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MCI Launches On-Demand Application Service

MCI Inc introduced its On-Demand Application Service, a new managed solution that helps businesses intelligently distribute software to end-users via MCI's global IP network. Delivering on its Convergence Networking strategy, MCI's new on-demand service addresses the growing challenge businesses face in distributing software to multiple locations and hundreds of users. With this first-of-its-kind service, companies can now more easily distribute software releases and patch updates, better control software licenses and track software usage under a pay-as-you-go model.

"As more companies leverage the power of IP, MCI is using its global IP network in a new way to empower a host of new business capabilities," said Nancy Gofus, MCI senior vice president of product management. "MCI's On-Demand Application Service is bringing together the power of computing and networking to deliver the benefits of convergence to our customers."

Available immediately, MCI's new fully managed offering builds on the "software-as-a-service" concept and helps companies lower total cost of ownership, optimize company resources and improve network utilization. With a simple connection to MCI's IP network, companies can utilize MCI's streaming application delivery platform to centrally deploy and locally execute Windows-based software. As a result, On-Demand Application Service customers can benefit from several new capabilities, including automated software entitlement, compliance, license tracking and extensive monitoring, metering and reporting capabilities.

Hosted at an MCI data center and centrally streamed over the company's global IP network to user desktops, the service enables companies to support corporate-wide usage of applications to geographically dispersed users and the "extended" enterprise, resulting in better performance and faster download rates than more traditional methods. MCI is utilizing the latest technology from Endeavors Technology, a leading provider of on-demand software tools.

A key advantage of this service is its extensive license compliance and usage tracking capabilities that provide businesses with valuable statistical information at the desktop level. With these features, MCI customers can log all usage and check for compliance each time an application is requested using a Web-based interface. This provides the ability to create a software audit of licenses in use and to assess users by specific application. Offering customers a new and better way to plan for software purchases, MCI's On-Demand Application Service also provides strong anti-piracy and license management control features.

One of the first to utilize this service is MCI's internal department responsible for software and hardware contract administration and license compliance. Enabling the distribution of six different software application deployments initially to 200+ users, MCI has stopped shipping CD-ROMS to corporate users and eliminated the time and effort spent installing the software. Now MCI can push the software simultaneously to end users quickly, easily and securely with the ability to monitor application usage, helping the department to become more efficient in managing software licenses and better informed when making software-purchasing decisions. As a result, MCI is reducing operating expenses and improving overall efficiencies through automation.

MCI's On-Demand Application Service is easily integrated with the company's other offerings, including its Remote Access, Wide Area Networking, Data Center, Security and Content Delivery services, to deliver a comprehensive communication solution to customers.

MCI's Convergence Networking strategy blends old and new, voice and data, and public and private networking capabilities to deliver new business advantages for its customers. As computing and telecommunications converge, MCI is uniquely positioned to lead the market and deliver on the promise of a more efficient and effective communications infrastructure that allows businesses to enhance productivity and optimize resources at all levels of an organization.