Customers are discovering that browser-enabled messaging services are an excellent way to manage all types of communications - including voice mail, e-mail and fax. As a company with its foot in the Internet service provider business and several other markets, Sprint hopes that unified messaging also will be the hook that draws business customers to a new customer premises device that, in turn, will attract customers to a bundle of Sprint services.

The new device - the InternetPBX from COM2001.com - provides voice and data connectivity on a single platform that also runs Microsoft BackOffice and Exchange Server software. With the InternetPBX installed at a headquarters location, a company can provide employees on and off-site with sophisticated messaging capabilities. Mobile workers can dial into the Internet from their laptops and be alerted about calls to their office phone in another state. They then can route those calls to a phone in the remote location, transfer the calls to someone else or send the calls to voice mail. Users also can download voice mail messages onto their computers.

By using the InternetPBX in place of conventional voice and data equipment, business customers can save up to 50% on initial hardware and software costs and up to 13% on ongoing networking and Internet service costs, said Jeff Anderson, assistant vice president for strategic development at Sprint. The ongoing savings results from the discounts customers get by purchasing a bundle of services from Sprint.

"When we developed [Integrated OnDemand Network], we developed it with this in mind," said Anderson, referring to Sprint's service that integrates voice and data over a single physical connection. "This is the first step in a converged [service]. ION takes it to the next level. There is a migration path if customers move to ION.

"Sprint recognized a market for the InternetPBX when it saw research from IDC that showed more than 40% of small business customers were highly interested in unified messaging but didn't have it, Anderson said.