Palo Alto, Calif. — November 15, 2006 — Frost & Sullivan selected Nortel as the recipient of two 2006 Customer Value Enhancement Awards in the North American Unified Communications Applications as well as the Enterprise Telephony Channel Support markets.

"Nortel receives the Customer Value Enhancement Award in the Unified Communications Applications Market for helping companies of all sizes achieve their unified communications goals, simply and efficiently," says Frost & Sullivan principal analyst Melanie Turek. "By developing new applications and entering into strategic partnerships, Nortel is giving its customers access to innovative, integrated solutions that optimize day-to-day business communications—and, ultimately, operations, too."

For instance, Nortel’s Multimedia Communications Server (MCS) is one of the most mature and innovative unified communications applications available today. It seamlessly integrates voice, video, Web and audio collaboration, and personalization – all powered by both PC-based and telephony-based presence information.

Among its many strategic partnerships, Nortel’s alliance with Microsoft for unified communications further solidifies Nortel's leadership position in the space. The Innovative Communications Alliance (ICA) allows the two companies to share intellectual property and jointly market and sell the resulting solutions. This partnership positions the vendor well in the fast-changing unified communications market, and the combined power of the two companies should strengthen and speed the development of new and more robust unified communications products.

This partnership is also key to the second Customer Value Enhancement Award Nortel receives in the North American Enterprise Telephony market. The Award recognizes Nortel’s ability to offer its customers a range of robust and advanced IP telephony solutions with investment protection, all the while providing adequate support and growth potential for its channel partners.

"Nortel has appropriately identified the success and restoration formula for a company of its size, partner network and name recognition – penetration of new markets through partners, in terms of applications and verticals," says Frost & Sullivan industry analyst Krithi Rao. "Along with general partner support it devotes significant resources to product development to provide a complete portfolio of products for its channel partners such that they can offer end users a complete solution."

Nortel’s dedication to the enterprise market can be seen in the 51 percent growth in shipments the company saw in IP systems in 2005 in North America. Much of this growth is primarily attributed to the success of the CS 1000 solutions and the BCM portfolio. Technology development is one of Nortel’s greatest strengths; however Nortel couldn’t have done this without its channel whose loyalty Nortel has persistently gained.

"Nortel is honored to be recognized by Frost & Sullivan for leadership in unified communications and commitment to its enterprise channel program" said Eric Schoch, vice president, North America Marketing, Channels and Distribution, Nortel.. "By accelerating the delivery of unified communications and strengthening relationships with channel partners, Nortel is enabling for customers a higher-quality user experience for customers, with greater reliability and lower total cost of ownership."

In addition to equipping partners with advanced technology, the company intends to further develop and maintain a suite of sales training modules, integrated marketing campaigns and pre-configured, pre-priced bundles for the channel – including modules for the IPT 1-2-3 solutions – that will improve foundational skills and knowledge for partners and provide hands-on lab sessions and sales certifications.

Finally, besides equipping channels with its technology and support, Nortel consistently looks for new growth opportunities for itself and its partners. In July 2006, Nortel announced strategic value-added distributor agreements with Ingram Micro, SYNNEX Corporation and Westcon Group to support an extensive channel network that is focused on penetrating the SMB market.

"As IP gains command, only the most skilled channel partners will be able to provide services such as network management and remote monitoring," note Turek and Rao. "Toward this end, Nortel is focused on integrating, simplifying and enhancing channel order management, configuration and reporting tools."

Overall, Nortel’s loyal customer base, extensive distribution network, newer and stronger IP telephony portfolio, clear migration strategy, new strategic marketing initiatives, and advanced partner programs are expected to help the company maintain its competitive position in the North American telephony market. In recognition of these achievements, Frost & Sullivan is proud to present the Customer Value Enhancement Award to Nortel in both the unified communications applications and the enterprise telephony markets.

Each year Frost & Sullivan presents this Award to a company that has demonstrated the ability to expand the customer base, while maintaining its existing install base, with more innovative value creation and enhancement strategies than competing vendors. The Award recognizes the company’s successful sales entry, customer acquisition and service strategies, and the degree to which those strategies have met customers’ stated needs and requirements.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit http://www.awards.frost.com/ or http://www.ict.frost.com/.

Contact:

Stacie Jones
210.247.2450
Stacie.jones@frost.com