VOICECON: Siemens Peers Into Amazon’s Cloud

It’s just a proof-of-concept trial for the moment, but Siemens (SI) is offering its OpenScape unified communications software, including voice over IP, on Amazon's (AMZN) EC2 cloud-computing platform, said new CEO Jim O'Neill.

In a keynote address at VoiceCon in Orlando, O'Neill presented a demo of Siemens' OpenScape software running on Amazon Web Services – a combination that could present a groundbreaking option for businesses that want the power of fully featured UC and the low cost and flexibility of cloud-based services.

Siemens is offering the service as a beta to select users who sign up this week at VoiceCon. It will test the system to discover whether it has the potential to serve businesses’ needs, and to figure out how it could be marketed to them. The Web-based system will offer voice-over-IP, unified messaging and management platforms, as well as other UC features, all running from virtual servers within Amazon's data center. Users will be able to log in via a Web portal and simply check off (or delete) the services and provisioning they need, including SIP trunks, video or Web collaboration applications, billed to an Amazon account or a credit card.

"I don't know if the cloud is ready for prime time today,” O’Neill said in a Q&A with emcee Fred Knight after the demo. “I think it will be a year from now."