Team of technicians working together on servers

Cloud Solutions

Cloud-Based Phone System

Before phone systems and cloud services evolved, many companies would pay large expenses to have a business PBX phone system installed. Why? Because a PBX phone system was the only way to get the phone features that sophisticated businesses needed, and frankly there were no other options but pay the price. Additionally, these businesses were forced to buy the expensive and bulky hardware, then pay for someone to install and maintain it. As technology evolved, so did PBX phone systems. Now, businesses can receive all the benefits from a PBX phone system without having to pay the large upfront expenses to have the system installed and maintained.

With NEC UNIVERGE BLUE® CONNECT, you get a full-feature phone system combined that comes with high-definition (HD) audio and other features such as call park, call forwarding, 3-way calling, and a conference bridge. All you need to do is buy the pre-configured phones, connect them to the internet and download the apps. No special set up or technician is required, and NO large installation expenses.

What Is a PBX?

Private Branch Exchange (PBX) is a private system within a company that allows a business to manage multiple phone line extensions and calls within the company and outside of the company. Traditional PBX hardware technology, that makes call management possible, is generally stored physically on-premises within the company. Each phone extension connects by wire to the PBX terminal through a plug in the wall.

Seamless Setup

When you switch to UNIVERGE BLUE® CONNECT, there is no time consuming or expensive phone service installation process. Our expert UNIVERGE BLUE onboarding team will guide you through the seamless setup process. We will send you devices that are plug and play and delivered pre-configured, and once plugged into your internet connection, will be ready to use along with all the advanced call features. There is no special set up or technician required which eliminates work for IT teams and allows more time to focus on your core business!

Enterprise-Grade Phone Systems

UNIVERGE BLUE® CONNECT allows your company to plug into our PBX equipment via the cloud, saving you money and data space while providing your company with over 100 advanced call features that give small-to-medium businesses (SMB) the same phone system features of a large enterprise. UNIVERGE BLUE CONNECT includes features such as voicemail to email files and transcriptions, call hold & park, call transfer, and call recording. All these advanced features can be managed from a single-web based portal.

Quality and Reliable Calls

With UNIVERGE BLUE®, you will never have to sacrifice quality for cost. NEC has programs and processes in place to help assure high-quality calling, including customer site pre-qualification and around the clock monitoring and customer support.

Business Continuity

When unforeseen emergencies strike (power outage, severe weather, theft, etc.) you and your business, UNIVERGE BLUE® CONNECT can help your business and employees maintain continuity by allowing employees to forward calls to their mobiledevices or to an off-site location. This gives you access to your business phone number that everyone knows to reach you on, anywhere at any time. The key to surviving downtime is to maintain a working communications system and regular operations. If your phones are up, you can still contact customers and preserve vital relationships while your business works towards getting back up and running.

Easy Installation

The best part, after the savings and added functionality, is the easy installation.

Phone Cost Savings

Lower your operating expenses by eliminating the need for expensive equipment and the technical experts needed to install, maintain and repair it. Get feature-rich phone service for a low monthly cost.

Spam Protection

Spam Caller Protection is a free service for UNIVERGE BLUE® CONNECT customers. It detects calls from aggressive telemarketers and fraudsters and allows administrators to decide how to route these calls. Depending on your organization’s preferences, you can tag these calls in the Caller ID screen, send them to voicemail, or completely block them. This protection extends to every CONNECT device, including the CONNECT desktop and mobile applications.

UNIVERGE BLUE® CONNECT Desktop and Mobile Applications

Whether working from an office, a living room, or a coffee shop, the free UNIVERGE BLUE® CONNECT Desktop and Mobile Applications empower employees with the flexibility to communicate seamlessly in the way that works best for them, right from their desktop or mobile device.

Productivity

The UNIVERGE BLUE® CONNECT Applications bring essential collaboration tools together, making efficient teamwork easier than ever before and achievable from any location. With Connect employees can access their company directory, send and receive chats, view conversation history, see a colleague’s presence, share screens, start video conferences, back up and share files, and place and receive calls using their business phone number – all from one single application.

Never Miss Important Calls

Extend your business phone number and extension to your mobile device, so you can place and receive calls on-the-go or even transfer calls from your desktop phone to your mobile device-seamlessly, without interruption. Find Me/Follow Me functionality will ring both of your devices at the same time, so you never miss important phone calls.

Securely Collaborate from Anywhere, Anytime

Chats and text messages are securely encrypted in transit and at rest and chat history automatically sync across CONNECT Desktop and Mobile applications so you can stay connected and continue conversations no matter your location or your device. Unlimitedtext messages can be sent to colleagues and customers across the United States,Canada, and Puerto Rico.

File Collaboration allows team members to view the most current versions of files and share them easily and securely. Admins maintain fill control over files, users, devices and sharing activities.

