Sonus Transitions Enterprises to Microsoft Skype for Business

Sonus IQ for Skype for Business Enables and Secures Real-Time Communications for Office 365, Hybrid and On-Premise Implementations

 

Key Takeaways:

  • Sonus introduces Sonus IQ for Skype for Business—enabling secure and intelligent migration from Office 365 and Lync on-premise to Skype for Business Enterprise Voice.
  • The vendor agnostic Sonus IQ solution is comprised of Sonus’ appliance-based and virtualized Session Border Controllers (SBCs) and Policy and Management servers.
  • Sonus IQ gives enterprises the opportunity to decrease costs and time associated with migration of third-party PBXs to Skype for Business Enterprise Voice—both server and Office 365 editions—through enterprise-wide legacy dial plan and Active Directory (AD) integration.
  • Sonus IQ assures voice quality by prioritizing Skype for Business voice and video session packets.
  • Sonus releases Skype for Business for Dummies, a simple educational guide to help readers master the basics of Skype for Business Enterprise Voice deployments.

 

ORLANDO, Fla. – Sonus Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: SONS), a global leader in enabling and securing real-time communications, announced today the launch of Sonus IQ for Skype for Business. Sonus IQ is an intelligent, scalable, vendor agnostic solution architected to enable and secure Microsoft Skype for Business Enterprise Voice deployments—whether Office 365, hybrid or on-premise.

With the evolution of Microsoft Lync to Skype for Business, current Lync customers will be able to migrate from Lync Server 2013 to Skype for Business Server 2015. Sonus—a Microsoft Gold Communications Partner with the industry’s broadest portfolio of Lync-qualified Session Border Controllers (SBCs)—is collaborating with Microsoft on continued interoperability testing to enable and secure real-time communications in Skype for Business deployments.

Sonus IQ minimizes costs and increases productivity during migration of third-party PBXs to Skype for Business Enterprise Voice. In addition, Sonus IQ provides full network investment protection to give customers the versatility to deploy Skype for Business Enterprise Voice using existing SIP agreements with best-of-breed platforms and server suppliers, on current infrastructure or in a virtualized setting. Sonus IQ delivers secure SIP connectivity for voice and video, giving small and medium businesses the option to adjust session capacity as they transition to Skype for Business Enterprise Voice (through a hosted Cloud provider or Office 365). Integrated dial plan and enterprise-wide management features of Sonus IQ also give large enterprises the opportunity to decrease costs and increase reliability of on-premise voice solutions.

Sonus will continue to deliver with Sonus IQ for Skype for Business the same trusted, no-compromise performance and reliability in Skype for Business deployments that it has delivered for Microsoft Lync Enterprise Voice. Sonus was the first vendor to:

  • Wirelessly enable Microsoft Lync presence survivability in the event of WAN loss.
  • Allow customers to dynamically monitor available bandwidth over the back-up link and direct calls over either the PSTN or, depending on bandwidth availability, a 3G/4G, DSL or other alternate connection.
  • Natively enable SBCs to conduct quality monitoring for an entire Microsoft Lync call, allowing network engineers to proactively monitor and troubleshoot quality of experience issues for the whole call flow.

Skype for Business for Dummies
Sonus also released Skype for Business for Dummies today, an essential guide offering insight on Microsoft Skype for Business deployments. This vital resource will provide readers with the latest features and capabilities of Skype for Business, benefits of using Microsoft for business enterprise voice and the role of an SBC in enabling Skype for Business Enterprise Voice. 

Quotes:
“Sonus IQ for Skype for Business enables enterprises of all sizes to seamlessly transfer from on-premise Lync installations to Skype for Business,” said Mykola Konrad, vice president, Cloud & Go-to-Market, Sonus. “Our goal is to offer Skype for Business customers the flexibility to deploy enterprise voice the way that they want to—with the security and reliability to scale real-time communications as business needs evolve.”

“Sonus’ Skype for Business for Dummies takes an easy-to-understand approach with a new Microsoft solution that is revolutionizing the way enterprises communicate globally,” said Phil Edholm, president and founder, PKE Consulting.  “This asset presents not only the benefits and implementation best practices of Skype for Business, but also the critical importance of SBCs in deployments.”  


Other Facts:

  • Sonus IQ is powered by Sonus’ award-winning appliance-based and virtualized solutions, including the Sonus SBC 1000, Sonus SBC 2000, Sonus SBC 5000 Series, Sonus SBC 7000 and Sonus SWe (Software edition) SBCs; Sonus PSX Policy Server and Sonus Element Management Server (EMS).
  • Sonus Technical Assistance Centers and Professional Services are available 24/7, 365 days a year to assist with Skype for Business Enterprise Voice deployments.
  • Sonus has strong partnerships with Microsoft Skype for Business ecosystem leaders, including Plantronics Polycom, Netcar and Numonix.
  • Sonus SBCs are certified by many of the world’s leading SIP trunking service providers.
  • Sonus is a platinum sponsor at Enterprise Connect 2015 and is located at booth 901.


Additional Resources:

  • Click here for a copy of the new Skype for Business for Dummies reference
  • Click here to download Sonus’ Session Border Controllers for Dummies guide.
  • For more information on Sonus IQ architecture for enterprises click here.
  • Join Sonus CIO Bill Scudder on March 25, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. ET during a webinar to learn how Microsoft Unified Communications solutions have transformed the way Sonus employees work.

Tags/Keywords:
Sonus, SONS, SBC, Session Border Controller, Skype, Microsoft Skype for Business, Skype for Business for Dummies, Enterprise Connect, Sonus IQ, SIP

About Sonus:
Sonus brings intelligence and security to real-time communications. By helping the world embrace the next generation of Cloud-based SIP and 4G/LTE solutions, Sonus enables and secures latency-sensitive, mission critical traffic for VoIP, video, instant messaging and online collaboration. With Sonus, enterprises can give priority to real-time communications based on smart business rules while service providers can offer reliable, comprehensive and secure on-demand network services to their customers.  With solutions deployed in more than 100 countries and nearly two decades of experience, Sonus offers a complete portfolio of hardware-based and virtualized Session Border Controllers (SBCs), Diameter Signaling Controllers (DSCs), Network-as-a-Service capabilities, policy/routing servers and media and signaling gateways.  For more information, visit www.sonus.net or call 1-855-GO-SONUS.

Important Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
The information in this release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding future events that involve risks and uncertainties. Although Sonus believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this report are forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Sonus' business, please refer to the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Risk Factors" sections of Sonus' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements represent Sonus' views only as of the date on which such statement is made, and should not be relied upon as representing Sonus' views as of any subsequent date. While Sonus may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point, Sonus specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, except as required by law.

 

For Sonus:

Wendy Tullo,
+1-978-614-8167
wtullo@sonusnet.com

 

Lois Paul & Partners
Siobhan Nguyen,
+1-617-986-5784
Siobhan_Nguyen@lpp.com

 

EMEA
Louise Andrews, Wildfire
sonus@emlwildfire.com

 

APAC
Cheryl Tan, Cohn & Wolfe
cheryl.tan@cohnwolfe.com

 

CALA
Karen Ovseyevitz, Porter Novelli 
karen.ovseyevitz@porternovelli.com

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