Aastra Launches Connector App

By Regina Ciardiello

Aastra introduced Monday its Aastra Connector, a PC-based search-and-dial application that unifies telephony call control with Microsoft and Google PC desktop tools.

Aastra Connector is designed to serve as a single access point for users to instantly search for and dial contacts, as well as instantly retrieve and pop-up contact information, documents and e-mails based on incoming caller ID.

The main benefit [of the Aastra Connector] is productivity through search-and-dial capabilities integrated across Outlook and other LDAP directories as well as Google Search and Google Maps,” said Tim Whittington, executive vice president and general manager, Aastra USA. The application provides ease-of-use from straightforward toolbars with a clean design and UI.”

Aastra Connector Softphone provides an identical user interface and functionality as the PC application. Users also can control the built-in softphone using PC speaker and microphone or using a USB phone.

Whittington also noted the product is suited for both enterprise and SMB end users. The application is an easy PC download and install, is customizable to meet individual users preferences, and comes with mass-deployment capabilities, making it suitable for SMB and large enterprises alike,” he said.

Roy Schijns, managing director of Mosam Consulting, a N.J.-based channel consulting firm, noted that Aastra Connector can serve a void that exists by closing in on the gap between Web-based resources and server or desktop applications.  To me, what this means is increased simplification of the end-user experience, which obviously is a good thing.  As any CTO can tell you, it is not a trivial undertaking to provide clear-cut, reliable and secure end-user business solutions at the intersection where eyes and fingertips meet technology,” Schijns said. In this case, by bridging the divide between web-based resources such as Google (maps and search) and server (directory services) or desktop applications (Outlook), the end-user experience can be enriched by providing certain common lookup functions that are typically handled manually.”

Schijns added the increased simplicity, speed, and ease of use represented in the Aastra Connector will not just benefit end users, but also open up new value driven sales opportunities for Aastras channel partners.”