CMG Sees Demand for Unified Communications Increasing; Citing Market Potential, CMG Announces Unified Communications Plans.

Business/Technology Editors

CTIA Wireless 2002

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 18, 2002

Following the recent European launch of its new unified communications solution, CMG today announced its North American plans for marketing its latest version of its 100 percent IP-based Unified Communications product tailored for the needs of wireless and wire-line telecommunications service providers.

As part of this announcement, CMG announced that Lawrence Frank, most recently a vice president at Mirapoint, has accepted a position as senior vice president - unified communications at CMG and will lead the newly announced program. The company also announced today that it has joined the Unified Communications Consortium, where Frank serves as a member of the Board of Directors, and to which he was recently elected vice president.

Demonstrated at CTIA Wireless 2002 (Booth #2173) CMG's Unified Communications Platform is the latest step in the evolution of voice-based messaging services. Unified messaging started with the creation of a single "inbox" of messages from various sources, including e-mail, voice and fax. On top of that, additional functionality was added so that access to the inbox could be device-independent, allowing, say, phone- or web-based access to all of a user's messages. Today's "unified communications" systems take this one step further, adding inbound and outbound calling and additional value added features.

Research and analyst firms have predicted strong growth for the unified communications market. International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates that the number of unified messaging mailboxes will grow from 3.1 million in 2001 to 21.7 million in 2005. IDC valued the market for unified communication software and services at $689 million in 2001 and predicted industry revenues of more than $1.7 billion by 2004. Late last year, Frost & Sullivan revealed that the average North American worker receives 73 e-mail, voicemail and fax messages each day, and suggested that widespread acceptance would lead to rapid growth in the industry. Meanwhile, Ovum estimates that by 2007, over 60 percent of unified messaging mailboxes will support real-time communications capabilities.

"In addition to the research out there, there were two factors that led to CMG's current focus in the unified communications space," said Frank. "Current economic conditions are constricting carrier revenues and reducing the money available for capital expenditures and technology investments. Meanwhile, technological developments and market forces are combining to reduce the costs involved in network upgrades. The North American market is at an inflection point where carriers can in fact begin making strategic investments in infrastructure upgrades, such as IP-based technology--as long as the costs are low. CMG has customized its Unified Communications solution for today's market. The flexible modularity and compatibility with both IP-based and circuit-switched networks of our solution makes us ideal for carriers and service providers looking to add new services and invest in their infrastructure."

"Lawrence Frank was the perfect candidate to lead the introduction of our newly-integrated unified communications products and services," said Frans Veen, senior vice president of sales and services for CMG's Wireless Data Solutions division . "Frank's expertise, his leadership in the industry, and his strong ties with the Unified Communications Consortium bring enormous value to CMG and our clients' businesses. Joining the UCC completes our committment to this growing industry sector. Our unified communications offering will set the standard for some time to come."

At Mirapoint, Frank designed and directed that company's global wireless messaging and unified communications strategic initiatives. Prior to that, he served as a vice president of Lucent Technologies' Service Provider Messaging group, where he established and directed the company's global service provider marketing team. Before Lucent, Frank spent 15 years in various capacities at AT&T. Frank holds an MBA in finance and international business from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts in economics and government from St. Lawrence University. He sits on the boards of directors of Lab-Aids, Inc. and the UCC, and is an advisory board member for a number of communications technology companies.

About CMG Wireless Data Solutions

CMG, established in 1964, works closely alongside its customers in long-term relationships to generate success for them. CMG is a full service provider through management consultancy, systems development & integration and the outsourced management of targeted business processes. Our purpose is to lead in the creation and development of the most advanced IT and telecommunications services (ICT) and wireless data solutions (WDS). The combination of our ICT and WDS capabilities produces a compelling proposition for enterprises seeking to add the mobile channel to their operations and marketing strategies. We are at the heart of our customers' critical activities, combining industry knowledge, technical expertise and practical innovation. With some 14,000 employees CMG implements and supports applications for customers worldwide from bases in 17 countries. CMG is both listed on the London and Amsterdam Stock Exchanges.

Visit CMG at CTIA Wireless 2002 at booth 2173 for product demonstrations including Unified Communications and SMS interoperablity.