Sprint Complete Collaboration Empowers a Growing Mobile Workforce

Now available with Microsoft Lync, expanded offer provides unified communications to any worker across multiple locations and devices; integrated SIP Trunking and enhanced mobility deliver industry’s most comprehensive cloud-based solution

Sprint adoption of Microsoft unified communications solutions saves millions in one-time and annual costs, boosts employee productivity

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), January 28, 2014 – Sprint (NYSE:S, news, filings) today announced the expansion of its fully managed and cloud-based unified communications (UC) solution, Sprint Complete Collaboration, to include Microsoft Lync. Mid-sized and large businesses can improve collaboration among employees, no matter where they are located or what device they are using, thus boosting productivity and decision-making.

Deployed over an all-IP network, Sprint Complete Collaboration helps to ensure the reliability and quality of real-time collaborative applications. Additionally, it offers flexibility based on an employee’s mobile needs. Given the media-rich mobile devices available today, cloud-based UC can help enhance BYOD programs by enabling a seamless collaboration experience to tablets and mobile phones while supporting multiple operating systems. Mobile employees can join meetings, check presence and availability, and use instant messaging while away from the office.

Zeus Kerravala, principal of ZK Research, adds, “With BYOD top of mind for almost every business today, cloud-based UC creates device and operating diversity. IT leaders need solutions that can deliver consistent functionality with rich UC experiences to any worker on any device no matter where the worker is. Given its internal deployment of Microsoft Lync to tens of thousands of users, Sprint has demonstrated a vision for employee enablement accelerated by mobility. Sprint Complete Collaboration endorses best practices for hosted unified communications.” Read more in a white paper authored by Kerravala, “Empower the Workforce with BYOD and Collaboration.”

Unlike competitive offers, Sprint’s approach is comprehensive with SIP Trunking and enhanced mobility integrated into every user package. SIP Trunking provides more efficient trunking options through aggregation and bursting, significantly reducing costs, as well as an end-to-end UC platform with a consistent experience across all collaboration tools, operating systems and endpoints.

“Sprint Complete Collaboration helps extend UC to an increasingly mobile workforce, and is now even more comprehensive with the addition of Microsoft Lync,” said Mike Fitz, vice president for Enterprise Commercialization, Sprint. “Sprint’s insight to integrate SIP Trunking and enhanced mobility into every user package delivers simplicity and cost savings while supporting greater flexibility to enhance BYOD programs adopted by many organizations. Sprint is uniquely positioned to help businesses provide scalable communications and collaboration tools to meet the needs of a diverse workforce now and into the future.”

Sprint’s use of UC results in considerable cost savings and employee benefits

Sprint is a telecommunications leader in adopting Microsoft’s collaboration tools, most recently upgrading to Lync Server 2013 to provide enhanced communication, collaboration and voice capabilities to its tens of thousands of employees. When Sprint initially replaced its aging PBX infrastructure and implemented the UC solution from Microsoft, several benefits resulted including:

• $30 million in real-estate cost savings plus approximately $13 million in operating costs per year.
• Replaced TDM circuits with a SIP architecture at 450 Sprint sites.
• Replaced 489 legacy PBXs with Microsoft Lync and a cloud infrastructure which, eliminated biannual PBX upgrade costs.
• Moved from a third-party conferencing provider to Lync Live Meeting.
• Realized “green” savings of $700,000 annually from eliminating the need to power and cool legacy PBX equipment.
• Enhanced employee productivity and experience since the tools are available at virtually any time, anywhere and via their device of choice, resulting in improved team collaboration.
• Enriched responsiveness and collaboration with customers, thus boosting satisfaction.

Collaborate from virtually anywhere

Microsoft Lync unifies voice and video calls, meetings, presence and instant messaging into one easy-to-use client, making it simple to choose and switch between different forms of communication. Users will find the experience to be familiar and consistent across all types of devices and operating systems. Features also include conferencing capabilities; voice mail with transcription; number of mobile devices supported for collaboration; and multiple data centers to offer businesses with peace of mind for redundancy and disaster recovery.

“As an early adopter of Microsoft UC solutions, Sprint has strong experience to share with its customers about the employee and business benefits of collaboration tools,” said Derek Burney, corporate vice president for Strategic Relations and Solutions, Microsoft. “Sprint is well-positioned to provide a solution that enables a mobile workforce to collaborate virtually anywhere, anytime and from nearly any device, just as they have done with their own employees.”

For more information about Sprint Complete Collaboration, visit www.sprint.com/completecollaboration.

For more information on Sprint converged and cloud solutions, visit www.sprint.com/convergence or contact your Sprint account team.

About Sprint Business Solutions

Sprint is a global provider of secure and reliable wireline and wireless communication services. With a best-in-class all-IP network as the foundation, Sprint helps enterprises unleash the full potential of business critical applications through a single account team that understands converged, cloud and mobility solutions, delivering an unrivaled customer experience.

About Sprint

Sprint (NYSE:S) offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint served more than 54 million customers at the end of the third quarter of 2013 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The American Customer Satisfaction Index rated Sprint as the most improved company in customer satisfaction, across all 47 industries, during the last five years. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.

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