IBM today announced a new, self-managing, “office in a box” appliance for small and midsized businesses (SMBs) that combines all of the unified communications and collaboration (UC2) tools needed to run a business with the ability to connect to telephony, in a single solution. For smaller businesses with limited IT expertise, the solution reduces complexity and enables employees to instantly access people and information, resulting in increased efficiency, productivity and lower operating costs.
The new Lotus Foundations Reach solution customizes and extends the IBM Sametime UC2 capabilities in a single appliance designed specifically for SMBs that have limited IT skills and smaller budgets. In about an hour, a business can install and configure its entire UC environment in a system small enough to fit under a desk. Unlike competitive offerings, Foundations Reach minimizes the need for human intervention with self-managing technology that automates IT tasks such as adjusting to workload demands, conducting proactive system checks for security and reliability of the network, and detecting and repairing potential issues.
Lotus Foundations Reach enhances the user experience by reducing the complexities associated with deploying and managing communications and collaboration solutions. From one convenient platform, Lotus Foundations Reach combines key UC features such as instant messaging (IM), presence awareness to see who is online and available, email, calendars, contacts, office productivity tools, network security, remote access, file and print sharing, and backup and disaster recovery. The ability to access these capabilities from a mobile device makes it easier for users that travel or work remotely.
Excellent news… This makes Foundations an even better one-server solution for SMBs.
IBM Lotus Foundations Reach will be available for purchase next month. For more information on the Lotus Foundations portfolio, visit: www.ibm.com/lotus/foundations.