Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) unveiled its new Opentouch Conversation Tablet at Enterprise Connect and delivers a truly unified solution. Unlike many business tablets that provide unified communications (UC) features, the ALU Opentouch software provides a highly sophisticated single architecture that supports multi-party, multi-devices and multi-modal conversations running its UC software on the iPad. What could have been complex and cumbersome is actually a sleek solution on a single application to deliver this robust functionality.
The ALU Opentouch Conversation has several advantages that provide competitive differentiation. It supports multiple devices –the desktop phone, smart phone, tablet, video and PC/MAC- all from a single interface and requires only one user license for all devices. One server can support up to 1,500 end-users greatly reducing the hardware footprint required by other vendors’ offerings. The user can continue a conversation without interruption when going from one device to the other. It also offers presence capabilities so a user can view the availability of another prior to contact.
Its initial release initially supports the iPad, which is currently the favorite tablet among business professionals. Future release will also support other tablet devices. The ALU solution stands out because it truly offers a unified experience for the user, which has been a promise of UC that in reality required the integration of many components. As the tablet is becoming the device of choice for many business professionals, ALU engineered a solution that I believe is worth serious consideration.
