There's a company I've been watching creep up onto the radar for the last couple of months called M-Networks. Like many of the leading startups, they follow what's being said about unified communications across the blogosphere. I'd say they're engaged, attentive, and mindful of many key aspects of the unified communications evolution.

M-Networks is a small software development company in New Jersey that is looking to provide software solutions that fill holes in the services currently offered by other major players in the field.

Their first product, the Unified Call Control Gateway, sits in between LCS and Asterisk and functions to promote communication between the two to allow for PC to phone calling and call control.  They've developed a very ambitious schedule for software releases that promote interoperability and enhance the functionality of software currently on the market.

In October, M-Networks began actively seeking testers for their Call Control Software. A week or so ago they released the the M-Networks Unified Call Control Gateway. There's a 30 day free evaluation version available on their web site for people to test drive.

Highlights:

• Integration - Connect Microsoft® Live Communications Server with your Asterisk® PBX.
• Remote Call Control - Place calls, deflect calls, forward calls from Office Communicator.
• Incoming Call Notifications - See who's calling and deflect to an alternate number.
• PC to Phone Proxy - Use Office Communicator as a softphone to place calls through Asterisk®.

The M-Networks Unified Call Control Gateway runs silently in the background as a Windows® service processing CSTA requests from Office Communicator to control your Asterisk® PBX.

In environments using Cisco® 7900 series IP phones the gateway supports extended functionality such as turning the phone speaker on/off as well as call hold capabilities.

Today Asterisk is a solid solution that's becoming more widely accepted every week. Microsoft's Live Communications Server, while not as deeply entrenched today, is bound to become an enterprise mainstay. M-Networks provides a key integration component between the two.

While they've been quietly, but effectively bringing their vision to market, Mikael Carlson, their VP of Operations and Business Development has been reaching out to begin to spread the word. I think they bear watching.


Technorati Tags: M-Networks, Unified Call Control Gateway, Asterisk. Live Communications Servcer, LCS, unified communications