I must admit RIM are going in the right direction with this move, especially with Exchange 12 (E12) on the horizon… 
Acquisition Enables RIM to Deliver Enhanced Voice Solutions to Enterprise Customers
San Jose, CA and Waterloo, ON – Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced it has acquired Ascendent Systems, a leading provider of solutions that simplify voice mobility implementations in the enterprise. Ascendent, a member of the BlackBerry® ISV Alliance Program, makes the Ascendent® Voice Mobility Suite, a standards-based software solution that augments existing PBX (Private Branch Exchange) and IP-PBX (Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange) systems and supports heterogeneous telephony environments to “push” voice calls and extend corporate desk phone functionality to mobile users on their wireless handset or any wireline phone. Ascendent will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIM. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“The Ascendent Voice Mobility Suite is a perfect complement to the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution. This deal allows us to further extend and enhance the use of wireless communications in the enterprise by offering a voice mobility solution that helps customers align their mobile voice and data strategies,” said Jim Balsillie, Chairman and Co-CEO at RIM.
“We developed a solution that extends the identity, security and manageability of the corporate desk phone to the wireless phone. It allows enterprises to be more responsive to their customers, encourages collaboration and increases sales opportunities by providing a mobile user with many essential PBX functions as if the user was at their desk,” said Debbie Miller, CEO, Ascendent Systems.
Ascendent Voice Mobility Suite is a feature rich solution that provides single number reach, consolidation and access to a single voice mail box, and extends desk phone functionality such as PBX dial tone, call transfer and hold, 4 or 5 digit dialing and conference calling capabilities to mobile users. It provides a consistent experience across a mix of telephony systems and simplifies the migration to newer IP-PBX systems. The solution is also SIP-enabled for VoIP and supports BlackBerry WLAN deployments. Ascendent’s solution has been especially well-received by enterprises with heterogeneous telephony environments and customers that also deploy BlackBerry.
In addition to working with RIM, Ascendent has established relationships with mobile carriers and a variety of other technology leaders including Cisco, Intel and Microsoft. For more information about Ascendent Systems, please visit www.ascendentsystems.com.