News

Microsoft, Nortel Form Telecom Alliance

Microsoft Corp. and Nortel Networks Corp. have formed a four-year alliance to develop and sell products that aim to give people more sophisticated ways to communicate with each other.

Microsoft Corp. and Nortel Networks Corp. have formed a four-year alliance to develop and sell products that aim to give people more sophisticated ways to communicate with each other.

The wide-ranging deal, which could be extended, is focused on selling high-tech business communications offerings to corporations. It was announced Tuesday, and no financial details were released.

Redmond-based Microsoft, the world's largest software company, has put enormous effort behind such technology, which seeks to more closely link communications ranging from e-mail and instant messaging to video conferencing and even traditional telephone calls.

The idea is that employees could more easily locate one another and work together, regardless of whether their colleagues were sitting at a computer in a nearby cubicle, driving home from work or stuck in an airport.

In a statement, Toronto-based Nortel said it believed it could see more than $1 billion in revenue from the deal.

Featured

  • Microsoft Offers Support Extensions for Exchange 2016 and 2019

    Microsoft has introduced a paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program for on-premises Exchange Server 2016 and 2019, offering a crucial safety cushion as both versions near their Oct. 14, 2025 end-of-support date.

  • An image of planes flying around a globe

    2025 Microsoft Conference Calendar: For Partners, IT Pros and Developers

    Here's your guide to all the IT training sessions, partner meet-ups and annual Microsoft conferences you won't want to miss.

  • Notebook

    Microsoft Centers AI, Security and Partner Dogfooding at MCAPS

    Microsoft's second annual MCAPS for Partners event took place Tuesday, delivering a volley of updates and directives for its partners for fiscal 2026.

  • Microsoft Layoffs: AI Is the Obvious Elephant in the Room

    As Microsoft doubles down on an $80 billion bet on AI this fiscal year, its workforce reductions are drawing scrutiny over whether AI's ascent is quietly reshaping its human capital strategy, even as official messaging avoids drawing a direct line.