Mitel Networks Selects Dialogic IPOD Digital Gateway as Part of Its Network Convergence Strategy.

Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 5, 2001

(CT EXPO SPRING 2001)

Phased Approach to IP Telephony Enables Small to Medium-Sized

Businesses to Preserve Investment in Legacy Telephone Equipment

Dialogic, an Intel company, today announced that Mitel Networks, has become the first telephony equipment manufacturer to offer customers its own private-label version of the Dialogic iPOD appliance.

The iPOD, which is a digital gateway that sits outside the server, allows Mitel Speak@Ease(TM) architecture to bring speech recognition capabilities to both traditional and IP telephony solutions in a cost-effective and timely manner. With the enhanced capability of transmitting voice and call control data over managed data networks (MDN), Mitel can offer customers the convenience and efficiency of speech-enabled telephony products including automated attendant, messaging, personal dialer, mobility, and toll management. The iPOD digital gateway will be demonstrated at CT Expo Spring in Dialogic booth 1301.

"With the iPOD, Dialogic provides an easy, cost-effective way for Mitel's customers to manage network migration to IP technology," explained Chris Meszaros, iPOD product manager for Dialogic. "The iPOD lets companies ease into network convergence at their own pace, keeping their legacy PBX and proprietary digital telephone equipment while they gain the benefits of connecting to a managed network. This approach saves time as well as management and support costs."

For Mitel, the iPOD product brings the integration technology out of the server by allowing its customers to connect iPOD to a LAN, and run Speak@Ease and the application software on a PC server of their choice.

"The iPOD is an ideal solution for Mitel and Speak@Ease," explained Stephen Duncan, head of marketing, applications group, Mitel Networks. "With the iPOD, Mitel can avoid system integration issues and concentrate on developing our Speak@Ease application, leaving hardware support and maintenance to the experts."

A Complete Network Conversion Solution

The iPOD gives small to medium-sized enterprises the benefits of LAN-based voice processing without the expense of having to replace a major part of their existing infrastructure, including the PBX and digital telephones. Besides reducing the costs associated with having to replace existing telephony infrastructure, the iPOD also eliminates costly multiple design and test cycles, since there is no need to develop a separate application for each proprietary PBX.

An open, standards-based gateway subsystem, the iPOD shapes proprietary digital station set information into a standard protocol suitable for transmission over managed data networks. It was developed by Voice Technologies Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dialogic, an Intel company. Interfacing with the PBX through proven digital telephone set emulation, the iPOD includes essential features needed to develop voice-enabled, network-hosted applications.

The iPOD digital gateway supports PBXs from Lucent, Nortel and Mitel. Support for Siemens and NEC PBXs will be added during 2001. The iPOD is available for private labeling now. Mitel released its private-labeled iPOD implementation, called Application Hub, in January as part of its Speak@Ease solution set.

About Mitel Networks

Mitel Networks is a leading-edge provider of next generation IP telephony solutions and a market-leader for voice and data convergence. The company creates advanced communication solutions and applications in the areas of speech recognition, wireless mobility, integrated messaging, and customer interaction solutions. The company also integrates voice and data infrastructures with its patented dual-bus architecture in its Ipera IP platform. Mitel Networks currently serves the education, hospitality, healthcare and government markets. The company is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada.

About Dialogic, an Intel Company

Dialogic, an Intel company, provides the crucial building blocks and technical services that enable its customers to develop solutions serving the converging Internet and telecommunications market segments. Dialogic products are used in voice, fax, data, speech recognition and synthesis, call center management and Internet protocol (IP) telephony applications in both service provider and customer premise equipment (CPE) environments.

Dialogic and the Dialogic logo are registered trademarks of Dialogic Corporation. All other names products, and services mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective organizations.