Intellisync tackles unified messaging

SAN FRANCISO -- Intellisync today unveiled a new unified messaging platform built over its enterprise push messaging solution, combining e-mail, voicemail, SMS and IM into the same client.

While other vendors have built unified messaging solutions, Intellisync claims that it platform is the first open platform designed to support any device and the first to combine high-end features like presence with an enterprise class e-mail solution.

Intellisync chief marketing officer Rip Gerber said that instead of just taking a client-based approach, the vendor has built multiple layers in the platform: a client layer manages and presents the different types of messages in a single user interface, while a data layer links contact info and other PIM functionality into the client. The network part of the solution combines presence with Intellisync’s mobile e-mail and synchronization server.

Gerber said the backbone of the solution is still Intellisync’s Mobile Suite e-mail and synchronized office solution. E-mail is still the primary messaging tool for enterprises, but the new platform is designed to give customers a wider array of options, he said. A customer could establish presence settings dictating how others contact him. The client can also allow customers to initiate phone calls from e-mails, return voice mail with an SMS or any other combination, Gerber said.

While Intellisync has been a leader in synchronization software for years, it has recently begun making headway in the push e-mail and messaging space. Intellisync and a handful of other company’s have been challenging RIM’s dominance in the field, and according to Intellisync it now powers the push e-mail service of 500,000 users making it second in the market behind RIM. It’s e-mail solution is used by Sprint and Verizon Wireless as a carrier-branded alternative to RIM services they support on their network.