OTTAWA, Feb. 27, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mitel® (Nasdaq:MITL), a leading global provider of Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) software solutions, today announced that Bellevue College (BC), the third largest institution of higher learning in Washington state, has selected Mitel's Freedom Architecture as the foundation of its communications infrastructure. Acknowledged by the State of Washington as the Northwest Center of Excellence in Technology, BC is now able to manage its voice solution as an application, deliver a full suite of UCC features including IM and chat, and easily integrate with its existing messaging platform, significantly easing communications management and maintenance, and reducing costs across the 14 building campus. With the deployment of Mitel's solution, the college is well positioned to support its strategic growth plans.
"At Bellevue College, we make our technology choices based on our organizational goals. For today's higher education environment, this means aligning IT with fundamental changes to how colleges operate, including new funding models, global competition for new students and increased mobility of students and staff," said Russ Beard, vice president of Information Resources at Bellevue College. "Mitel's technology and expertise is a strategic asset that allows us to enhance our brand, extend our recruitment reach at home and abroad, and fundamentally improve the way we engage with, support, and ensure the success of our students."
With more than 38,000 students and plans for further growth, Bellevue was also looking for a call center solution with the advanced features required to attract and retain new students. Mitel was able to meet that need by delivering a contact center solution that supports instant messaging and chat functions, allowing Bellevue to engage the next generation of students in the way they are used to being engaged. The solution also streamlines the administration of student registration and financial aid.
In evaluating solutions, flexibility and interoperability with existing platforms were also of paramount importance. Mitel's Freedom Architecture tailored UCC solution allowed Bellevue College to integrate Mitel's UC solution on top of their existing Microsoft Exchange 2010 Unified Messaging and Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS) platform.
"Bellevue College approached us with a very precise set of business-requirements to support the communications needs of campus staff and students – current and future," said Stephen Beamish, vice president of corporate marketing and business development for Mitel. "By deploying Mitel's Freedom Architecture, the college was able to tailor the solution to leverage their existing infrastructure, enhance functionality where they wanted to, and ensure they are able to scale in the future as their requirements change."
For more information on Mitel's Freedom Architecture, visit www.mitel.com/freedom.
About Mitel
Mitel (Nasdaq:MITL) is a global provider of business communications and collaboration software and services. Mitel's Freedom architecture provides the flexibility and simplicity organizations need to support today's dynamic work environment. Through a single cloud-ready software stream, Mitel delivers a powerful suite of advanced communications and collaboration capabilities that provides freedom from walled garden architectures and enables organizations to implement best-of-breed solutions on any network; extends the "in-office" experience anywhere, on any device; and offers choice of commercial options to fit business needs. For more information, visit: http://www.mitel.com.
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