Alcatel-Lucent Rainbow acknowledged by Frost & Sullivan for Global Hybrid Unified Communications Architecture Competitive Strategy Innovation and Leadership
ALE, operating under the Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise brand, has received the 2017 Global Hybrid Unified Communications Architecture Competitive Strategy Innovation and Leadership Award from industry analyst firm Frost & Sullivan based on an assessment of best practices across multiple business performance categories. The award highlights five key points that differentiate the ALE offering from others in the market.
- Competitive Differentiation
According to Frost & Sullivan, Rainbow is redefining the hybrid experience with differentiators that set it apart from competitors. IT administrators, managed service providers, and channel partners can be authorized to remotely manage a customer’s on-premises or cloud-based UC deployment—including inventory management, remote configuration, and centralized analytics—all through its single management delegation capability.
Rainbow delivers the benefits of cloud services with the best capabilities of on-premises platforms, allowing customers to avoid costly compromises and develop a communications architecture that best suits their particular needs.
- Price/Performance Value
Business users can make and receive calls from their business extension through the Rainbow desktop and mobile clients by leveraging a software agent that is a standard feature on the latest versions of the ALE call control platforms. This business-critical feature, which others offer as a costly premium capability, is offered on top of standard PBX integration across the industry.
- Customer Ownership Experience
For existing customers, ALE offers a hybrid architecture that leverages the best of on-premises solutions and the Rainbow cloud. The hybrid architecture instills confidence to support customers’ existing investments while building toward a cloud-only future.
- Stakeholder Integration
With customers, business partners, and third-party application partners in mind, Alcatel-Lucent Rainbow services provide a differentiated set of features and capabilities that set it apart from many of its competitors in the communications market, according to Frost & Sullivan. For customers, a feature-rich freemium Rainbow service extends existing on-premises solutions into the cloud, delivering significant investment protection and introducing newer capabilities with little to no risk. Channel partners, systems integrators, and vertical solution integrators can offer Rainbow with a set of value-added capabilities for enterprises evolving in their digital transformation while gaining seamless access to important management and analytic tools.
- Brand Equity
According to Frost & Sullivan, ALE puts a focus on commitment and innovation, demonstrating a committed effort to protecting and enhancing the communications investments that customers and partners have made in the company’s products. ALE has a strategic focus in several key vertical industries—including hospitality, healthcare, transportation, and education—and its current and past success leads to developing specific communications solutions and business offerings within Rainbow that address the unique needs of these key industries.
Michael Brandenburg, Frost & Sullivan said, “Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise has paid particular focus on how its Rainbow services and hybrid communications architecture will impact its key stakeholders. As a result, ALE has built a very customer-focused approach to delivering the next generation of cloud-based communications while acknowledging the reality that most enterprises want to continue leveraging their significant investment in on-premises equipment. This is a differentiator to the common ‘cloud only’ approach throughout the market.”
