Aastra (Booth #436)
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Name: Tim Whittington
Title:
Regional Group President at Aastra North America
RCP: What's the elevator pitch for your company to a Microsoft partner?
Whittington: Aastra, a leading global enterprise communications provider, offers IP telephony and Unified Communications solutions for businesses of all sizes -- feature-rich call managers for small and medium businesses and highly scalable ones for large enterprises, integrated mobility, call center solutions, and a wide selection of terminals. Aastra's IP Phones for Microsoft Lync have seamless integration to Lync Server 2010, providing the full Lync Unified Communications feature set to enable enterprises to communicate and collaborate more efficiently.
For partners who may not have thought about your company since the last WPC, what would they need to know about what you've been up to for the past 12 months?
Aastra continues to innovate across all of our product lines. Specific to Microsoft Lync, we have recently released a new version of our Aastra SIP-DECT solution. In conjunction with SmartSIP from NET, Aastra's SIP-DECT provides a secure, reliable, on-campus mobility solution. The latest release of Aastra SIP-DECT brings an expanded product line with new access points and features to make it easy to deploy and manage.
Out of your entire product portfolio, what's the product or service that Microsoft partners should be aware of right now?
The Aastra 6725ip is a full-featured IP phone optimized for use with Microsoft Lync. Knowledge workers and power users will value the integration with their Lync desktop client, Outlook calendar, contacts, click to dial and much more.
The Aastra 6721ip is an entry-level, standalone IP phone optimized for use with Microsoft Lync. Its attractive price makes it appropriate for casual users or common areas yet it has powerful features such as corporate directories.
Also, as mentioned above, Aastra's SIP-DECT solution provides a feature-rich, on-campus mobility solution for Microsoft Lync.
Are you announcing anything at WPC?
Aastra currently has special offers on our phones. These include rebates for the reseller and a free, three-year warranty on our phones. Partners can visit us in the booth or online at www.aastrausa.com/lync for the details.
What should Microsoft partners keep an eye out for from your company over the next year?
Continued innovation, and reliable, price-competitive solutions.
Why should someone visit your booth this year (free stuff, amazing demo, contest, promotion, etc.)?
In addition to demos (and giveaways), resellers should visit our booth to learn about our latest promotions and how they can become an Aastra reseller for Microsoft Lync endpoints.
As a company, what are your goals for WPC this year?
Talk with as many partners as possible to tell them how they can benefit from becoming an Aastra reseller.
What's the profile of the ideal partner you're hoping to connect with at WPC this year?
We are looking for integrators and resellers who have customers deploying Microsoft Lync for voice services.
Who are some of your team members a partner might meet at your booth (names and titles)?
In our booth we will have representatives from Aastra, as well as two of our distributor partners: Jenne and Gentek. Anyone in the booth will be knowledgeable and happy to talk to current and potential partners. As a global company, Aastra is well-prepared to meet international as well as North American customers. Our staff in the booth speak English, French and Spanish, and we can also provide Global Contact information for international visitors.
For partners' post-show follow-up, who should they contact and how (phone number or e-mail address)?
In North America, e-mail [email protected] or call (800) 468-3266. For international contacts, click here.
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