OREANDA-NEWS. August 31, 2011. NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com) announced today that its Arcstar™ Unified Communications Services will introduce the UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) Plan to allow Arcstar™ Global IP-VPN customers to utilize multiple communication functions according to their situation and needs on a flexible cloud-basis. The new service will be gradually rolled out globally beginning August 31. At the same time, NTT Com will expand coverage of its SIP Trunking Plan, a high-quality, low-rate external dialing service initially released in Singapore this May, to 15 countries including Australia and the UK, and to around 30 countries by March 2012.

Amid today’s rapid globalization, multinational companies are required to respond to changing business environments flexibly and quickly. The new UCaaS Plan will help companies meet those needs, by unifying everything from IP phones and instant/voice messaging to status checks and telephone/video/web conferencing across multiple devices, including fixed phones, PCs and smartphones. The plan uses Cisco Systems, Inc.’s Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution as its platform.

Under the UCaaS Plan, customers are able to unify system construction and management, which are generally required in each country individually. The result is efficient, seamless communication among offices in multiple countries worldwide. Calls to a user’s different business devices, such as a fixed phone in the office or mobile phone, can be integrated into one number to prevent missed calls or disconnections. Functions such as status checks and conferencing can be integrated as well, so that customers can match work styles with the best-suited communication tool.

With the cloud-based UCaaS Plan, customers’ costs for the construction, operation and maintenance of a PBX facility, as well as use of data centers, are virtually eliminated. In addition, the plan utilizes a flexible use, pay-as-you-go system, allowing on-demand usage and making it easy for trial introductions. The monthly fee for the new plan starts from 400 USD per enterprise, from 90 USD per location and from 10 USD per ID, in addition to charges for NTT Com’s VPN service.

While the UCaaS Plan offers fixed-rate usage of internal communication among offices worldwide, the SIP Trunking Plan offers reduced charges for external calls to overseas, which is generally a significant cost for companies.

NTT Com plans to further expand the area of its SIP Trunking Plan by March 2012.

"Through the Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution, Cisco is enabling our partners to provide cloud-based solutions that offer unmatched levels of flexibility for their customers." said Bob Gault, Vice President, Worldwide Partner Organization, Cisco. "We look forward to continuing to work closely with NTT Communications to ultimately assist their customers globally in deploying collaboration technologies that bring about a new way of working."

"By adopting globally-respected Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution as a platform, NTT Com has achieved its goal of offering a cloud-based unified communication service worldwide," said Masahiro Wakai, Senior Vice President of NTT Com. "With our aim of becoming a `Global ICT Partner,’ we will continue our efforts to offer reliable, globally seamless ICT services built on constant innovation," he added.