New NEC and Intermedia Cloud Hybrid Solution to Help Accelerate UCaaS Adoption for NEC On-Premises Business Phone System Users in Japan

— NEC Cloud Gateway solution creates new way to add cloud collaboration and mobility to existing on-premises NEC business phone systems

Intermedia Cloud Communications, a leader in business cloud communications and collaboration solutions, announced that NEC, a leading global provider and integrator of advanced IT, communications, and networking solutions, has launched new cloud communications solutions in Japan designed to enhance the performance, mobility, and capabilities of existing on-premises NEC business phone systems. The new solutions, jointly developed by Intermedia and NEC, eliminate barriers to unified communications as a service (UCaaS) adoption in Japan. NEC UNIVERGE BLUE CLOUD GATEWAY is the most recent UCaaS solution released by Intermedia and NEC as part of their 10-year exclusive global partnership.

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CLOUD GATEWAY is a new add-on to the recently launched NEC UNIVERGE BLUE HYBRID, which layers on a full suite of cloud-based communications and collaboration services, such as chat, video conferencing, and file sharing, on top of an existing NEC phone system. UNIVERGE BLUE HYBRID enables businesses of all sizes to get the most out of their existing phone system while experiencing the greater mobility, versatility, and functionality that cloud solutions afford. HYBRID works on both mobile and desktop environments and extends the calling capabilities of the existing on-prem system to remote and mobile workers all through a single application – without the need to replace existing on-prem phone systems, change existing phone numbers, or update or purchase additional software.

CLOUD GATEWAY, designed for the NEC Aspire phone system, is an optional add-on to the HYBRID solution. When paired with HYBRID, CLOUD GATEWAY further enhances the capabilities of the on-prem phone system with even more sophisticated calling functionality, such as concurrently ringing multiple phones (office and desktop/mobile softphone), enabling call transfer to another user at home or in the office, and bi-directional call flip for one button call transfer between a user’s desk phone and their mobile and desktop soft phones.

These innovative solutions address many of challenges that have, to date, limited broader business and channel partner adoption of UCaaS in the Japan market: (1) The new NEC solutions enable customers to receive and manage calls more efficiently, working with the existing on-prem phone systems, due to their ability to integrate multiple communications devices together (e.g., office phone, remote work PC, smartphone, tablet, etc.); (2) Concerns over migrating from an on-prem system to a cloud-based solution are eliminated as the customer is able to maintain its existing on-prem system while also realizing the benefits of cloud features and functionality; (3) Instead of having to source multiple providers for various UCaaS solutions, NEC UNIVERGE BLUE HYBRID integrates business phone, chat, video conferencing, file sharing, and more together – and all from NEC; and (4) For partners, NEC’s partner-first go-to-market approach enables partners to sell HYBRID and CLOUD GATEWAY directly to their customers and maintain and manage their important customer relationships.

“HYBRID and CLOUD GATEWAY remove the concerns of many Japanese customers who are interested in UCaaS but are hesitant to adopt it,” said Makoto Omi, President of Intermedia Japan. “Uniquely offering multiple ways to integrate their existing NEC premise-based phone system with cloud applications provides NEC customers with more choices in how they choose to take advantage of the cloud and bring on more tools for the modern and mobile worker.”

NEC and Intermedia plan to continue enhancing the UNIVERGE BLUE suite of cloud communications and collaboration solutions to empower people to work even better from wherever. HYBRID is offered per user per month and, along with CLOUD GATEWAY, can be purchased through, and managed by, authorized NEC partner dealers.

For more information about NEC UNIVERGE BLUE Cloud Gateway and UNIVERGE BLUE CONNECT BRIDGE, visit:

About Intermedia Cloud Communications, Inc.

Intermedia is the cloud communications company that helps over 125,000 businesses connect better – through voice, video conferencing, chat, contact center, business email and productivity, file sharing and backup, security, archiving, and more – from wherever, whenever. We strive to eliminate the need for multiple communications service providers with a seamlessly integrated portfolio of communications and collaboration solutions – all delivered through one highly reliable and secure platform. With month-to-month contract options, one monthly bill, one intuitive point of administrative control, and six-years running J.D. Power-certified 24/7 technical support, Intermedia is committed to providing enterprise-grade products to businesses of all sizes through a simple, Worry-Free Experience(TM).

As a partner-first company, Intermedia goes to work for over 7,100 channel partners by providing a comprehensive set of programs, resources, and support to help them grow their revenue and maximize their success. Programs include our Customer Ownership Reseller (CORE(TM)) model – which enables partners to resell, package, and manage Intermedia’s solutions as if they were their own, while benefiting from highly attractive economic terms and maintaining ownership of their customer relationships – as well as agent models.

Intermedia is also proud to be the exclusive cloud communications platform provider for NEC, a leader in global market share for unified communications with an estimated 80+ million business phone users worldwide.

For more information about Intermedia, visit www.intermedia.com.

CONTACT: Makoto Omi, momi@intermedia.com

SOURCE Intermedia Cloud Communications