IBM is aggressively pushing a unified messaging solution, because it says all three major telecoms operators in SA will probably implement such services as soon as next year.
IBM South Africa says Telkom, MTN and Vodacom are all to issue requests for proposals on unified messaging systems "within the next few weeks".
[VIDEO]Asif Valley, local NetGen country manager for IBM, says the operators will be looking at implementing unified messaging as soon as next year. "The time has come for them to do this."
If IBM gets its way, the operators will implement a Web portal type system it describes as a "single view, single access for multiple devices".
Its showcase is Hitoori.com, a UK site named after a Japanese word meaning "one box". Hitoori issues subscribers with a telephone number not related to any device. A caller using that number is routed to the Hitoori system, which then starts a systematic search for the user. Depending on how the subscriber profile is configured, Hitoori will sequentially ring an office phone, a cellphone or any other telephone number. If the call is not picked up, it will be diverted to a traditional voice mailbox.
Voice messages can be forwarded to any other telephone number, with an additional voice message recorded by the subscriber, or with an added message using the Hitoori text-to-speech engine.
The single number can also be used for fax or e-mail messages.
But the part of the system subscribers see is only part of the reason IBM believes it is a contender for the business of the local operators. The Hitoori engine is driven by a range of hardware and software from different vendors, but it is all delivered by IBM already integrated and pre-configured, and on a rental basis.
[VIDEO]Valley says the typical licence fee for a 50 000-user system will be $2.99 per user in the first year, when IBM recovers the bulk of its costs, with a $0.44 ongoing fee every year after. That brings the year one cost to just over R1.2 million.
On the flipside, IBM uses language to make operators drool. It promises the technology will improve revenue per user, help differentiate service providers and give it a good marketing hook for new business. In a deregulating market, the offer of "sticky services" to keep users loyal also carries weight.
To users, it promises a single telephone number across a growing number of telephones. "We expect it to be a very compelling offer," says Valley.
Despite that, he says, the options the current operators are considering at this point do not include the single number concept.
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