Unified Communications: News

Recent market research reports and earnings this week from tech bellwethers including Lenovo and Cisco Systems underscore underlying strength in IT even as the global economy continues to experience significant turbulence.

Telecommunication equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent reported a profit for the fourth quarter, but revenue fell 12.9 percent year-on-year as the company continues to face a challenging market, it said on Friday.

News on financial reports and awards

The $5.1 million three-year trial will complement the existing Adult Migrant English Program

Updated BI platform, data migration solution, a multi-function handset, and business risk solutions

Alcatel-Lucent has closed the sale of its customer-service software and contact-center business Genesys, which now needs to regroup and start working on improving areas such as analytics, Gartner analyst Steve Blood said.

Zultys has upgraded the software in its MX family of IP PBXs and added a Mobile Communicator client for Android-based smartphones, the company said on Tuesday.

A literal reading of this survey question leads inevitably to a pair of correct answers: absolutely yes and absolutely not.

LAS VEGAS -- LTE has exploded at this week's Consumer Electronics Show, where the three top U.S. wireless carriers and dozens of other vendors are showing off how they plan to use the high-speed technology with new smartphones, tablets and even ATM's.

At this year's CES, tablets will get cheaper, laptops will get thinner, and cameras will become more like phones. Apps will be everywhere, including in cars. And Microsoft's phone-inspired Windows 8 will edge closer to release.

The new year promises we'll see a tech revolution, from smartphones capable of making payments to printers handling Web and e-mail printing with greater ease to the launch of the Windows 8 operating system. Laptops, cameras, and the components in our devices will also improve (supposedly) by leaps and bounds. Here's a rundown of what to expect in 2012.

What is 2012 likely to bring to the tech industry and its users?

AT&T today ended its battle to buy T-Mobile USA, the No. 4 U.S. carrier from parent company Deutsche Telekom. In doing so, it will pay T-Mobile a $4 billion breakup fee. Earlier this fall, both the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice said they would fight the sale, with the FCC saying it was not in consumers' interest. Had the deal gone through, AT&T would have become the No. 1 U.S. cellular carrier, leaping ahead of Verizon Wireless, which it trails slightly in terms of customers.

The latest on new releases and partnerships

The Australian Telehealth Network (ATN) has launched its video consultation services aimed at connecting aged care providers, general practitioners and specialists across Australia.

The Dutch competition Authority NMa raided the offices of Vodafone, T-Mobile and KPN on Tuesday morning as part of an investigation into price fixing, the authority said.

Distribution Central business unit, Unity Systems, has released a new tool to help partners sell Avaya solutions called the Avaya Configurator by Distribution Central.

Vodafone's Global Enterprise is strengthening its professional services arm by acquiring British consultant Bluefish Communications, which will form the basis of a new unified communication and collaboration practice, the operator said on Thursday.

AT&T will continue to seek antitrust clearance for its merger with rival T-Mobile USA, it said Thursday. However, to reflect the break-up fee it will have to pay T-Mobile's owner Deutsche Telekom if the deal does not get regulatory approval, AT&T expects to recognize a US$4 billion [b] accounting charge in the fourth quarter.

Business wins award for the sixth time in 10 years