Windstream adds Mitel's UC service to its managed services portfolio

Windstream (Nasdaq: WIN) is giving its business customer base another managed service offering by signing an agreement with Mitel where it will offer their unified communications services as a cloud-based UCaaS solution.

Under the terms of the agreement, the telco will extend Mitel's MiCloud for Service Providers product set, including its MiVoice and MiCollab solutions. As a subscription-based service, customers will be able to get access to a host of UC, mobile, desktop collaboration, and messaging applications.

Tim Whelehan, vice president of business development for Windstream, said in release that by offering Mitel's MiCloud service they can quickly respond to their customer's interest in adopting UC services "without the upfront capital costs of a traditional UC solution."

Set to be generally available by this fall, the UCaaS offering which bundles Mitel MiVoice and MiCollab solutions with Windstream's cloud solutions, is currently being trialed by a number of its customers.

In addition, the new solution leverages Windstream's SIP and data products to appeal to large and small businesses. Windstream said that by delivering the Mitel products with its IP-based voice and data products, "customers can more easily implement unified communications and include services such as analog or VoIP lines, unified messaging, desktop video, and other mobility solutions."

Similar to its other managed services offerings, the new collaborative product includes 24x7 remote and onsite monitoring and support that it provides out of its growing base of data centers.

Coming on the heels of a similar UC partnership it established with Avaya, synching up with UC-centric vendors such as Mitel makes sense as it enables Windstream to expand its offerings by leveraging already well-tested capabilities from another supplier. Having these integrated UCaaS services in its portfolio could also make it attractive what a recent Gartner Group report says will be midsized enterprises that "are looking for competitive voice and data services."

For more:
- see the release

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