Cisco Targets Small Enterprises With Unified Communications

Cisco is setting its sights on small and midsize businesses that are hungry for technology that pulls together multiple communications methods into a more manageable format with a new suite of unified communications products.

The vendor recently unveiled its Smart Business Communications System, a series of new SMB-focused communications products built around its Cisco Unified Communications 500 series IP telephony platform. The offering combines telephony apps with productivity applications calendaring, e-mail, instant messaging and customer relationship management (CRM) packages. The Unified Communications 500 Series works with all of Cisco's IP phones.

Also part of the rollout, Cisco delivered a wireless access point and wireless mobility controller, a Power over Ethernet (PoE) switch and a configuration tool with a graphical interface to set up telephony, messaging, switching, wireless LANs and firewalls. The vendor is also offering small enterprises a management solution that delivers real-time data that network administrators can use to diagnose and correct problems remotely.

The Cisco Smart Business Communication System will ship through reseller partners beginning in June.