Amdocs launches product to compete with Skype, Facebook and other 'over-the-tops'

Rebecca Prudhomme, Amdocs vice president of product and solutions marketing

Amdocs today announced its cloud-based Amdocs Unified Communications solution, a service that will give telecom service providers a way to bundle video calls, messaging services and voice over IP (VoIP) inside a branded smartphone app.

The Chesterfield-based company is marketing the new system as a way for its customers in the telecommunications industry to fight back against over-the-top offerings, an industry term that describes companies such as Skype, YouTube and Netflix that offer their service directly to the consumer without negotiating or cooperating with the service providers whose networks they use.

The tools and services developed by these companies are popular with consumers but present challenges to traditional service providers. If users only communicate via Skype calls, Facebook posts and Twitter messages, then what does it matter if their network is provided by Sprint, AT&T or Verizon Wireless?

"Today's smartphone users are turning to a variety of services to communicate, often at the expense of the service provider," said Rebecca Prudhomme, vice president of product and solutions marketing at Amdocs, in a statement. "Amdocs Unified Communications is the first brandable, cloud-based solution, offering fast time to market, which allows service providers to leverage their customer relationships to build revenues through metered data packages, premium features and applications."

One key selling point for the Amdocs product is that it would gather the user?s social network and mobile communities into one unified address book "keeping the subscriber inside the service provider?s brand for messaging, VoIP conversations and video chats with their contacts."

Amdocs Ltd. reported net income of $99 million in its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, up 7 percent from the prior-year quarter, and company officials expect revenue of about $820 million to $850 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2013. In 2012 the company reported net income of $391.4 million on revenue of $3.25 billion.

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