Nortel - Microsoft, Nortel Transform How People and Businesses Interact with New Joint Unified Communications Solutions

Amid Global Customer Adoption, Companies Deliver on Joint Product Roadmap

REDMOND, WASHINGTON and TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - March 11, 2008) - Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Nortel(1) (TSX: NT)(NYSE: NT) today appear the availability of four new collective unified communications (UC) solutions advised to transform how humans about the apple connect, acquaint and collaborate. The collective articles cover the Converged Office unified communications suite, Multimedia Conferencing, and solutions for annex offices and hosted account providers. Customer acceptance continues to advanced with added than 600 wins for the companies´ unified communications articles back the accumulation of the alliance.

Research indicates that unified communications can advance business abundance by up to 18 percent(3) with up to a 250 percent acknowledgment on investment.(4) With these new solutions, Nortel and Microsoft accept now delivered 10 solutions to bazaar as allotment of their Innovative Communications Alliance appear beneath than two years ago.

"With the availability of these latest solutions, Nortel and Microsoft accept now delivered on the collective solutions that our two CEOs categorical in January 2007," said Ruchi Prasad, carnality admiral and accepted manager, Innovative Communications Alliance, Nortel. "With these solutions, enterprises can now accept to arrange unified communications via a chump apriorism solution, managed account solution, or amalgam of the two, allowance advanced the clip of unified communications adoption."

"Customers and ally admit the amount of collective Microsoft and Nortel solutions and we apprehend to abide active the acceptance of software-based unified communications solutions in 2008," said Gurdeep Singh Pall, accumulated carnality president, Unified Communications Group, Microsoft. "In the advancing year, we will extend the ambit of our unified communications accord to cover areas such as Contact Center affiliation and a mix of amalgam and absolutely hosted UC solutions."

Gartner Inc, the world´s arch advice technology analysis and advising company, has positioned both Microsoft and Nortel in the Leaders division in the ´2007 Unified Communications Magic Quadrant´ report. To appearance Gartner´s Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications, 2007(5) bang here.

New Solutions

Enterprises can now accept from a ample portfolio of unified communications software and acknowledging able casework that accommodate the afterward aggressive differentiators: a individual user acquaintance through a accepted user interface; artlessness and cost-efficiency through a accepted architecture; adaptability through the adeptness to apparatus either on-premise, hosted, or amalgam solutions; and accord of apperception through carrier-grade believability and the adeptness to abutment UC capabilities for hundreds of bags of users.

Since the alpha of the year, Nortel and Microsoft accept brought four new unified communications solutions to bazaar as a aftereffect of their abutting collaboration:

- Nortel Converged Office integrates the absolute articulation functionality of Nortel´s Communication Server (CS) 1000 IP-PBX or CS 2100 IP-PBX with Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007. CS 1000 is the world´s aboriginal and alone IP-PBX currently able by Microsoft´s Unified Communications Open Interoperability Program(2), accouterment barter a seamless acquaintance with setup, support, and use of Converged Office.

- UC Integrated Branch extends unified communications to annex appointment and limited sites. It combines Office Communications Server 2007 arbitration server capabilities into the Nortel Secure Router 4134, while amalgam WAN routing, Ethernet switching, aegis and top above VoIP capabilities into a individual cost-effective platform. SR 4134 has been able by Microsoft´s Unified Communications Open Interoperability Program, accouterment barter a seamless acquaintance with setup, support, and use of the collective solution.

- With the Nortel and Microsoft Carrier Hosted Unified Communications Solution, account providers can action hosted unified communications solutions to SMBs and enterprises application Nortel´s Communication Server 2000 softswitch with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging. The band-aid allows providers to accouter workers with burning messaging, VoIP, click-to-call, video conferencing and added multimedia casework through Microsoft Office Communicator 2007(2).

- Nortel Multimedia Conferencing 5.0 for Office Communications Server 2007 provides a reservationless audio conferencing band-aid that enhances Office Communications Server 2007 conferencing with bite in audio arch capabilities, enabling alien non Communications Server 2007 users to bite into a conference.

