Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Deloitte Russia Powers Unified Communications with Nortel Data Solution

Deloitte, known worldwide for the excellence of the professional services provided by its member firms, is simplifying its operations and empowering its people to deliver first-class customer service using a unified communications solution from Microsoft and Nortel(1) (TSX:NT)(OTCBB:NRTLQ) at its new Moscow office.

"The decision to choose Nortel as the provider for our unified communications data foundation was quite a natural progression for us," said Borge Nilsen, chief information officer for Deloitte in Russia and CIS countries. "We already had a unified communications solution based on Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and we were looking for an infrastructure vendor who understood perfectly what was needed for a truly integrated unified communications network infrastructure. Nortel's long-term alliance with Microsoft and their close collaboration in the field of unified communications made us comfortable that both solutions could be integrated to work together in supporting our people. This was something that we tested rigorously during the test period. Apart from the technological excellence provided by Nortel solutions, we also believe we obtained the best solution in the market in terms of price per port and cost of ownership."

The Deloitte office in Moscow is the communications hub for the operations of Deloitte in Russia and CIS countries, which has more than 3,000 people in 14 offices across nine countries. The new infrastructure integrates Nortel communications solutions with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, allowing Deloitte employees to see if colleagues are available online and then instantly communicate with them.

The new capabilities also give access to presence communications tools that help enhance customer service. For example, users can access and share information from anywhere in the Moscow campus, whether they are using PDAs, smartphones or laptop PCs. Deloitte employees also gain the time-saving advantages of real-time collaboration that allows simple, 'one-click' initiation of wireless phone calls, emails, instant messaging and video conferencing. The system also enables Deloitte employees working away from headquarters to gain access to company systems via their mobile devices.

The full scale, campus LAN deployed by Nortel currently offers more than 4,500 ports, and features Ethernet switching and Wi-Fi to provide convergence and mobility capabilities for unified communications based on Deloitte Moscow's existing Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 system.

This high-capacity data infrastructure provides the necessary networking intelligence, performance, bandwidth capacity and resiliency needed for true unified communications convergence and mobility. Applications have to run smoothly and with minimal response time - to ensure that Deloitte employees can access unified communications everywhere they need them - in the office, or on the go.

This solution includes the Nortel Ethernet Routing Switch 8600, offering scalable resiliency via Split Multi-Link Trunking (SMLT) and Routed Split Multi-Link Trunking (RSMLT), and the Nortel Ethernet Routing Switch 5500 which delivers a fully redundant 10 Gigabit Ethernet and Power over Ethernet (PoE) capability to user desktops, while the Nortel WLAN 2300 series helps deliver a flexible work environment.

"This innovative project combines the latest and greatest technologies from two industry leaders - Microsoft and Nortel. Nortel's LAN infrastructure provides a foundation for Microsoft unified communication applications, providing network users with new levels of truly unified communications experience. We believe this will help Deloitte streamline its business communication processes and will provide its people with necessary business information anytime and anywhere they need it," said Sergey Khomyakov, Enterprise leader for Russia and CIS countries.

Nortel's energy-efficient voice and data communications products will help Deloitte manage costs and reduce its environmental impact. Third parties have shown that Nortel data networking products provide up to 20 times the performance and seven times the resiliency of its competitors' solutions, while consuming up to 40% less energy and costing up to 50% less to own and operate.(2)

About Deloitte

Deloitte(3) is one of the nation's leading professional services firms, providing audit, tax, consulting and financial advisory services through over 3,000 people in 14 offices across 9 countries of the region. Known as an employer of choice for innovative human resources programs, it is dedicated to helping its clients and its people excel. Company's goal and strategy is to build the premier national professional services firm in the CIS, to provide a full range of services to our international clients, and to develop a dynamic practice to serve national clients. Deloitte is one of the largest international professional practices in the CIS, where local and expatriate professionals work closely together as mixed teams to ensure the right balance of skills and provide premium client service.

About Nortel

Nortel is a recognized leader in delivering communications capabilities that make the promise of Business Made Simple a reality for our customers. Our next-generation technologies, for both service provider and enterprise networks, support multimedia and business-critical applications. Nortel's technologies are designed to help eliminate today's barriers to efficiency, speed and performance by simplifying networks and connecting people to the information they need, when they need it. Nortel does business in more than 150 countries around the world. For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com. For the latest Nortel news, visit www.nortel.com/news.

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