Nortel (NYSE:NT) and IBM (NYSE:IBM) this week announced a partnership to integrate Nortel SMB-focused unified communications applications with IBM System i servers, increasing the VOIP options for System i users (IBM claims 240,000 business customers across the globe). Under this agreement, Nortel will also integrate its UC features with IBM Lotus Sametime on System i servers.

IBM will continue to offer 3Com's VCX-based voice services as a System i option, with a broader set of telephony features such as a software-development kit and contact-center applications. The Nortel offering focuses more on the smaller business customers (1,000 seats and below) and offers collaborative features such as video, instant messaging, presence and Web conferencing.

This announcement addresses the requirements of small and mid-size businesses to deliver ever more applications and services despite small budgets. Nemertes 2007 benchmark, Building a Successful Virtual Workplace, found SMB budgets rising at a rate of only 2% per year, versus 4% for larger enterprises. Nevertheless, SMBs have an ever-growing list of application and service needs. In addition, SMB purchases are increasingly driven by solution quality and features rather than cost. All these trends add up to growing SMB interest in integrated systems to reduce the number of managed platforms while also providing an expanded set of applications.

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