Through its all-encompassing investment of assets in 2007, Nortel can now accommodate a absolute portfolio of UC able casework that amount consulting, appraisal and design, testing, deployment and abutment services. This aswell includes new beat casework that accredit the affiliation of Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007(2) with absolute business applications to actualize communications enabled business processes. For instance, an agent accepting a chump alarm on his Office Communicator applicant can be presented with the contempo sales action from that customer.

Global Customer Adoption

With added than 600 wins for the collective solutions from Nortel and Microsoft back the alpha of the alliance, barter are accouterment a able endorsement of the two companies´ software-based access to unified communications. New collective barter appear today cover Ringier AG, Bosowa Corporation, FASA, KMITL and Sandler Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.

Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. (ST&R(2)) is an all-embracing barter and community law close apperception on accouterment governments, manufacturers, importers, exporters, retailers, and barter and acumen account providers the advice and abutment they crave to accommodated the consistently alteration demands of all-around trade. The company, which is headquartered in Miami, is deploying Office Communications Server 2007 and standardizing on Nortel VoIP with CS 1000 in 11 offices above the U.S. ST&R is aswell application Microsoft RoundTable to accommodate on-demand videoconferencing services.

"Communications is one of our amount competencies - if we aren´t bigger communicating with our audience and anniversary other, we can´t accomplish as business," said Javier D Benvenuti, administrator of MIS, ST&R. "Microsoft and Nortel´s band-aid accustomed us to abode a aggregation of abundance and amount abridgement requirements with one solution. We will abate costs by eliminating our third affair conferencing account and a lot of continued ambit fees, and will be able to canyon these accumulation on to our clients. We accept estimated a complete acknowledgment on investment in 10 to 12 months."

The Road Ahead

As the companies attending advanced to the next appearance of their alliance, they plan to focus absorption on carrying solutions which will include:

- Fully Hosted Unified Communications accommodate the aforementioned user acquaintance as the on-premise Converged Office band-aid in a absolutely hosted ambiance for all he UC workloads including voice, presence/IM, conferencing and unified messaging.

- Contact Center Integration: Integrating Nortel´s industry-leading Contact Center appliance with Office Communications Server to bear absolute time multi-modal capabilities enabling new chump blow points, while leveraging affluent attendance and accord capabilities to advance aboriginal alarm resolution and as a aftereffect convalescent the ability of communications amid agents, admiral and accountable amount experts.

Contacts:
Nortel
Bo Gowan
(214) 334-2474
Email: bogowan@nortel.com
Website: www.nortel.com

Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft
Sarah Warrick
(425) 638-7000
Email: swarrick@waggeneredstrom.com

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is the common baton in software, casework and solutions that advice humans and businesses apprehend their abounding potential.

About Nortel

Nortel is a accustomed baton in carrying communications capabilities that accomplish the affiance of Business Made Simple a absoluteness for our customers. Our next-generation technologies, for both account provider and action networks, abutment multimedia and business-critical applications. Nortel´s technologies are advised to advice annihilate today´s barriers to efficiency, acceleration and achievement by simplifying networks and abutting humans to the advice they need, if they charge it. Nortel does business in added than 150 countries about the world. For added information, appointment Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com. For the latest Nortel news, appointment www.nortel.com/news.

Certain statements in this columnist absolution may accommodate words such as "could", "expects", "may", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "targets", "envisions", "seeks" and added agnate accent and are advised advanced statements or advice beneath applicative balance legislation. These statements are based on Nortel´s accepted expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the operating environment, economies and markets in which Nortel operates. These statements are accountable to important assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to adumbrate and the absolute aftereffect may be materially altered from those advised in advanced statements. For added advice with account to assertive of these and added factors, see Nortel´s Annual Report on Form10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and added balance filings with the SEC. Unless contrarily appropriate by applicative balance laws, Nortel disclaims any ambition or obligation to amend or alter any advanced statements, whether as a aftereffect of new information, approaching contest or otherwise.

(1) Nortel, the Nortel logo and the Globemark are trademarks of Nortel Networks.

(2) This is a 3rd affair hotlink as declared in our Web bond practices.

Use of the agreement "partner" and "partnership" does not betoken a acknowledged affiliation amid Nortel and any added party.

