An Open Look at OpenScape

Siemens Communications announced today the launch of its unified communications software platform OpenScape Unified Communications Server.

OpenScape is versatile enough to exist in most IT or telephony landscapes; it works with both IP and legacy PBX telephony environments regardless of the vendor. Additionally, installation is quick and the solution’s price is reasonable. 

Available April 30, OpenScape UC Server provides presence, session control features, and other modular capabilities that can be added on a user-by-user basis. This versatility might be a selling point for customers interested in tailoring their UC solution to their specific needs. Microsoft, for instance, has been criticized for its closed-off UC platform. 

The introduction of OpenScape UC Server, according to Simens CEO Eve Aretakis, solidifies Siemens’ shift from VoIP manufacturer to software and services provider.  "Simply put, OpenScape UC Server is the easiest, most affordable and flexible way to introduce full UC into any existing telephony or IT environment," Aretakis said in a statement. 

Datamonitor analyst Aphrodite Brinsmead believes that UC offerings will be a hot trend in 2008. Many companies not commonly associated with unified communications, like SpinVox, which nominally offers a speech-to-text service, have announced some sort of UC offering. 

Because Siemens believes voice should be central in UC communications, the vendor built OpenScape as an open, SIP-based IT communications and UC application foundation with shared Web-services components. The OpenScape UC package operates with a variety of other vendor applications, integrating with such solutions as IBM Sametime and Microsoft Office Communication Server.