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Microsoft and Cbeyond Launch New E-Mail Service for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
BARCELONA, Spain, February 11 /PRNewswire/ --
- New service gives users access to on-the-go business-class e-mail on
the desktop, via a web browser or on a mobile device.
Today at Mobile World Congress 2008, Microsoft Corp and Cbeyond announced
a new e-mail service, including support for mobile devices, that is now
available as part of a communications package specifically targeting small
and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The package includes hardware and air
time for mobile phone service, local and long-distance phone service, T-1
broadband internet access, and, now, enterprise-class e-mail based on hosted
Microsoft Exchange. The service is available today in Atlanta with future
service planned for Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles,
Miami, San Diego and San Francisco.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO)
"By working with Microsoft, we can now offer Cbeyond's customers the
first hosted service based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 that is fully
integrated with mobile access, all from a single provider," said Brent Cobb,
vice president of product marketing for Cbeyond. "We've seen significant
customer demand for this service; delivering a seamless, enterprise-class
messaging and collaboration experience to our SMB customers will give them
the ability to compete using services traditionally reserved for large
enterprises."
The need for on-the-go access to e-mail and other productivity and
communications tools has never been greater. Employees want to be connected
at all times, whether they are in the office or on the road; at the same
time, businesses are seeking to maximise productivity without having to
invest significant resources in building and managing on-site IT
infrastructure, such as servers and software. With Hosted Microsoft Exchange
from Cbeyond, users can now get all the capabilities offered through an
enterprise-class e-mail solution, including appointment scheduling, shared
contact information, task management and over-the-air syncing of all this
information with their mobile devices, all accessible via Microsoft Office
Outlook on the desktop or laptop, a web browser, or a smartphone. All Cbeyond
customers will enjoy the basic benefits of Hosted Microsoft Exchange
integrated into their package, and have the option to add mobile access,
shared calendar, shared contacts, and a free copy of Microsoft Office Outlook
2007 for US$10 per user, per month.
"SMBs today want the same productivity tools and capabilities that
enterprises have long enjoyed, and they often look to a single source that
can easily and cost-effectively address their full range of communications
requirements," said Michael O'Hara, general manager of the Communications
Sector at Microsoft. "By working with a service provider like Cbeyond, SMBs
are able to really focus on their most important priorities -- serving their
customers and growing their business."
"The SMB market continues to be vastly underserved from a technology
perspective despite improved network reliability and decreased operating
costs," said Will Stofega at IDC. "The new Cbeyond service addresses many of
the pain points that have kept SMBs from adopting corporate-class IT tools;
it provides familiarity and ease of use with Microsoft applications, it has a
low cost of entry and it is packaged with other popular communication
services for simplified billing and management."
About Cbeyond
Cbeyond (Nasdaq: CBEY) is an IP-based managed services provider that
delivers integrated packages of communications and IT services to small
businesses. The company offers more than 30 productivity-enhancing
applications bundled into one service package including BlackBerry(R),
Windows Mobile, broadband laptop access, unified messaging, web hosting, and
virtual private networking. Cbeyond manages these services over a private,
100-per cent internet Protocol (IP), facilities-based network.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise
their full potential.
About Microsoft EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)
Microsoft has operated in EMEA since 1982. In the region Microsoft
employs more than 16,000 people in over 64 subsidiaries, delivering products
and services in more than 139 countries and territories.
This material is for informational purposes only. Microsoft Corp
disclaims all warranties and conditions with regard to use of the material
for other purposes. Microsoft Corp shall not, at any time, be liable for any
special, direct, indirect or consequential damages, whether in an action of
contract, negligence or other action arising out of or in connection with the
use or performance of the material. Nothing herein should be construed as
constituting any kind of warranty.
Web site: http://www.microsoft.com
Microsoft Corp
Michelle Tank of Cbeyond, +1-678-370-2437, michelle.tank@cbeyond.net; or in the US, Heather Schwenk, +1-425-452-5472, hschwenk@webershandwick.com, or in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Robin Clark, +44-20-7067-0522, rclark@webershandwick.com, or in Asia Pacific, Marie Loh, +65 6825 8026, mloh@webershandwick.com, all of Weber Shandwick for Microsoft Corp; NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft in EMEA, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/emea or the EMEA Press Centre at http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at the time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact the appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre/contactus.mspx. If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft Corp, please visit the Microsoft web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft's corporate information pages.; Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO , AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org , PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
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