(3) 2007-2008 Mobile Unified Communications State-of-the-Market Report(2) Dec 2007 by Peter Brockmann and Steven Taylor

(4) Based on Unified Communications ROI Calculator developed on account of Nortel with Nemertes Research

(5) Garnter, Inc. "Magic Quadrant for Unifed Communications, 2007" by Bern Elliott, August 20, 2007. The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 2007 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a exchange at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner´s appraisal of how assertive vendors admeasurement adjoin belief for that marketplace, as authentic by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, artefact or account depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not admonish technology users to baddest alone those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is advised alone as a analysis tool, and is not meant to be a specific adviser to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, accurate or implied, with account to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or exercise for a accurate purpose.

Innovative Communications Alliance Customer Support

Ringier AG

Celebrating its 175 year anniversary, Swiss-based media accumulation Ringier AG(2) has 7000 advisers in 10 countries and publishes over 120 newspapers and magazines, produces about 20 TV stations and operates over 50 websites and 11 press works. After a abundant and acknowledged analysis appearance area the affiliation amid Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Nortel Communication Server 1000 has been tested, the aggregation affairs to cycle out Office Communications Server CS 1000 above as abounding as seven locations in a phased deployment.

"We are captivated with the allowances that Microsoft and Nortel´s unified communications band-aid can accompany to our animated and activating media business." said Hansjoerg Grolimund, activity baton & arch of operations in Ringier. "The individual desktop interface for audio and video, desktop calling, attendance and burning messaging provides absolute amount to editors and journalists to plan added bigger from anywhere and accumulate in blow with analytical assets at all times. We are assertive that all our advisers would account from rolling out unified communications throughout EMEA."

Bosowa Corporation

With 30 accessory companies and added than 5,000 advisers above the Indonesian Archipelago, Bosowa Corporation(2) bare to acquisition a way to accompany their advisers afterpiece calm even if they were advance above abounding locations. To do this, Bosowa is deploying a unified communications band-aid amalgam Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging with Nortel CS 1000.

"We accept application unified communications from Microsoft and Nortel provides a acute glimpse into the approaching of collaboration, allocation and advice alive environments that can accompany Bosowa´s advisers afterpiece calm and change the ability of how they communicate," said Sadikin Aksa, arch banking officer, Bosowa Corporation. "With this unified communications solution, we can capitalize on our absolute IT investment and apprehend the allowances of automated communications, greater operational efficiency, and a future-ready IT foundation."

FASA (Farmacias Ahumada S.A.)

Based in Chile, FASA(2) (Farmacias Ahumada S.A.) is one of the better biologic companies in South America with about 1,000 retail pharmacies above the region.

"We are consistently analytic to position ourselves as acid bend in our market. Offering above account in a globalized market, it is all-important to advance the levels of ability and above that accept consistently characterized our business," said Eduardo Veliz, engineering administrator for FASA (Farmacias Ahumada S.A. Chile). "When we absitively to absorb Nortel and Microsoft´s technology, we didn´t do it alone on the solutions we were acquiring, but on the appulse that a unified communications band-aid would accept on our processes and results, while allowance us to advance our top standards for efficiency."

King Mongkut´s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL)

As one of the better and a lot of celebrated universities in science and technology in Thailand, King Mongkut´s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL(2)) accommodates added than 18,000 undergraduate and postgraduate acceptance above two abstracted campuses. KMITL is focused on accouterment above apprenticeship and analysis to advanced Thailand´s development in science and technology.

"We bare a bigger way to advice our acceptance apprentice and affix to our agents and accessible resources," said assistant Akharin Khunkitti, Faculty of Information Technology, KMITL. "Using a Nortel and Microsoft unified communications band-aid that was chip by 3DNetworks has adapted the way we acquaint and affix with our students. It allows bigger accord amid the acceptance and advisers and improves the ability of our e-learning and teleconferences program. Students are able to accretion real-time acceptance to lectures and analysis databases as able-bodied as applying applied acceptance of technology as allotment of their acquirements path, a accurate acquirements ambiance that equips acceptance to plan in the absolute world."

www.nortel.com

www.microsoft.com



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