Utilize One-Click Video Conferencing and Screen Share. Clicking on the Meeting tab within the desktop app displays your UNIVERGE BLUE MEET login credentials as well as a one-click launch button. Simply click the launch button to start an instance of MEET video conference or screen share.

Connect with All of Your Contacts

Sync contacts on your mobile device from popular third-party platforms (Office 365®, G-Suite®, and more) to your CONNECT Mobile and Desktop Applications.

While on your CONNECT mobile or desktop application, click the name on your contact’s tile to find more info from the Active Directory such as extension number, job title, department, office location, and email address. However, if you aren't exactly whom to call, just use the intuitive search feature. Whether you search by name, department, or location, you will be able to find who you’re looking for – fast.

Communicate Your Way

Have the flexibility to use your desktop application to place and receive calls in two ways, either as a call controller for your associated desk phone or as a softphone from your PC or Mac®.

One Application for Collaboration

One place to see the availability of coworkers, place a phone call, send chats and textmessages and launch a video conference.

Stay Connected On-the-Go

With the CONNECT desktop and mobile applications, you take your contacts, files andconversations with you – wherever you are.

Easily Manage Voicemails

Get all the most important options you regularly use at your desk right on your mobiledevice: playback, forwarding, deleting, and voicemail transcription.

Video Conferencing & Screen Sharing

With UNIVERGE BLUE® CONNECT, the days of having to be in the physical meetinglocation are over. Web video conferencing allows team members and customers to beapart of effective and actionable meetings, anywhere at any time. With our unifiedcommunications video conferencing service, you can host a video conference withscreen sharing and have attendees join a custom URL via phone, mobile or desktop.

With screen sharing capabilities, video conferencing is taken one step further. Meetingattendees can share their screens during meetings both internally or externally in realtime, improving collaboration and speed of decision making. Simply start the onlinescreen share and display the content you’d like to share – it’s that easy. Desktop orscreen sharing can be displayed on your computer, including PowerPoint, Excel, Wordand web pages.

Browser-Based

A browser-based app means no downloading, so meetings start super quick and getproductive fast! Using the latest HTML5 and WebRTC technology in modern browsers,the need for plugins or installations is eliminated. Older browsers are also supported asviewers and can easily dial-in for the audio.

HD Video Conferencing

720p HD Video Conferencing for up to 4 participants with 4 video feeds. If your meetinghas more attendees than that, they can easily take turns on video as needed. We alsooffer UNIVERGE BLUE® MEET PRO and PRO Plus that supports additional videofeeds and participants. Layouts adjust automatically for optimal size and viewingexperience. It’s almost like being in the same room.

Built-In Phone Conferencing

Your UNIVERGE BLUE® CONNECT account includes a conference call number andPIN codes, so participants have the option to join either by phone or computer and arenot required to download a separate application.

Screen Annotation

As a meeting presenter, you can give attendees the ability to draw on your sharedscreen and engage with your content.

Meeting Transcripts and Insights

In addition to the video conferencing that comes with UNIVERGE BLUE® CONNECT,NEC also offers the UNIVERGE BLUE MEET Video Conferencing tool that offersadditional functionality such as a “virtual assistant” which automatically transcribes andprovides additional insights during meetings. When the virtual assistant is enabled, themeeting will automatically be transcribed, and actionable items are automaticallyidentified and noted. Meeting hosts can export full transcriptions and meeting notesafter the fact.

If you’re business requires a standalone video conferencing solution, learn more aboutUNIVERGE BLUE MEET.

Team Chat, Instant Messaging and Business SMS

Using the UNIVERGE BLUE® CONNECT Desktop and Mobile Apps, users can quicklychat with colleagues, making teamwork and communication stress-free and easier thanever. Chats and text messages are securely encrypted in transit and at rest and willautomatically sync across UNIVERGE BLUE CONNECT Desktop and Mobileapplications.

New Chat Experience for CONNECT Mobile and Desktop Apps

NEC Connect application screen

Team Chat Allows You To

Business SMS

Voicemail

UNIVERGE BLUE® CONNECT you no longer need to be beside your business phonein order to listen and access your business voicemails. With CONNECT, voicemail canbe managed and accessed according to user needs. Listen and manage voicemailsfrom the desktop phone, or through the mobile app. Transcribed voicemail messagescan be sent via email, or viewed on the mobile app. Additionally, users can receive orforward voicemail as a downloadable email attachment. Features include the following:

Web-Faxing

Free your organization from fax hardware and supply costs with UNIVERGE BLUE®Connect. UNIVERGE BLUE® CONNECT provides virtual, paper-free fax coordination,allowing you to receive, manage, and send your faxes via the web. This provides aconvenient and flexible alternative to traditional fax service by eliminating the need forextra phone lines and conventional fax machines. WEBFAX benefits include:

If your organization requires a standalone web-faxing solution with additional featuressuch as real-time co-editing, automatic file synchronizing and backup, and more, weinvite you to learn more about UNIVERGE BLUE® SHARE.

