News and offers, March 2008

Bell services and solutions

• Bell announces joint effort with Cisco for managed IP services in Canada

• Launch of new Cisco UC500 series strengthens Bell IP telephony portfolio

News

• Bell a national leader in filling IT skills gap

Bell announces joint effort with Cisco for managed IP services in Canada

Bell has announced a joint effort with Cisco to accelerate the number of new strategic initiatives required to support the demand and growth for IP managed services in Canada, including unified communications, security, voice, wireless and IP contact centres.

The two companies have forged the initiatives in response to a growing trend by businesses to embrace managed services and the productivity benefits of these technologies, while reducing capital and infrastructure management costs.

Companies can quickly benefit from the integration of solutions, applications, simpler provisioning and management of telecommunication infrastructure, greater self service capabilities and multimedia Internet IP-based communications.

“Businesses are looking to drive the most effective ROI from their IP network investments,” said Stéphane Boisvert, President, Bell Enterprise. “Bell’s suite of managed services can help optimize ICT capital investments while reducing risk and capital costs.”

The initiative includes the creation of two Knowledge Centres in Montréal and Toronto to accelerate knowledge transfer, provide training and certification and support the recruitment of IT talent by offering scholarships to college and university students.

For more information, read the news release.

Launch of new Cisco UC500 series strengthens Bell IP telephony portfolio

The goal of anytime, anywhere access on a secure, unified communications platform is now within reach for Enterprise and SMB customers.

With the launch of the Cisco UC500 messaging platform, businesses can now acquire call processing, voice messaging and IP phone capability, as well as optional WLAN functionality, all in one integrated unit.

Ideal for branch or small offices with 50 users or less, the UC500 portfolio provides voice, data, video, basic security, wireless and management all in one platform.

The solution includes:

• Eight IP phone station support
• Four trunks
• Optional T1/E1 voice interface (PRI and CAS)
• Integrated voicemail
• Automated attendant
• Basic call centre capability
• Music on hold
• Optional wireless access
• System management

It allows the choice of analog or IP-based communications, including a voice messaging component with:

• Voice mail
• Auto attendant
• IMAP compliant email integration
• Voiceview Express – which allows visual browsing of the voicemail box
• Urgent Message Notification – using email, text-based paging or numeric paging, and
• Multi-site networking with integrated VPN and firewall capability.

Starting with either an 8-port desktop form factor or a 24-port wall-mount or rack-mount form factor, the unit can be expanded with the available Catalyst Express 520 Series companion switches.

The UC500 series enables anytime, anywhere access as well as full desktop integration.  Employees can use their laptops or PCs as full-featured office phones with conferencing, intercom, paging and optional WLAN service.

It eliminates the need for multiple servers and combines access, messaging and security into one device. The UC500 supports all a business’s voice, security and wireless networking services on a single, easy-to-manage platform.

For more information, contact your Bell representative.

Bell a national leader in filling IT skills gap

86,000 in the supply chain process. 90,000 in IT.  92,000 in mining. 110,000 in oil and gas.  According to business leaders at a roundtable recently hosted by Bell, these are jobs that will need to be filled in coming years in various industries.  Finding people to fill those jobs will be a challenge. 

But Bell is taking the lead in addressing the skills gap.   Bell is a founding member of the Canadian Coalition for Tomorrow's IT Skills.  Comprised of leading Canadian companies that rely on a strong IT workforce, the coalition partners will tackle IT labour shortages in order to ensure a healthy national economy built on ongoing growth, productivity and competitiveness in the global marketplace.

“If left uncontested, the IT skills gap will create gaps in our economic performance, gaps in our productivity, and gaps in our ability to compete globally,” said Stéphane Boisvert, President, Bell Enterprise,  and official spokesperson for the coalition.  “It is in everyone's interest to close those gaps as quickly as possible.”

The coalition will focus on:

• Raising the profile of IT and IT career choices among young people, with a specific goal of increasing enrolments in IT-related programs

• Generating public awareness of the importance of IT to Canada by emphasizing the contribution IT makes to Canada's economic prosperity and competitiveness

• Developing and sustaining Canadian IT know-how

The economic impact of an IT labour shortage has been outlined in a new Conference Board of Canada study commissioned by Bell . The report, entitled "Securing our Future," includes startling revelations about the economic cost of not filling the estimated 90,000 IT positions set to open across Canada over the next five years.

See the Conference Board of Canada report – read the news release.

To read more about the roundtable hosted by Bell, click here.