WAKEFIELD, Mass., Sept. 26, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comverse (Nasdaq:CMVT), a global leader in Value-Added Services (VAS), BSS and Mobile Internet, today introduced Comverse VAS 3.0 to address a range of new revenue opportunities for communication service providers (CSPs). It includes the Comverse IP Messaging solution, transitioning CSPs to the world of IP messaging technology and cloud service deployment; and the Comverse Service Enablement Middleware (SEM) solution, giving third-party application providers secure access to telecommunication assets.
The evolutionary path paved by Comverse VAS 3.0 creates opportunities for CSPs to leverage IP capabilities to expand their markets and tap into new potential revenue areas by introducing compelling new consumer, enterprise and machine-to-machine (M2M) experiences.
Comverse IP Messaging
Comverse IP Messaging modernizes the core messaging infrastructure to the highest standards of current Internet technologies, enabling CSPs to keep pace with industry developments and compete with the services being introduced by non-traditional "over-the-top" competitors. Leveraging the common IP core to facilitate inter-communication across product silos, device types, applications and services, it simplifies integration of third-party applications — enriching the user experience, with all voice, text and multimedia messages and call logs available on every relevant device.
Standards-compliant Comverse IP Messaging optimizes the messaging platform for 4G/ LTE for SMS, MMS, and Visual Voicemail, with a spectrum of additional new services easily accessible through the cloud.
Key IP Messaging elements include:
- IP Engine: A converged environment with a pre-integrated collection of the newest communication experiences, including person-to-person messaging (immediate and deferred) with attached multimedia objects, online one-on-one and group messaging (IM/chat), file transfer, media sharing, integration with Visual Voicemail, advanced personalization, parental control and more
- Centralized Service Configuration: For operator policy and user preferences, safeguarding network security
- Network-Based Storage: With converged inbox access for all communication experiences and history archiving
- Robust Monetization Capabilities: Tight integration with Comverse ONE for payment and balance, to generate revenues from content and additional network data, such as location, handset capabilities and Address Book information
"With the global adoption of 'all-IP' as a core technology for 3G and 4G environments (e.g. LTE, WiMAX) operators are starting to review whether legacy silos can continue to be justified from a cost or efficiency perspective," said Pamela Clark-Dickson, Senior Analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media. "IP as a common infrastructure for messaging, inter-working with existing legacy silos, gives operators a converged and harmonized environment that is a springboard for a myriad of opportunities for compelling services."
Comverse Service Enablement Middleware (SEM) Solution
The Comverse SEM Solution, already deployed by several operators, securely externalizes CSP messaging and related assets (e.g. communication services, subscriber knowledge). This next-generation cloud-based version introduces new capabilities that can further enhance the ability of CSPs to enable third parties – such as enterprises, healthcare, advertisers, publishers, government, and financial institutions – to create a richer user experience through a new breed of services and applications that can reach virtually all user and machine-to-machine (M2M) end devices.
"A broad range of industries and verticals are eager to become more mobile and connected, and there is a vast audience of users worldwide hungry for these new applications and capabilities," said Clark-Dickson. "By reducing developer barriers, open standards-based middleware can elevate operators to be more relevant in the consumer and enterprise application markets, enabling them to generate additional revenues from their telco-grade infrastructure and to provide unparalleled connectivity to a large subscriber base over multiple touchpoints."
Comverse SEM is aligned with key industry standards and guidelines, such as GSMA OneAPI, Wholesale Applications Community (WAC) and OMA RESTful Network APIs. Its intelligent mediation capabilities, a key differentiator, empower application providers to easily create new services utilizing message personalization, intelligent message delivery, enhanced voice message handling (for instance, Visual Voicemail to text to email with full inbox synchronization), charging on behalf of third parties and more. Comverse SEM's efficient utilization of messaging and other related network resources ensures high overall network performance.
"Our decades of expertise and leadership delivering a comprehensive portfolio of voice and messaging communication services worldwide position us well to be the customer's expert for managing the transition to the IP world and for securely externalizing voice, messaging, charging and more to third parties through open APIs and enhanced technology," said Oz Ovady, Senior Vice President and Value-Added Services General Manager at Comverse.
"We continue to invest, innovate and open new VAS horizons. Our solutions, with full backward compatibility, advance our customers along the evolutionary path to an IP-based infrastructure with open middleware for the newest messaging services — consumer, commercial and M2M. We keep CSPs at the head of the pack, cementing their strong business position now and in the future," he said.
Click to find out more about how Comverse IP Messaging and Service Enablement Middleware can serve as springboards for rich communication services, reduce technical complexities, lower application cost and risk, and speed time to profit for a new wave of compelling services.
About Comverse
Comverse is the world's leading provider of software and systems enabling converged billing and active customer management, mobile Internet, and value-added services. Comverse's extensive customer base spans more than 125 countries and covers over 450 communication service providers serving more than two billion subscribers. The company's innovative product portfolio enables communication service providers to unleash the value of the network for their customers by making their networks smarter. Comverse's solutions support flexible deployment models, including in-network, cloud, hosted and managed services. Comverse, ranked number 55 in PwC's Global 100 Software Leaders based on research by Pierre Audoin Consultants, is a subsidiary of Comverse Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:CMVT). For more information, visit www.comverse.com.
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Statements included or incorporated by reference in this press release may contain "forward-looking statements." There can be no assurance that any forward-looking statements will be achieved, and actual results could differ materially from forecasts and estimates. Important factors that could affect the company include the risks described in the section entitled "Forward-Looking Statements" Item 1A, "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2011 filed with the SEC on May 31, 2011 or in subsequently filed periodic, current or other reports. The company undertakes no commitment to update or revise forward-looking statements except as required by law.