Comverse and IBM Unveil Center of Excellence to Help Telecom Operators Speed Product Rollout, Reduce Costs

Comverse and IBM (NYSE: IBM) have launched a joint Center of Excellence (CoE) in France to help global telecom operators speed time to market for new services, boost subscriber acquisition, and reduce both churn and overall network operating costs.

Established within the IBM Telecom Solutions Lab in France, the CoE uses software components from IBM and Comverse to create a BSS/OSS (Business Support System/Operational Support System) and Service-Delivery environment that provides a dynamic setting.

"To sustain growth in today’s economy, Communication Service Providers are seeking ways to offer subscribers a more positive and differentiated experience while taking complexity and cost out of their businesses,” said Chris Pearson, global telco industry leader for IBM Global Business Services, which also announced three additional telecom development centers today.

This joint approach allows telecom clients to test proofs of concept with new capabilities in simulated environments, enhance innovation, and reduce implementation time and risk. The Service Provider Delivery Environment (SPDE) framework, which is based on a service oriented architecture (SOA) approach, combines with IBM server and storage hardware, such as Power Systems and BladeCenter, to provide the dynamic infrastructure for the CoE.

"Comverse and IBM understand how critical it is to offer systems and processes that support the new business models that operators must deliver to stay competitive,” said Dror Bin, President of Global Sales at Comverse. "We believe that the Comverse-IBM relationship backed by the Center of Excellence will allow our joint customers to have more efficient operations and generate new revenues.”

The emergence of new business models – and the potential for even more new models with the view to next-generation networks – requires a converged approach to BSS that is demonstrated at the center. Comverse® ONE™ Billing and Active Customer Management is a single BSS system that allows operators to manage all subscribers consistently, regardless of payment or service type, resulting in increased loyalty and new service adoption.

The telecom industry has benefited from IBM’s globally-integrated network of capabilities, partnerships and assets that have supported telecom deployments in major and emerging markets since 2000.

About IBM Telecommunications

IBM serves 90 percent of communications service providers worldwide. More than 1,000 CSPs worldwide rely on IBM middleware to run their businesses and the world's 10 largest CSPs have implemented IBM SOA solutions. Partners and customers have also benefited from the many telecommunications centers of excellence that IBM has created, including locations in Austin, Texas and La Gaude, France.

For more information on IBM telecom offerings visit: www.ibm.com/telecom

About Comverse

Comverse is the world’s leading provider of software and systems enabling value-added services for voice, messaging, mobile Internet and mobile advertising; converged billing and active customer management; and IP communications. Comverse’s extensive customer base spans more than 130 countries and covers over 500 communication service providers serving more than two billion subscribers. The company’s innovative product portfolio enables communication service providers to unleash the value of the network for their customers by making their networks smarter. Comverse’s solutions support flexible deployment models, including in-network, hosted and managed services, and can run on circuit-switched, IP, IMS or converged network environments. Comverse is a subsidiary of Comverse Technology, Inc. (CMVT.PK). For more information, visit www.comverse.com.

All product and company names mentioned herein may be registered trademarks or trademarks of Comverse or the respective referenced company(s).

This release contains "forward-looking statements” under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurances that any forward-looking statements will be achieved. Important factors that could affect the statements contained herein include: changes in the demand for the company’s products; changes in capital spending among the company’s current and prospective customers; the risks associated with the sale of large, complex, high capacity systems and with new product introductions as well as the uncertainty of customer acceptance of these new or enhanced products from either the company or its competition; and risks associated with rapidly changing technology and the ability of the company to introduce new products on a timely and cost-effective basis. The company undertakes no commitment to update or revise forward-looking statements except as required by law.