BluStar Conference Solution will be launched in India this year...

How do you compare India's performance in 2012 with other countries in the region?

It is under performing, though positive in particular for greenfield accounts.

How has Aastra performed in different product categories be it desktop phones, mobility and collaboration products in 2012?

In above categories we are as mentioned underperforming.

When do you plan to launch BluStar conference room for the Indian market? And what is the target market in India?

BluStar Conference Solution will be launched in India this year, and the target market is enterprise. Unveiled at the CeBIT trade show in Germany, BluStar for Conference Room is the latest addition to Aastra's BluStar Ecosystem which offers easy access to powerful HD video collaboration thanks to a dedicated media phone and clients for PCs, laptops, iPads and iPhones.

BluStar for Conference Room features the same intuitive interface as the award-winning BluStar 8000i Desktop Media Phone prompting frequent and ad-hoc use. A video conference can be initiated with a simple click from a wireless controller, providing organisations with an easy way to enjoy the benefits of enhanced productivity achieved from reduced travel and greater collaboration of employees. As businesses have diverse video requirements, the Aastra BluStar Ecosystem gives them the flexibility to have access to video communications whether on the move, at their desk or in a meeting room - all with a consistent user experience.

Which verticals have done extremely well for Aastra India and why? Do you see any change in your India strategy with respect to verticals in 2013?

Military, government and ITES have done extremely well in 2012, because they shop for stable proven quality. In 2013, Aastra India has embarked upon the enterprise market by assigning a number of new channel partners.

How has Aastra performed in SMB and products which have done extremely well in the Indian market?

 

Our SMB segment has done well with our MX-One platform which scale very well into this segment. By integrating voice, video and data with mobility capabilities, Aastra MX-ONE, the full-featured communication server, brings new, fresh dimensions to the modern enterprise. With its fully distributed architecture, the MX-ONE solution can be deployed in a centralized or distributed fashion, for one system or a multiple networked system across hundreds of geographically dispersed locations - and with scalability from 300 to 500,000 users meeting the UCC needs of a wide range of industries and customers, no industry or sector is a stranger to the MX-ONE solution. To date, the MX-ONE solution is deployed in vertical organizations in the world of travel, transport, education, manufacturing, health care, emergency services, public safety, local authorities, finance, insurance, tourism, and many more.

With enterprises moving towards cloud computing how is Aastra gearing to take a lead in cloud computing?

Aastra has it's MX-One platform ready for the "Cloud" since 2012. With the latest release of MX-ONE, it is now possible to run MX-ONE telephony servers and UCC applications as virtual machines in a customer VMware environment. This enables IT departments to integrate their real-time communications as a service in the cloud. Based on virtualization, "cloud services" or "Software as a Service" (SaaS) eliminates the need for organizations to build or buy the IT infrastructure themselves.

What's your India plan for 2013?

Aastra's plan is to work with as many certified channel partners as needed. This in order to be on par at any location, where the other players are present. We are in progress to expand our product Categories by 100 percent in India in 2013 compared to 2012.