Unified Communications Software Gets Sticky

Company:

Headquarters: Ottawa, Ontario

Technology Sector: VoIP

Key Product: ObjectWorld Unified Communications Server

Year Founded: 2004

Number of Channel Partners: 50 to 60, primarily in the U.S.

Ideal Channel Partner: SMB-focused solution providers

Why You Should Care: ObjectWorld's three editions of its Unified Communications Server span from five to 5,000 users in a software-only offering that is completely Microsoft-based and can be integrated into a Microsoft environment.

The Lowdown: ObjectWorld Communications may have been founded in 2004, but the legacy of the company's core technology has been in the works for well over a decade, reaching back to 1994.

And now that unified communications has reached buzzword status, ObjectWorld is differentiating itself from the pack of wannabes with its Unified Communications (UC) Server, a software-only play that integrates into Microsoft Windows platforms to unlock a host of capabilities to boost business communications, business process and corporate data.

ObjectWorld UC Server is an all-in-one software application that takes only about 15 minutes to deploy, whether it's for five or 5,000 users, said David Schenkel, ObjectWorld's CTO. The offering includes software-based IP telephony, unified messaging, call control, integrated fax, graphical service creation, integration with Active Directory and integration with legacy PBXes, Schenkel said.

"Being able to deploy in 15 minutes is really a big deal," Schenkel said, adding that for its channel partners, a swift UC deployment can make a huge difference compared to the 60 minutes to 90 minutes some standard PBX deployments can take.

ObjectWorld UC Server is a one disc/one download software offering that features a drag-and-drop service creation environment, which makes the simple deployment process even easier, Schenkel said.

Schenkel said UC Server comes in three flavors: the standard edition scales to up to 5,000 users and is sold through telecommunications and PBX channels; the CEBP (Communications-Enabled Business Process) version scales to up to 200 channels per server and is available via telecom VARs; and the SIP edition supports both the standard and CEBP products and is sold through mostly Microsoft VARs.

For the channel, ObjectWorld takes a typically pricey technology and feature set in unified communications and offers it at a low cost with the opportunity to add hosting and services on top.

"It gives the reseller a continued opportunity to upsell services," Schenkel said, adding that many customers don't turn on all features and functions at the offset and will turn to their VARs as features need to be added or updated. "This gives them stickiness."