customers with 24×7 remote and onsite monitoring and support.
