ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwired - Jul 11, 2013) - Arkadin, one of the world's largest and fastest growing collaboration services providers, today announced the launch of Microsoft Lync™ powered by Arkadin®. Arkadin is a strategic Microsoft partner with proven expertise in UC. Lync 2013, Microsoft's market-leading Unified Communications (UC) solution consolidates a full range of collaboration and communication applications enabling a unified user experience from desktops or mobile devices. Arkadin ensures efficient international UC deployments due to its global network of 51 operating centers with dedicated local-language customer support. Two Lync business solutions are offered, providing increased productivity for organizations of all sizes:
1. Microsoft Lync Hosted by Arkadin for companies to deploy Lync 'as a Service' on Arkadin's secure private platform for an easy and scalable delivery;
2. Arkadin Audio Conferencing for Microsoft Lync On-Premise enabling companies to benefit from premium hybrid audio conferencing via integration with their Lync Server.
Crystal clear and stable Arkadin audio conferencing is seamlessly integrated into both Lync solutions. The ability to organize calls with multiple participants who can simultaneously join the conferences in VoIP with Lync or standard telephone PSTN with Arkadin -- whether they are internal or external guests -- is a unique business benefit. Companies get the best of both worlds: telecom cost reduction from the VoIP and the high quality sound and unlimited capacity of the PSTN conferencing.
Hosted Lync by Arkadin: Delivers Fast ROI
This turn-key UC-as-a-Service solution gives organizations access to the full range of real-time UC functions. Instant Messaging and Presence; Audio, Web and Video Conferencing; IP Telephony, Unified Messaging and Mobility applications are intuitive and allow users to seamlessly switch between the different Communications and Collaboration modalities.
Businesses enjoy multiple benefits from the SaaS delivery model securely provided by Arkadin:
- Quicker ROI vs. on premise installations due to fast, scalable and hassle-free deployments from Arkadin's secure platform requiring minimal IT resources.
- Lower expenses from hosted IP telephony which reduces costs by almost 40% over three years.
- Comprehensive end-to-end Customer Services with user training, local 24x7 client care, reporting and Professional Services to ensure smooth deployments and rapid user adoption.
According to Jerry Goldman, president of Select Conferencing, Arkadin offers both the product features and professional customer support essential for a successful roll-out: "The hosted model makes it easy to install so our employees can be up and running in no time. We especially like the hybrid audio feature for the convenience of connecting via VoIP or telephone connections. The combination guarantees lower costs and higher quality audio, which is a critical consideration for us and our channel customers."
According to Bill Haskins, senior analyst at Wainhouse Research, Arkadin's approach addresses many of the challenges that can hinder UC deployments giving it the potential for broad adoption: "There are challenges that can impact a successful deployment -- platform costs, support requirements, quality issues, and user adoption are common. Arkadin's solution addresses these head on, by offering the potential for a lower TCO, a unique, high quality hybrid audio conferencing platform, and improved user adoption through its trusted support model and professional services program. The combination of Microsoft's market-leading Lync platform with Arkadin's hosted collaboration service model is an exciting development with the potential to UC-enable organizations of all sizes."
Arkadin Audio Conferencing for Lync On-Premise: Easy to Integrate
For organizations with Microsoft Lync on-premise solutions, Arkadin's phone conferencing can also be seamlessly integrated and instantly launched directly from the Lync user interface. This audio add-on is simple to install via company-wide deployments for entire workforces or individually per user.
"Arkadin's Lync solutions represent a highly strategic move into Unified Communications," says Olivier de Puymorin, Arkadin's CEO and founder. "We're proud to be a Microsoft partner and confident our offers will have strong global appeal as businesses seek more streamlined and cost-efficient communications to support their global workforces."
About Arkadin
Founded in 2001, Arkadin is one of the largest and fastest growing collaboration services providers in the world. With a vision rooted in the belief that progress emerges from people's desire to share, Arkadin offers a complete range of remote audio, web, and video conferencing and Unified Communications solutions. The services are delivered in the SaaS model for fast, scalable deployments and a high ROI. Its global network of 51 operating centers in 31 countries has dedicated local-language support teams to service its 37,000 customers.