File Sharing, Collaboration and Security

UNIVERGE BLUE® CONNECT makes it easy for teams to work together, no matterhow many miles apart they may be. Every CONNECT user gets 2GB of UNIVERGEBLUE SHARE® file storage included, so colleagues can work seamlessly on projectstogether, providing access to the most current version of files to allow teammates to co-edit in real-time. Users will be able to access files from desktops, laptops, smartphones,tablets, file servers, and the web, with full control over all functions including filemanagement, users, devices, and sharing activities. For greater ease, users can accessfile server content from mobile devices without a VPN.

UNIVERGE BLUE CONNECT also helps ensure that those files stay safe on thenetwork. We offer real-time backup of all files, mobile photos, and videos, and point-in-time file restoration for quick recovery from ransomware and other types of data loss.File server synchronization is used to backup and sync files from an existing Windowsfile server to UNIVERGE BLUE® SHARE, our secure online file backup and storageproduct.

If your organization requires enhance file sharing capabilities, we invite you to learnmore about UNIVERGE BLUE® SHARE, our secure online file sharing and storageproduct. SHARE enhances traditional file sync and share by adding real-time backup,advanced anti-malware/antivirus and restore capabilities. It integrates with Exchange®,Office 365®, Outlook®, Office® and existing file servers and is backed by NEC’sUNIVERGE BLUE® 24x7x365 phone support and 99.999% uptime SLA.

UNIVERGE BLUE® Integrations

UNIVERGE BLUE® EXTEND is an integrations platform that connects powerful voice,chat, video conferencing, and contact center functionalities into everyday businessapplications like Google®, Microsoft®, Salesforce® and more – driving higherproductivity and increasing customer retention at no heavy cost.

Customer Benefits

UNIVERGE BLUE EXTEND Integrations for Connect & Engage Graphic

UNIVERGE BLUE® API Platform

NEC’s UNIVERGE BLUE EXTEND Application Programming Interface (API) platformallows you to integrate the features of our comprehensive voice, video, contact center,and analytics services into business applications (CRMs, ERPs, Ticketing Systems,etc.). Developers can leverage these API tools to build custom solutions to meetbusiness needs—like creating a better customer experience, improving internalprocesses, increasing employee productivity, and more.

Security

Regulatory Compliance

UNIVERGE BLUE® ensures a commitment to security by meeting stringent industrystandards, such as HIPAA for medical records, CPNI to protect user information, PCI-DSS to protect credit card information and SOC II audit to demonstrate our controls andprocesses are effective in minimizing risk and exposure to cloud stored data.

Physical Security – Data Center

UNIVERGE BLUE® CONNECT is hosted in geographically dispersed, highly secureand monitored datacenters by top tier certified providers. Each data center is SSAE 16Type II compliant with verified levels of physical security.Each of NEC world-class datacenters adheres to strict standards in physical security.Each datacenter is closely monitored and guarded 24/7/365 with sophisticated pan/tiltclosed-circuit TVs. Secure access is strictly enforced using the latest technology,including electronic man-trap devices between lobby and datacenter, motion sensorsand controlled ID keycards. Security guards are stationed at the entrance to each site.

Encryption

Confidential conversations and shared proprietary presentations remain safe asUNIVERGE BLUE collaborative cloud solutions operate on highly secure cloudplatforms backed by AES industry standard encryption.

Collaboration Security

Voice, Presence & UC offers a flexible, multi-tenant, feature rich, encrypted approach tocommunicating and collaborating, backed by around the clock customer support andsystem monitoring.

Customized Recovery Points

Data retention and archiving based on customized recovery points and preset recoverytimes make use of two highly secure, compliant and energy efficient datacenters tostore and protect hosted data and assets.

Two-Factor Authentication for UNIVERGE BLUE Apps

The Desktop and Mobile Apps from UNIVERGE BLUE allow users to use theirCONNECT business phone system while working remotely or while on the go. Theseapps require a login and password and also require 2-factor authentication for access.

Call Center Features

Just a single unpleasant call experience can cause a customer to take their businesselsewhere – and worse yet – post details about that experience online. UNIVERGEBLUE CONNECT helps make a direct and lasting impact on customer satisfaction byhelping businesses to cut hold times, increasing call effectiveness, and improving youremployees’ ability to resolve issues quickly.

Plus, the Call Analytics and Reporting included with CONNECT gives your business theinsights to make better staffing and coaching decisions for your employees – using real-time data to track employee and customer engagement activities. These call centerfeatures are included free with every UNIVERGE BLUE CONNECT user license.

Automated Attendant

Immediately answers and routes incoming customer calls to the right group, or to aspecific agent.

Supervisor In-Call Assistance

Allows supervisors to monitor, assist or join ongoing calls in order to assist in coaching,and to enhance employee effectiveness as well as the customer experience.

Tracking & Analytics

Get a clear insight into the calling effectiveness and efficiency of individual employees,as well as the entire organization.