Nortel's Convergence Blitz Targets the SMB

Aiming to fulfill its mission of becoming an end-to-end equipment provider, Nortel announced today a portfolio of voice, data, and wireless convergence products targeting the SMB market.

The product portfolio will be available in August and will consist of four new product lines. The core infrastructure will be provided by the Business Ethernet Switch 100 Family, a line of 10/100 workgroup switches. The Business Ethernet Switch 110 includes 24- and 48- port models. The Business Ethernet Switch 120 will offer the same configuration, but with 802.3af Power Over Ethernet (POE) ports. Pricing for the family is expected to range from $535 to $2,254.

Edge routing will provided by the Business Secure Router 222. The combination DSL router and four-port 10/100 switch provides firewall, authentication, IPSEC VPN, and 802.1x/EAP. An application layer gateway (ALG) is provided for inspecting SIP and H.323 connections. Pricing for the BSR 222 is expected to run $578.

Nortel also unveiled the Business Access Point 120, a 802.11 a/b/g access point for sites of under 100 user. Pricing is expected to run $550 to $605.

Nortel also upgraded its SMB IP PBX Business Communication Manager (BCM) 200 and 400 to version 4.0. The new enhancements will add security and management features as well as support for additional phones and complete Nortel's migration of the BCM portfolio to Linux, a move begun last year.All of these products will be managed through Nortel's Business Element Manager.

As part of the process, Nortel has also created new channel programs to help promote the products. The new programs include the SMB Connection Partner Community, an online community established to facilitate communication between Nortel and its SMB channel partners, and Blueprints for Success, a tool developed with input from Nortel channel partners to identify best practices used when selling Nortel solutions to SMBs.