Nortel Unveils BCS 3000

TORONTO -- Nortel* [NYSE/TSX: NT] is introducing a new product designed to enable enterprises to simplify and consolidate the networking infrastructure, computing infrastructure, IT support, and storage requirements of their branch offices, resulting in improved productivity and lower total cost of ownership (TCO).

By providing these benefits in a single, agile platform, the Business Continuity System (BCS) 3000 is designed to enable enterprise customers to migrate to an “IT-Thin” branch office architecture that reduces computing and network infrastructure total cost of ownership by as much as 55%, based on internal studies conducted on customer data.

In addition, because it was specifically designed to accommodate change – better integrating new technologies such as WAN optimization, network management and security – the BCS 3000 enables IT staff to be more agile in responding to changing computing requirements and increase network efficiency.

“Many of today’s enterprises have unwillingly been forced to accept higher IT costs to support remote branch office computing due to lack of viable alternatives.” said Phil Edholm, CTO, Enterprise Solutions, Nortel. “Nortel’s BCS 3000 is designed to enable Enterprises to reduce the cost associated with branch computing while consolidating remote data into a secure data center to help achieve regulatory compliance and data recovery goals.”

Nortel recognizes that the branch office model will be transformed to better align with the new realities of the distributed enterprise that have multiple geographically dispersed locations. The advanced system architecture delivers enhanced management capabilities and can readily embed modules from other industry leaders like Microsoft.

The Nortel BCS 3000 Branch Office configuration embeds Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 and takes advantage of the security, networking and directory technologies in the Windows Server platform. This helps ensure that the BCS 3000 is better able to seamlessly integrate with widely used Microsoft networking services, Windows desktop environments and Windows security features.

“Microsoft recognizes that branch office computing represents significant cost and complexity for customers. We are excited to see Nortel deliver this solution to help customers make their branch IT operations more operationally efficient and cost-effective,” said Adam Bogobowicz, senior product manager for Windows Server at Microsoft Corp. “The BCS 3000 Branch Office Enterprise configuration will help enable customers to quickly realize cost savings and enhance the productivity of branch information workers, all with the familiarity, security and manageability of a Windows solution.”

Nortel Networks Ltd. (NYSE/Toronto: NT)