September 6, 2007
NETMARKS INC.
UNIADEX, Ltd.
NETMARKS and UNIADEX to Strengthen Alliance on ICT Infrastructure
- Promoting New Concept "PowerWorkPlace™" Business -
Following the integration of NETMARKS into the Unisys Japan Group as a strategically important partner in June this year, NETMARKS INC. (Moto-Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Atsushi Ohashi; "NETMARKS") and UNIADEX, Ltd. (Toyosu,Koto-ku, Tokyo; President&CEO: Tsutomu Takahashi; " UNIADEX ") are to strengthen their business alliance for the building of ICT infrastructure.
Synergies between the two companies will allow them to jointly offer their corporate customers solutions to improve productivity and lead the expansion of the ICT business of the Unisys Japan Group as a whole.
As part of this expansion, NETMARKS and UNIADEX have jointly established a new concept known as "PowerWorkPlace™", aimed at reforming work styles in the business sector. Over the next two years, they plan to complete the development of a range of related solutions that will be marketed under a new brand belonging to the Unisys Japan Group. In three years' time, the partners aim to be achieving annual sales of around \20 billion from the "PowerWorkPlace™" business.
An increasing number of companies aiming to enhance productivity are striving to establish better work styles in an efficient communications environment. Hardware and software vendors, telecommunications providers and other businesses are actively pursuing a wide range of technological approaches to the construction of infrastructure for this purpose. Meanwhile, the role of the integrators who will integrate all these elements and provide solutions that will allow the reform of work styles, is becoming all the more important.
Against this background, NETMARKS and UNIADEX have decided to strengthen their alliance and will aim to offer an infrastructure that allows the realization of ideal work styles, with a view to contributing to improved business productivity. The joint concept "PowerWorkPlace™", established as part of this initiative, will amalgamate "Unified Communication", in which NETMARKS is a pioneer, and "AiriP®Mobility Solution" in which UNIADEX is market leader, and will be developed through the provision of solutions with synergetic effects.
"PowerWorkPlace™" will provide methods for the use of information and methods of communication ideally suited to the "places", "environments" and "work styles" in which people work and will build environments that promote greater productivity of the kind described below:
Examples of Work Styles Fostered by "PowerWorkPlace™"
1)Work styles that efficiently link communications devices connected to an IP network with information
‐Mobile tools and telecommunications devices can be controlled simply by clicking on information displayed on a PC screen. Time-consuming processes such as looking up a phone number visually and pressing the buttons on a mobile phone handset can be eliminated.
‐Mobile phones can be used in conjunction with business applications to check inventories, manage schedules, check phone directories, etc. from outside the office.
2)Waste-free work styles that use status information
‐Status information that can be acquired using IP devices (presence information: In/Out/Vacation, etc., schedules, location of employees inside and outside the office, meeting room status) can be used to choose the most appropriate means of communication in advance and take the most efficient course of action, etc.
3)Work styles providing different information-sharing environments for each purpose (by organization, by project, by trading partner, etc.)
‐A portal can be easily created for each project when a project is initiated. Within this portal lists of project participants can be used, and efficient schemes for e-mail exchange or file sharing can be created. Once the project team is disbanded, the environment is easily canceled, etc.
4)Work styles using evolving recognition technology (voice recognition, text recognition, image recognition, etc.)
‐Phone calls can be made without pressing buttons, simply by speaking the name of the person to be called into the mobile phone. Audio playback of information can be called up by speaking the name of the information required.
‐During meetings, minutes can be recorded automatically, etc.
In addition to the above scenarios and technologies, NETMARKS and UNIADEX will continue to use ICT infrastructure including evolving devices to provide solutions that offer powerful and user-friendly working environments.
Major Constituent Products used in "PowerWorkPlace™"
"PowerWorkPlace™" makes active use of Cisco systems and Microsoft products, like those listed below, which fulfill the important functions of "communication", "mobility" and "collaboration":
・Cisco Unified CallManager
・Cisco Unified MeetingPlace
・Cisco Unified Presence
・Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (hereafter "SharePoint Server")
・Microsoft Exchange Server (hereafter "Exchange Server")
・Microsoft Office Live Communications Server (hereafter "Live Communications Server")
Outline Description of Major Constituent Products
◇NETMARKS Unified Communications
Integrating telephone, e-mail, video conferencing, Web conferencing, and other communication tools, centering on Cisco Systems GK's IP Telephony System, Unified Communications offers solutions that enhance productivity through efficient communications.
