Unisys Corporation has introduced a range of value-added services that enable providers to integrate voice-based services with social media channels to drive new sources of revenue and enhance the user experience of their subscribers.
The new services, available on the Unisys VoiceSource Express (VSE) 400 Series platform, benefit customers who use smartphones and feature phones - less fully configured mobile phones - by bringing easy-to-use voice and data applications directly to their devices. The Unisys VSE 400 Series platform, a "fit for purpose" computing appliance, is based on a Unisys ClearPath system using Intel Xeon x64 processors.
For example, subscribers who find it inconvenient to type tweets on a mobile phone can use the Unisys Voice Tweets service to easily record a voice-based tweet and post it as a voice- or text-based message. Similarly, the Unisys Speak to Facebook service allows subscribers to use a voice system to update their Facebook status and post messages to friends' walls.
"With the explosion of new data-driven services and mobile offerings, carriers face significant competitive threats to their traditional voice business. To retain and grow their revenue streams, they need to leverage their deep, longstanding customer relationships and offer subscribers new ways to connect and communicate within the fabric of the social web," says Steven Chuey, vice president, Global Solution Management, Unisys. "These new services from Unisys give carriers a secure, mission-critical platform to quickly develop and deploy powerful new revenue-generating services that add richness and depth to subscribers' user experience."
In addition to Unisys Voice Tweets and Speak to Facebook, new Unisys communications solutions available to carriers on the Unisys VSE platform include:
· A messaging solution, which uses core voice, fax, and email services to offer subscribers new ways to personalize services and keep in touch with contacts. In addition to integrating with social networking sites, the solution provides visual access to voicemail through a variety of interfaces and devices, such as PC, laptop, tablet or mobile handset. In addition, the solution can convert voice messages to text across multiple languages and deliver them via email, SMS, IM or other text-based delivery channels;
· Notification services, which delivers a personalized information alert service to users at a device of their choosing from any application. The service can use a variety of notification channels - such as SMS, MMS, IM, MWI, outdial and e-mail - for notification delivery, and one notification event can trigger notifications through multiple channels;
· Value added services (VAS), which allows carriers to build incremental revenue by offering advanced communication features such as call filtering, voice-to-text conversion, web-based services, and presence services built on Unisys' application and notification services platforms; and
·V oicemail as a service and VAS as a service, which allow communications providers to offer voicemail and value-added services via a secure subscription-based model using Unisys' hosted cloud computing solutions.
In addition, the Unisys solutions are integrated with a digital content management capability that allows carriers to deliver subscribers personalized content, such as telco marketing campaigns, helpful information on service availability and usage, interactive emergency alerts and location-based targeted advertising. The open, flexible Unisys platform provides a powerful environment that enables fast time-to-market for new services.
The first member of the enhanced VoiceSource Express (VSE) family, the Unisys VSE410 provides the reliability, availability, and scalability required for high-volume, integrated voice and data services. A "green" system, the VSE410 uses significantly lower power and cooling, and occupies a smaller footprint, than its predecessor VSE models. Also, it does not require a specialized data center environment with air conditioning or a raised-floor.
Combining with the VSE platform in an enterprise-class messaging solution, the Unisys Network Services Broker (NSB) provides network connectivity, enabling the VSE to connect simultaneously to IP, TDM and IMS networks. The Unisys NSB provides common signaling, media, and call routing services and simplifies how applications interface to disparate networks and devices. This allows providers to connect any service over any network and support coexistence of different platforms.