Mitel today introduced the Mitel UC360TM Collaboration Point, an innovative, first-of-its-kind device for the personal office meeting space. Created in response to customer and market demand for easier, more cost-effective tools to foster collaboration, this all-in-one multimedia collaboration appliance combines multi-party HD video and audio with in-room presentation display and document sharing for remote participants in a single unit at a disruptive price point.
A single sleek and compact product with touch-screen simplicity that is easy to deploy and use, Mitel UC360 changes workplace collaboration from a special, pre-scheduled event into a spontaneous, natural part of every productive work day. As part of the company´s ongoing commitment to incorporate the voice of customers into product development, Mitel worked closely with its customer base to design and test the Mitel UC360.
"Mitel UC360 setup is a breeze, which makes for quick and easy deployment wherever they are needed", said Rick DeClerk, Manager, Network Communications, Central Technology Services. "With this kind of solution for the personal office meeting space, collaboration will happen anytime we are ready - not just when a conference room is available."
Research conducted by Frost and Sullivan* showed that of 3500 organisations, 72 percent of companies that use advanced unified communications and collaboration technologies gained a clear competitive advantage, compared to 46 percent of companies that didn´t deploy them.
"In order to maximise collaboration opportunities and increase productivity across the workplace, a solution should be easy to use, priced to allow deployment across the organisation, include high-definition video, audio and remote collaboration, and accommodate approximately 4 participants -the typical number in the majority of productive collaboration sessions," said Melanie Turek, vice president, Research, Enterprise Communications & Collaboration at Frost and Sullivan. "Up until now, many conferencing and collaboration solutions haven´t been able to satisfy that need."
Priced at less than US$2000, the Mitel UC 360 is set to disrupt the market, currently characterised by expensive and complicated options, with an affordably priced alternative that will enable broad scale deployment in personal offices where most collaboration takes place.
Based on Mitel´s flexible and open Freedom architecture, the Mitel UC360 is designed to industry standards and to work with leading video collaboration, telepresence, audio conferencing and IP-PBX solutions. Interoperability testing has been initiated with established in room and video vendors including Vidyo and Polycom.
Interoperability with Vidyo is being demonstrated this week at Mitel´s Business Partner Conference. "UC360´s open, standards-based design enables seamless interoperability with Vidyo´s unique, software-based telepresence solution," said Ashish Gupta, Vidyo´s CMO and SVP Corporate Development. "The UC360 is an outstanding complement to Vidyo´s high-quality, highly scalable video communications platform and when combined, the solution simplifies instant visual collaboration throughout the enterprise."
"Our customers have repeatedly told us they were frustrated by the technical complexity, hefty cost and need for advanced scheduling required by existing collaboration solutions," said Ron Wellard, executive vice president of Mitel Communications Solutions. "Mitel UC360 is our response to those customers. It is as easy to deploy and use as a phone, and delivers a high-quality, rich experience that aligns with the natural way colleagues work together, allowing organisations to reap the full productivity benefits and cost savings of workplace collaboration."