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Critical Links launches edgeBOX dedicated network appliances

Office-in-a-box enables VARs, SPs to address converged voice+data+IT appliances for SMBs

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

"We are now able to offer the most comprehensive converged data, voice and IT product to SMEs on our new cost-effective, dedicated, high-performance appliances said Joao Carreira , Critical Links™ CEO. "edgeBOX dedicated appliances enable resellers to shorten the go-to-market lifecycle, with a "ready-to-market" single integrated platform that allows resellers and service providers to quickly deploy edgeBOX at their SMB customer sites to provide managed voice and data networking services."

edgeBOX consolidates data, voice and IT services for small and medium sized businesses, replacing an average of four to six devices. The new dedicated devices are likely to boost the edgeBOX value proposal for existing and prospective partners around the world, building on the success of the existing partnership model, where the edgeBOX software solution is provided to partners for installation on branded servers.

The network appliances preloaded with the award winning edgeBOX Business Gateway software, will become available in a desktop chassis for small offices and rack mountable chassis for medium sized businesses and larger enterprises, with competitive pricing in each segment. They provide all the ports a small business or branch office needs to connect their LAN, broadband connection and analogue and digital phone lines (BRI and PRI) along with a built-in wireless access point.

As a multifunction business gateway that consolidates data, voice and IT services for small and medium sized businesses, edgeBOX effectively replaces devices, by providing a fully featured IP-PBX, router (wired and WLAN), security platform (VPN, firewall, anti-spam/virus, etc.), and file/print/email/Web servers along with full network access control. The result is a dramatically simplified deployment and management environment for all networking services, with significantly lower total cost of ownership.

Since its spin-off in early 2006, Critical Links has successfully become a global player with edgeBOX, a converged multi-function device or business gateway targeted at SMEs and branch offices. So called "Multi-Service Business Gateways" or "Office-in-a-Box" devices are, according to In-Stat, a fast-growth market that is set to reach $2.6 billion in 2011 worldwide.

edgeBOX is distributed through channel partners (VARs, systems integrators, service providers and OEMs) worldwide in the UK, Spain, Brazil, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa and Thailand, among others.

Broadband World Forum Europe, BERLIN, GERMANY: Critical Links, an international networking technology company, launched its line of edgeBOX 'Office-in-a-Box' dedicated network appliances for SMEs, which will be made available in Europe during the fourth quarter this year.