Batelco announced the launch of Cisco Unified Communication, a unified communications solution designed for small to medium enterprises (SMEs).

"We are aware that small to medium enterprises in the kingdom are actively seeking the benefits of communication technology to increase their productivity and efficiency," said Batelco general manager enterprise division Andrew Hanna.

"However, we also know that many of these businesses face the challenge of managing and updating multiple platforms for their voice, data and video needs, in addition to the cost of financing these technologies."

He said that Cisco Unified Communication is a new addition to Batelco's portfolio of unified communication solutions and is introduced through a strategic partnership with networking provider Cisco.

"Cisco Unified Communication is an all-in-one, simple, smart, affordable solution that takes advantage of industry-leading, state-of-the-art, proven, unified communications technologies," he said.

The solution includes Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express and Cisco Unity Express for voice, Cisco IOS for data, firewall, VPN capabilities and wireless.

Mr Hanna said that it integrates with existing desktop applications such as calendar, e-mail and customer relationship management programmes, offering a cost effective solution.

He said that Batelco continually strives to enable businesses to excel by introducing the most advanced telecommunication technologies available in the market.

"Traditionally, small businesses have differentiated themselves through exceptional customer service, agility and by building relationships in which they really get to know their customers," Cisco SP's channel account manager Jamie Dewar said.

"They are generally able to quickly adapt their business models in response to what their customers want.

"However, where they generally have a challenge is in competing for market share and matching the purchasing power of large enterprises, especially for new technologies. This is where we can help," he said.

Mr Dewar said that the Cisco Unified Communication solution can help SMEs in building deep relationships and being responsive to their customers by offering the same technology-driven conveniences that large enterprises offer, but on a more personal basis.

"By selecting Batelco as their unified communication's service provider, customers benefit from round-the-clock maintenance and support, in addition to flexible payment schemes that relieve enterprises from the burden of high capital expenditures," he said.