Nortel's new SMB products and enhancements include: Business Ethernet Switch 200 and Business Ethernet Switch 50 portfolios, Business Communications Manager 50 Release 2 and enhancements to the Digital Mobility portfolio. These new offerings are, say Nortel, designed to specifically address the unique business needs of smaller businesses to boost employee productivity and satisfaction, streamline business operations and costs, and deliver superior customer service.
The Business Ethernet Switch 200 series will be available in late November and the Business Ethernet Switch 50 series will be available in December 2006.
A key enhancement to Nortel's BCM50 is the addition of Intelligent Contact Center and Multimedia Contact Center, giving SMBs access to detailed reporting, real-time statistics and Web presence features previously only available to large enterprises. Nortel's BCM50 Release 2 and Digital Mobility additions will be available in December 2006.†
With the addition of these new SMB products, Nortel is introducing new SMB specific sales training and on-demand marketing tools to assist its channel partners. New tools available to channel partners include an SMB configuration and pricing tool to assist partners in quoting and ordering Nortel products, as well as an SMB-specific Marketing on Demand design tool to help channel partners create co-branded collateral for events, direct mails and promotional items.
As part of its strategy to strengthen its SMB portfolio, Nortel recently introduced regional campaigns to address the needs of SMBs and channel partners. In North America, new and existing resellers have access to pre-defined, easy-to-sell SMB voice and data packages that address the distinctive requirements, challenges and budgets of smaller businesses. In addition, Nortel's IPT 1-2-3 initiative provides simple, easy to implement options that help enterprises migrate or upgrade to IP telephony at their own pace and at a more affordable cost.
Nortel also extended its broad channel partner 'Assurance' services portfolio for Europe, Middle East and Africa with the addition of the SMB Partner Assurance Contract (PAC) and launched a new momentum marketing campaign focused on "Grow your Business. Think Small".