Latest Collaborative Tools Can Help Businesses of All Sizes Work Smarter

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. and SAN JOSE, Calif. – September 24, 2008 – In today’s fast-paced global marketplace, effective collaboration is the key to achieving a competitive advantage. To help organizations maintain that edge, Verizon and Cisco announced Wednesday (Sept. 24) a strengthened, joint go-to-market strategy focused on the innovative delivery of collaborative solutions for businesses of all sizes.

Verizon will expand its overall suite of unified communications and collaboration tools based on the new Cisco collaboration portfolio. New services will include components of Cisco Unified Communications System Release 7.0 and Verizon-developed collaborative business applications based on Cisco’s new WebEx Connect platform. These services are aimed at enhancing communications and collaboration between and among employees, partners, customers and vendors, while enabling companies to achieve eco-friendly benefits through reduced travel and lower carbon emissions.

“Businesses of all sizes are looking for solutions that enable them to communicate better and collaborate more easily, and Verizon has the answers,” said John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Communications. “Teaming with Cisco will help us further accelerate delivery of the latest technologies to the marketplace, enhancing our ability to help small to large businesses work smarter and meet their productivity goals.”

(Note: A webcast news conference hosted by Robert Lloyd, senior vice president of the U.S., Canada, and Japan for Cisco Systems, and featuring John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon, will take place today at 2:30 p.m. ET at http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2008/prod_092208c.html.)

Tony Bates, senior vice president of the service provider group for Cisco, said, “Effective, efficient collaboration is a critical component of sustainable competitive advantage. By teaming up with Cisco on collaboration solutions, Verizon is able provide its customers with the tools they need to innovate, adapt and thrive in the global marketplace.”

As part of its extensive suite of advanced business solutions, Verizon will offer to its large-business and government customers served by Verizon Business managed services support for Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco Unified Contact Center, an advanced suite of tools that seamlessly integrates voice over IP (VoIP), instant messaging, conferencing and contact center tools to help organizations enhance work flow and communications. Verizon will also develop a customized business application based on the new WebEx Connect platform for its small- and medium-sized business customers served by Verizon Telecom. The new services will be available in the coming months.

The ability for Verizon to accelerate delivery of the latest technologies to the marketplace is part of Verizon and Cisco’s go-to-market strategy so that customers of all sizes can gain early access to the latest technological advances.

Cisco Unified Communications Release 7.0 provides an integrated system designed to handle Business communications needs from IP telephony, mobility and messaging, to call center management and sales-force productivity tools.

Cisco WebEx Connect is a new network-based application platform for collaborative business application integration, known as “mashups.” WebEx Connect includes many standard applications, such as instant messaging, team spaces, document management, calendaring and Wikis, which can be combined with third-party widgets built using open application programming interfaces (APIs) to enable companies to work from a single workspace.

Verizon Is Businesses’ Partner for Unified Communications & Collaboration
Verizon provides a robust product portfolio of unified communications and collaboration solutions using its network as the foundation to deliver innovative communication solutions to businesses of all sizes. Verizon Business offers conferencing, mobility, VoIP, contact centers, and managed and hosting solutions as well as professional services capabilities to help ensure communication systems are secure and performing well. Verizon Telecom offers a variety of award-winning products and services for small and-medium sized businesses including voice, Internet, television, wireless, Internet protocol, and managed and hosted solutions.

Through years of service and system integration experience and expertise, Verizon delivers solutions that make sense for companies of all sizes as they make the transition to a unified communications and collaboration framework.

About Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, serving nearly 69 million customers nationwide. Verizon’s Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world, and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation’s most advanced fiber-optic network. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 228,600 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of $93.5 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.