This year's CeBIT will see C4B, a specialist in Unified Communications & Collaboration solutions and CTI software, presenting an entirely new product family in the form of XPhone Essentials for augmenting Microsoft Lync solutions at Stand D37 in Hall 13. XPhone Essentials extends Microsoft Lync to include many new functions already familiar from the classic world of telephony thereby improving communication with Microsoft Lync.
Integration of contact data in Microsoft Lync
Contact data forms the basis for all types of corporate communication. Microsoft Lync is a very good tool for swift communication with people whose contact data can be found in the Active Directory or in personal Outlook contacts. Within a corporate environment however, it is even more important to be able to access customer, supplier and partner data which is typically saved in a wide variety of applications but has not yet been capable of integration.
In the form of XPhone Essentials Virtual Directory for Microsoft Lync, C4B closes this gap and enables real-time access to all company contacts – even if they are distributed across various locations, data bases, special applications or cloud services. This solution enables users to access all company contact data directly via all Lync Clients – even using mobile end devices – and makes it possible to use such data for communication with Lync. All data sources can be browsed using a "free-text search" such as "Taxi Munich", for example. Furthermore, the data from a wide variety of company applications (CRM, ERP etc.) serves towards caller ID enabling callers to be identified immediately. Data integration is entirely on the server while a graphic frontend helps to establish links to the source data base.
Add-ons for the Lync Client
XPhone Essentials augments the Microsoft Lync Client to include key telephony functions. Telephone numbers can be found practically anywhere, even outside the Lync Client such as on Web sites or in applications and documents. Using the new hotkey feature, it is possible to make phone calls from practically any application in future. All you need to do is press a defined key or key combination, a so-called hotkey. What's more, many applications also support outgoing calls via TAPI. With XPhone Essentials, C4B is providing a TAPI interface which can be used in 32-Bit and 64-Bit environments for making phone calls at a click of the mouse via the Lync Client. Existing applications such as CRM or ERP systems, for example, can be integrated in Lync environments. The integrated phone number conversion feature represents a particular highlight: it recognises various phone number modes and automatically converts them into a format which can be dialled by Lync. In the form of the "Busy for call waiting" feature, XPhone Essentials also offers setting options defining procedures for calls waiting when you are already taking a call.
The XPhone Client add-ons for Microsoft Lync are installed on the respective desktop PCs. No modifications to the Lync server infrastructure are required. Tried-and-tested MSI distribution mechanisms permit a fast software roll-out, even in environments involving hundreds or thousands of users.
Availability and price
C4B has announced that the XPhone Essentials Client add-ons for Microsoft Lync 2010 and Lync 2013 will be available as of April. According to the manufacturer, a full version of the Client add-ons will be available for downloading free of charge for a period of 30 days. There will also be a generally free version of the Client add-ons which will however only offer reduced features. XPhone Essentials Virtual Directory for Microsoft Lync 2010 will also be available as of April 2013. Support for Microsoft Lync 2013 is to follow this summer. The software will be available through authorised C4B partners.
Integration of contact data in Microsoft Lync
Contact data forms the basis for all types of corporate communication. Microsoft Lync is a very good tool for swift communication with people whose contact data can be found in the Active Directory or in personal Outlook contacts. Within a corporate environment however, it is even more important to be able to access customer, supplier and partner data which is typically saved in a wide variety of applications but has not yet been capable of integration.
In the form of XPhone Essentials Virtual Directory for Microsoft Lync, C4B closes this gap and enables real-time access to all company contacts – even if they are distributed across various locations, data bases, special applications or cloud services. This solution enables users to access all company contact data directly via all Lync Clients – even using mobile end devices – and makes it possible to use such data for communication with Lync. All data sources can be browsed using a "free-text search" such as "Taxi Munich", for example. Furthermore, the data from a wide variety of company applications (CRM, ERP etc.) serves towards caller ID enabling callers to be identified immediately. Data integration is entirely on the server while a graphic frontend helps to establish links to the source data base.
Add-ons for the Lync Client
XPhone Essentials augments the Microsoft Lync Client to include key telephony functions. Telephone numbers can be found practically anywhere, even outside the Lync Client such as on Web sites or in applications and documents. Using the new hotkey feature, it is possible to make phone calls from practically any application in future. All you need to do is press a defined key or key combination, a so-called hotkey. What's more, many applications also support outgoing calls via TAPI. With XPhone Essentials, C4B is providing a TAPI interface which can be used in 32-Bit and 64-Bit environments for making phone calls at a click of the mouse via the Lync Client. Existing applications such as CRM or ERP systems, for example, can be integrated in Lync environments. The integrated phone number conversion feature represents a particular highlight: it recognises various phone number modes and automatically converts them into a format which can be dialled by Lync. In the form of the "Busy for call waiting" feature, XPhone Essentials also offers setting options defining procedures for calls waiting when you are already taking a call.
The XPhone Client add-ons for Microsoft Lync are installed on the respective desktop PCs. No modifications to the Lync server infrastructure are required. Tried-and-tested MSI distribution mechanisms permit a fast software roll-out, even in environments involving hundreds or thousands of users.
Availability and price
C4B has announced that the XPhone Essentials Client add-ons for Microsoft Lync 2010 and Lync 2013 will be available as of April. According to the manufacturer, a full version of the Client add-ons will be available for downloading free of charge for a period of 30 days. There will also be a generally free version of the Client add-ons which will however only offer reduced features. XPhone Essentials Virtual Directory for Microsoft Lync 2010 will also be available as of April 2013. Support for Microsoft Lync 2013 is to follow this summer. The software will be available through authorised C4B partners.
