Mitel in the news - and a big score - Unified Communications

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I often forget that Dan York over at Bluebox Podcast works for Mitel. He's involved in so many different things, and isn't always real outspoken about the Mitel doings. He posted a brief note on his blog about Mitel's recent press release, that really merits a little closer attention,

Microsoft Technology Centers Showcase Unified Communications with Mitel Solution
Mitel Recognized as Preferred Alliance Partner
OTTAWA, Ontario, Canada - October 31, 2006 – Mitel®, the trusted provider of IP communications solutions, today announced that its advanced suite of unified communications solutions will be used at Microsoft Technology Centers (MTC) worldwide. The entire suite - comprised of the Mitel 3300 IP Communications Platform (ICP), Mitel Live Business Gateway, Mitel Navigator and the Mitel 5340 and 5224 IP Phones - will provide demonstrations of rich telephony, presence and integration features based on Microsoft’s unified communications (UC) solutions.
The deployment is part of an agreement between the two companies to demonstrate the combined UC solution with advanced telephony integration.

To be chosen for use in the Microsoft Technology Centers is no small win for Mitel, and a good choice for Microsoft. Some of s, particularly those with deep telelcom backgrounds, may take an occasional shot at Microsoft for their depth of understanding telecom. Perhaps we have good reason. Microsoft tends to tout so many things as invented in Redmond, when that isn't the case. Mitel has a powerfully strong legacy in the telecom business. They're a known and respected player, and Microsoft made a wise choice in showcasing this solution.

Another indicator of Mitel's success is this story from the Chicago Tribune, already mentioned on both VoIP Loop and the VoIP Service Blog today.

Chicago Public Schools convert phone lines to VoIP technology
By Jon Van
Tribune staff reporter
Published November 1, 2006
Chicago Public Schools will switch to Internet-based phones at a cost of about $28 million in what is expected to be the largest such conversion of any U.S. school system.

The technology, known as voice over Internet protocol, which carries voice traffic and data over a single network, will save the school system money in operations, significantly reducing its phone bills, said Robert Runcie, chief information officer for the schools.

I read this article through several times and was struck by the school CIO Robert Runcie's comments about this VoIP service provding classroom level 911 location information to emergency services and the fact that "We didn't have a strategy before for compliance."

That speaks to Mitel's team as much as it does to the school district. Strategies like this are never developed in a vacuum, and rarely come to fruition without some real collababoration between the vendor and the customer. I see this as a very strategic win for Mitel, and one they'll be leveraging across the education sector everywhere.