Cisco's comms suite goes mobile

Cisco has said its latest upgrade to its Unified Communications software will enable users to access its full suite of features on mobile devices.

Until now, Cisco's Unified Communications software worked on desktops but not mobile devices. With the software upgrade, mobile users will be able to access all the Unified Communications features, including the company directory, it said. They'll be able to see presence information, which can let them know if a colleague is on the phone or available for a chat. The new software also enables people to view voicemail in their email.

The new software also includes new features designed especially for mobile phones, such as automatically dialling into scheduled conference calls and automatically turning the mobile phone's ringer off when the owner's calendar says he is in a meeting.

The new mobile functionality has been made possible by software Cisco acquired from a company called Orative in October 2006.

In the first release of the software available this spring, the new Unified Mobile Communicator will work on smart phones running Microsoft's Windows Mobile, Symbian OS or RIM's BlackBerry operating system. Cisco said it will extend the software in the autumn to work with what it calls "feature" phones that use development applications such as Qualcomm's Brew (binary runtime environment for wireless).

Mobile is the next logical step in the evolution of Cisco's Unified Communications product as more companies issue mobile devices to their workers in an effort to make their workforces more productive.

Alex Hadden-Boyd, director of Mobile Unified Communications for Cisco, said: "We see more and more companies giving mobile devices to workers. It's not just the executives who have BlackBerrys anymore. It's middle managers and other employees, too."

Cisco still generates the bulk of its revenue from routers and switches that shuttle IP packets across corporate networks and the internet. But the company has been pursuing several new markets, such as telephony and video, over the past few years to find new growth markets. So far, Unified Communications is proving to be a winner. During the company's second-quarter profits call in February, executives said sales of its Unified Communications products had increased 38 per cent compared with a year ago.

Even though sales seem to be strong for this product line, Cisco is likely to continue to face some tough competitors, including Microsoft, which is working with voice veteran Nortel Networks.

Marguerite Reardon writes for CNET News.com