Ascendant plugs into MSN Messenger

CHICAGO--

Ascendant Systems today revealed it is co-opting MSN Messenger into its wide area network PBX services. The vendor has essentially begun allowing its customers to dial-in to application servers using MSN’s voice calling feature, and company officials said the other IM services are probably not that far behind.

With MSN under its belt, Ascendant’s EVS 1200 can now connect any cellphone, private line, Wi-Fi or SIP phone into a company’s legacy or IP PBX, creating a unified voice messaging system independent of carrier or platform.

Sitting just behind a private PBX on the customer premise, the server establishes a PBX dial-tone and any other public device designated by the customer. From that dial-tone a user can access any feature on the corporate PBX as well as suite of enhanced features similar to those offered over VoIP systems, said Walt Blomquist, vice president of marketing.

The solution requires no software on any of the individual devices in fact it requires no knowledge from the carriers serving those devices. For example, if a user receives a call at his office extension, his cellphone rings simultaneously. If he chooses to answer either the cellphone, the server establishes a direct connection between the PBX and cellphone, treating the session as if it occurred over the corporate PBX, with all call forwarding, hold, conference calling and other features intact. If the user chooses not to answer the call, the caller is directed into the corporate voicemail system. The system essentially bypasses the regular functionality of the cellphone, treating it merely as a conduit into the PBX, Blomquist said.

So far the platform is designed only for use with private PBXs where customers can get directly at the corporate phone network. Ascendant has sold to both Nextel and Telus Mobility, which use it as a way of enabling their own mobile networks over private PBXes. But Blomquist said Ascendant is now exploring ways to integrate the system into carriers’ networks, linking the server to Centrex and hosted PBX systems.

“Our approach is, let’s not reinvent the wheel,” Blomquist said. “Let’s preserve our customers original investments while giving them something new.”