VANCOUVER – Telus today announced it will provide managed communications applications for Canadian businesses, hosting several Microsoft tools on its servers to give small and medium businesses access to applications without having to manage the technology internally.
With these hosted applications, small to mid-sized Canadian companies can access Microsoft Office Communicator, Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Windows SharePoint Server from a PC or a Windows Mobile 5.0-based device.
With the Microsoft Solution for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration version 3.5, Canadian businesses can take advantage of advanced tools including:
* Microsoft Exchange: Helps improve email productivity and collaboration with synchronized mailboxes, group calendars, address books.
* Microsoft SharePoint Server: Allows employees to create a workspace on the Web for file sharing, collaborative work environments and scheduling meetings.
* Microsoft Live Communications Server: Collaborate, share information and conduct virtual meetings right from a desktop or laptop.
In addition, with Windows Mobile 5.0-based devices, organizations can tap into new features such as Remote Device Wipe and direct-push technology, which provides users real-time access to e-mail, their calendar, contacts and corporate address book.
“The critical component that Telus adds to the powerful communications and collaboration tools from Microsoft is hosting and connectivity,” said Nathan Pitka, Telus marketing director. “Telus hosts these applications in secure servers for customers and provides all the accompanying support and data security, thus providing businesses with increased reliability and security of corporate data. Hosting makes it easy for customers to add applications and devices as their business needs grow, ensuring maximum return on investment and greater productivity.”
“A market demand for unified communications tools is growing exponentially and Microsoft is pleased to be working with Canadian telecom providers, like Telus, to offer hosted services that map to this need,” said Bryan Rusche, product manager, Unified Communications, Microsoft Canada. “With Microsoft Unified Communications technologies, Canadian companies of all sizes can now efficiently and cost-effectively collaborate and share information in real-time.”
