Data Connection Launches MailNGen Messaging Solution for Service Providers.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

NGN Conference

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 3, 2003

Data Connection today announced MailNGen, a highly scalable, carrier-class voicemail, e-mail and fax messaging solution for Service Providers. The product supports both traditional (TDM) connectivity and Voice over IP (VoIP), providing a cost-effective and "future-proof" messaging solution for Service Providers migrating to next-generation VoIP networks.

MailNGen's next-generation architecture supports scalable TDM and VoIP-based services on cost-effective industry-standard hardware, combined with a rich set of messaging features, to allow Service Providers to migrate and replace existing legacy voicemail systems in a managed and future-proofed manner.

Does the industry need another messaging product? Graeme MacArthur, Vice-President of Data Connection's Internet Applications Group, answers with an emphatic 'yes'. "Carriers are incredibly frustrated with the unfulfilled promises from their existing suppliers. The industry needs products that are architected from the ground up for a multi-media multi-network environment, developed throughout to a consistent design and quality metric, and deployable quickly and easily with minimal on-going operational costs. Our investment in MailNGen allows us to deliver all this. In contrast, solutions constructed by gluing piece-parts together simply don't fly."

At the heart of this new solution is a unique server-farm software architecture that employs low-cost hardware and off-the-shelf storage solutions to ensure a manageable deployment, linear scalability and no single point of failure. Another key aspect is the open standards-based design, with native support for POP-3, IMAP-4, SMTP, HTTP, LDAP, VXML and VPIM standards for easy interoperability and integration with third party clients and network components.

"We've received terrific feedback from early customers and trials," continued MacArthur. "Through our existing business relationships, we have been fortunate to have access to some of the biggest carriers in the world, who have helped tremendously in reviewing our product plans and providing invaluable input. We're now ready to go forward with them, and also to expand into new customers."

Part of that feedback has ensured a rich set of functional capabilities. MailNGen's features include:

-- easily-branded voice and web user interfaces, allowing

customized look-and-feel to match the Service Provider's own

branding

-- a broad set of voicemail and email capabilities, including web

access to voicemail and telephone access to e-mail, enabling

smooth migration from legacy messaging systems while offering

immediate added value 

-- web-based customer self-care allowing subscribers direct

control of their own mailbox and reducing the Service

Provider's operating costs 

-- LDAP directory-based administration, including bulk

configuration tools, to minimize management costs even for

massive deployments

-- a full range of security features

As well as supplying software products, Data Connection also provides comprehensive support and engineering services. "Service Providers want a quality product from a secure and stable supplier as a base-point," said MacArthur, "but they also want to differentiate and add value, rather than just offer a 'me-too' service. As well as providing an open architecture to enable customer-built services such as those through VXML, we are able to leverage our expertise to adapt our software to a customer's specific needs, for example, adding new features or integrating with their back office systems. Our support and services teams include members of the original product development group, so we can provide highly knowledgeable engineers even for out-of-hours support."

MailNGen is part of a suite of unified communications products from the Internet Applications Group (IAG) of Data Connection, with other products including MeetingServer for web-conferencing, DC-Share for UNIX desktop collaboration, and DC-Directory for high-scale distributed electronic directory services. Customers for Data Connection's IAG product line include British Telecom, Cisco, COLT Telecom, Comverse Networks, IBM/Lotus, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft and Unisys.

About Data Connection

Data Connection Limited (DCL) has been supplying leading edge Messaging, Conferencing, Directory and Network Protocol software to the telecommunications industry for 22 years.

Headquartered in London UK, with US offices in Alameda CA, Dallas TX and Reston VA, Data Connection is privately held and has a track record of consistent success, with profits regularly exceeding 20% of revenue ($12M profit on $40M revenue in the year to August 2003).

For more information on Data Connection, see www.dataconnection.com.

For more information on MailNGen, see www.mailngen.com.

Please visit us at NGN in Boston, November 4-5, at booth #203.

Data Connection, MailNGen, MeetingServer, DC-Share and DC-Directory are trademarks of Data Connection Limited and Data Connection Corporation. Brands and products referenced herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.