iMessaging News

For Immediate Release

iMessaging Brings Native Telephony Integration to IBM Clients and ISVs

iMessaging iNspire Supports Unified Communications

Merrimack, NH January 27, 2009 –iMessaging Systems today announced it’s teaming with IBM to deliver its first software-only telephony integration solution that allows Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and small and medium business clients to add telephony services, including IP telephony functionality, to existing applications for IBM i.

In the current economic climate, small and medium businesses are looking for projects like Voice over IP (VoIP) and unified communications to help reduce costs and provide clearly identifiable return on investment. The unified communications market is estimated to grow to US$17 billion in annual revenue by 2011, according to IDC†.

“iMessaging iNspire will allow more applications for IBM i to easily connect and participate in unified communications and collaboration, expanding the partner ecosystem that is central to IBM's unified communications and collaboration strategy,” said Mark Shearer, vice president of marketing, communications and sales support for IBM Business Solutions. “IBM i customers and ISVs now have a simple, effective way to integrate telephony with their core business applications. This broadens IBM's effort to integrate unified communications capabilities with ISV applications.”

As part of its new relationship with IBM, iMessaging optimized its iNspire Telephony Integration Suite to operate with IBM’s IP telephony offerings from Nortel and 3Com as well as other VoIP telephony and traditional PBX phone solutions. iNspire can be used by IBM customers, business partners and Independent ISVs to integrate any business application for the IBM i operating system with traditional or IP telephony solutions.

IBM i customers (including the AS/400, iSeries and System i) and the more than 1,000 ISVs that develop applications for IBM i can now use iNspire to integrate business applications with telephony functionality to provide intelligent call routing, screen pops and interactive voice response (IVR).

For example, CRM application provider VACAVA used iMessaging's iNspire solution to build VACAVA Customer Care -- a telephony and call center-enabled solution requiring minimal effort to implement. Other ISVs planning to use iNspire to add IP telephony functionality to their IBM i applications include KMR solutions and VAI (Vormittag Associates, Inc.).

“A key advantage of IP Telephony on IBM i is the potential to integrate data, applications and telephony services on a single, consolidated platform,” said Karen Sedlar, CEO of iMessaging Systems.  “We believe iNspire’s integration capabilities and flexibility will differentiate IP Telephony and represent important capabilities within IBM’s overall unified communications and collaboration strategy.  iNspire’s i-based integration is a unique offering and delivers the value that IBM customers are demanding. Imagine being able to give your internal and external customers real-time access to i applications and data via the phone.”

The iNspire solution services a variety of telephony integration requirements from simple dialing to fully integrated call centers. Additionally, using iNspire, clients can migrate from older telephone solutions to modern VoIP solutions with virtually no programming changes.

IBM can now offer clients the iNspire Telephony Integration Suite through direct, Business Partner and ISV channels. iNspire will have IBM product IDs and be included in IBM’s “configurator”.  iNspire solutions for Power Solutions range from entry-sized basic integration needs to larger, more formal call center environments.  Pricing for the iNspire Telephony Integration Suite starts under $12,000.

About iMessaging Systems

iMessaging Systems is the leading provider of Telephony Integration & Enablement solutions for IBM’s Power Platform (including AS/400, iSeries and System i). Our solutions bridge the gap between i business applications and telephone solutions.     

With almost 20 years of experience, iMessaging has made superior customer service, quality, support, value and leading technology the cornerstones of our approach.  For more information, send email to info@iMessagingSystems.com.

†IDC, "Worldwide Unified Communications Ecosystem 2007–2011 Forecast: The Road Ahead for UC," August 2007.

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