WES 2007: RIM extends office phone sytems to BlackBerries

At its Wireless Enterprise Symposium - WES 2007 in Orlando, FL, Research In Motion announced the BlackBerry MVS (Mobile Voice System), a suite of products that extends enterprise PBX systems to BlackBerry devices, enabling users to have a single phone number and making BlackBerries part of the enterprise telephony eco-system - as extensions of their desk phones.

MVS allows users' BlackBerry devices and desk phones to ring at the same time, the ability to dial extensions from BlackBerries, make conference calls, and route outbound calls made from the device through the organization's PBX.

The system consists of:
1. BlackBerry MVS Client software installed on BlackBerry devices
2. BlackBerry MVS Connectors installed on an organization's BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Servers)
3. Ascendant Voice Mobility Suite (software gateway to PBX systems)

Interestingly, RIM will make these available later this month as free updates for existing BlackBerry devices and BlackBerry (Enterprise) Servers. (I'm guessing the Ascendant Voice Mobility Suite gateway for PBXes is what customers will need to pay for - Bharat)

More details on RIM's web site.