Siemens Enterprise Communications Agrees to Acquire FastViewer GmbH & Co KG

RESTON, Va. and MUNICH, Dec. 7, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Demonstrating its commitment to continued growth and superior service for its customers, Siemens Enterprise Communications announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire FastViewer GmbH & Co KG, extending its award-winning OpenScape Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) portfolio to include multi-media conferencing and collaboration solutions. Based in Neumarkt, Germany, FastViewer is a premier provider of software-based collaboration tools, delivering innovative, enterprise-grade collaboration in an extremely affordable and simple to use package.

Established in 2006, FastViewer has a strong track record of success delivering highly innovative software-based web conferencing, desktop sharing and e-collaboration solutions. FastViewer offers a unique solution that is so simple to deploy and use that it can be installed on one server in as little as an hour, and offers "one-click collaboration", allowing users to move seamlessly between web, chat and multi-party desktop video conferencing with a single mouse click. It requires no server downtime for upgrades, little infrastructure commitment, and no clients on the end user side, which makes it extremely practical both for administrators seeking simplicity and for end users wishing to collaborate from unsecure public work stations (e.g., business lounges) which only support use of  "zero footprint" web applications. Mobile collaboration clients are provided for use with smartphone devices including the iPhone and BlackBerry. This feature makes it easy and cost-effective to deploy and manage with minimal IT resource requirements. FastViewer currently has channels in 12 countries and serves more than 4,000 customers.

"Enterprises increasingly view web, video and mobile collaboration as critical components of their communications infrastructure for the cost savings and employee productivity improvements they provide," said Chris Hummel, chief marketing officer of Siemens Enterprise Communications. "Continuing our leadership in Unified Communications and Collaboration, we have selected FastViewer to be part of our portfolio due to its highly efficient and simple to use application for enterprises that are looking for an affordable, flexible enterprise-grade solution. This acquisition further demonstrates our commitment to our open architecture UCC solution that is unparalleled in terms of functionality, reliability and end-to-end security."

Siemens Enterprise Communications will offer the FastViewer solution under the name OpenScape Web Collaboration, as part of the newly updated OpenScape UC Suite 2011 edition. The OpenScape UC Suite includes a comprehensive set of collaboration, mobility, video and other tools to securely and reliably deliver improved productivity and significant cost savings to enterprises.

"FastViewer's collaboration solution fits nicely with the Siemens Enterprise Communications OpenScape portfolio. The combination of the two portfolios will deliver the most advanced communication and collaboration solution available to date based on an open platform which provides maximum flexibility and ease of use," said Steven Fursch, CEO of FastViewer. "As part of Siemens Enterprise Communications, we will be able to take advantage of their broad global reach and extensive customer base to bring our affordable, innovative collaboration tools to much larger audience."

Hummel said the FastViewer acquisition will further strengthen the portfolio of Siemens Enterprise Communications.

About Siemens Enterprise Communications

Siemens Enterprise Communications is a premier provider of end-to-end enterprise communications, including voice, network infrastructure and security solutions that use open, standards-based architectures to unify communications and business applications for a seamless collaboration experience. This award-winning "Open Communications" approach enables organizations to improve productivity and reduce costs through easy-to-deploy solutions that work within existing IT environments, delivering operational efficiencies. It is the foundation for the company's OpenPath® commitment that enables customers to mitigate risk and cost-effectively adopt unified communications. Jointly owned by The Gores Group and Siemens AG, Siemens Enterprise Communications companies include Siemens Enterprise Communications, Cycos, and Enterasys Networks.

For more information about the Siemens Enterprise Communications or Enterasys please visit www.siemens-enterprise.com or www.enterasys.com.

Note: Siemens Enterprise Communications & Co K.G. is a trademark licensee of Siemens AG. HiPath, OpenOffice, OpenScape and OpenStage, are registered trademarks of Siemens Enterprise Communications & Co K.G. or its affiliates. All other company, brand, product and service names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

This release contains forward-looking statements based on beliefs of Siemens' management. The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "forecast," "expect," "intend," "plan," "should," and "project" are used to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the company's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the actual results to be materially different, including, among others, changes in general economic and business conditions, changes in currency exchange rates and interest rates, introduction of competing products, lack of acceptance of new products or services and changes in business strategy. Actual results may vary materially from those projected here. Siemens does not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Siemens Enterprise Communications