NETMARKS was among the first in Japan to adopt Cisco IP telephony technology and in 2001 built the country's first large-scale IP telephony system using Cisco IP phones. Since then, NETMARKS has implemented many more such systems in Japan and become a leading company in the industry. To date, it has implemented more than 120,000 Cisco IP phones.
In March 2007, NETMARKS achieved a "Master Unified Communications Specialization", which is the highest level of recognition accorded by Cisco to a Unified Communications partner and attests to the fact that it is a channel partner with a high level of expertise in every field of Cisco Voice over IP Solutions, from proposal capability to design, implementation and the provision of maintenance & support after implementation.
NETMARKS is the first company in Japan, and the second in the world, to receive this distinction.
◇UNIADEX AiriP Mobility Solution
A solution which creates an environment that allows wireless LAN mobile phones to serve as extension lines when in the office and as outside lines via the public network when outside the office, achieving FMC*1 within the company. In addition to voice calls, the mobile phones can be used from outside the office in conjunction with business applications such as schedule management and sales management systems, as intranet terminals. UNIADEX has continued to invest actively in the market since it came into being in 2004, and has accumulated extensive know-how through the use of its own 1000-handset system. It has implemented systems on behalf of more than 100 companies.
*1: FMC (Fixed-Mobile Convergence)
A term used to describe the fusion of fixed-line and mobile phones. In its narrowest sense, it is means creating an environment that allows a mobile phone to serve as a handset for a fixed-line phone, allowing the user to answer calls to the fixed-line phone using the mobile phone. Thanks to the spread of broadband connections, fixed-line phones today offer the merits of low call charges and high-speed communication. The advantage of mobile phones is that they provide an environment in which calls can be made anywhere, at any time. NETMARKS and UNIADEX aim to provide new communications service formats that combine the benefits of both.
In conjunction with this announcement, we have received the following messages from Cisco and Microsoft (kana syllabary order).
Mr. Tomoki Nakamura, Managing Director, Channels, Cisco Systems G.K.:
Cisco has high expectations of the new "PowerWorkPlace™" concept jointly proposed by NETMARKS INC. and UNIADEX, Ltd., which aims to start a work style revolution in the business sector, and believes that it has great potential as an indicator of the direction that the business sector should take in the future.
The direction of the concept, which seeks to integrate and pursue the evolution of a wide range of methods of communication, regardless of time and place, matches Cisco's own and is essential if work style reform is to be achieved in the business sector. The Unisys Japan Group has the technological capability and know-how to build the networks and systems this will require, and we hope to strengthen our ties with the Group and continue, as excellent partners, to create solutions that allow spectacular improvements in business productivity.
Akira Koyama, Executive Director and Chief of Enterprise Partner Business Headquarters, Microsoft Co., Ltd.:
Microsoft welcomes the announcement of the new concept "PowerWorkPlace™" advocated by NETMARKS INC. and UNIADEX Ltd., which uses Microsoft's "SharePoint Server", "Exchange Server" and "Live Communications Server" server products. An increasing number of businesses today are striving to establish better work styles in a user-friendly communications environment. Communications infrastructure and information sharing systems have come to be the lifelines of business activity. Under these conditions, we believe that the provision of "PowerWorkPlace™" which is based on Microsoft server products, by the Unisys Japan Group, which has a strong track record of providing products and services, will allow the creation of effective communication infrastructure and information utilization infrastructure that are also well adapted to the purpose of work style reform, which has become an issue for many of our customers in recent years.
We will continue to work closely with the Unisys Japan Group and offer the value of the "People Ready Business" we propose to as many customers as possible.
* PowerWorkPlace is a trademark of UNIADEX, Ltd.
* AiriP is a registered trademark of UNIADEX, Ltd.
* Microsoft is a trademark or registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States of America and other countries.
* Cisco, Cisco Systems and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. or related companies in the United States of America and a number of other countries.
* Other company names and product names used in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
[Press contact]
Market Communication Department NETMARKS INC.
Tel: +81-3-3423-5782 E-Mail: press@netmarks.co.jp
