Microsoft/Nortel alliance announce a major customer: Metrogas Chile

One of the largest natural gas distributors in Chile, Metrogas S.A., has rolled out unified communications gear from the Microsoft/Nortel alliance, reports TMCnet.

The story says:

"The IP application will integrate more than 30 percent of Metrogas' headquarters, factory and executive divisions, and will provide high mobility to the sales area, which will be permanently available through PDA's or RIM Blackberry devices with audio, video, voice messages and e-mail capabilities."

This system uses Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 and the client software, Microsoft Office Communicator 2005. On the Nortel side, the solution uses Nortel Communication Server 1000E and Nortel CallPilot unified messaging. Metrogas Chile also had Nortel Global Services perform some integration work between the two product sets, the story reports.

The results is that Metrogas is giving its users what it calls a completely converged desktop office equipped with all the latest, greatest telephony services, like IM and conferencing.

Questions abound as to how successful the Microsoft/Nortel alliance has really been especially since Microsoft's high profile meeting with Cisco last month.

But if customer case studies such as this one continue to be announced, enterprises will have more reason to believe in the alliance. Maybe a new top executive for Nortel's enterprise business might also do the Microsoft/Nortel alliance some good.