Alcatel-Lucent has unveiled a new software-based communications platform giving enterprises voice, chat, video conferencing and file sharing through any connected device.
Rapport can be deployed on any piece of commercial, off the shelf hardware, with the software hosted in a private cloud. The vendor said it was based on a fully rebuilt version of its IMS software.
The product has been developed to meet the demands of changing working practices, with employees using a range of devices and working remotely.
The NFV-based ecosystem is supported by more than 800 developers and partners. Alcatel-Lucent said that by giving developers easier ways to embed communication methods into their apps, websites or connected objects, companies can concentrate on other projects.
Rich Costello, Senior Research Analyst at IDC, said: “[Rapport] addresses something enterprises have needed – a single, open communications framework in a private cloud. There are real challenges with moving from a legacy PBX-based communications approach to apps and services with communications hosted in the enterprise cloud.
“Not only do enterprises need a new approach, but they need a new method for getting there. This is a compelling new take on how to address the relationships between communications, applications, and the large enterprise, and this appears to be creating a new category of communications solution.”
Liz Theophille, Chief Information Officer, Alcatel-Lucent said: “Like many large companies, we have multiple platforms in place to support our communications and collaboration needs, from voice services to video conferencing to IM and chat. At the same time, our workforce is increasingly mobile, and relies on a fast-growing universe of applications on smartphones and tablets to manage their personal lives, but which are largely unavailable in their work environments.
“Rapport provides a single platform to address all of these requirements, in a way that is open and in synch with our increasingly app-driven business culture and will enable us to stop investing in multiple platforms.”
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