Ascom UNIT Brochure

Ascom UNITE – ThE END-To-END soLUTIoN FoR

INTEGRATED mEssAGING

2 ASCOM UNITE

Decision-making is critical to any
workplace. You need the right
information at the right time to
make the right decision. Unite
delivers  time-critical information 
to key staff, regardless of their
location, enabling quick and
efficient responses.

A RoBUsT EVENT NoTIFIcATIoN AND mEssAGING mIDDLEWARE

Unite is an IP-based system for professional messaging. It integrates a broad
range of fixed, wireless, and mobile media, including paging, messaging and
alarm systems, and cordless phone systems like DECT, with public commu­nications technologies, such as GSM, email, and the Internet. Unite goes
beyond the boundaries of communications systems to interface with busi­ness, accounting, building management, and security systems.

The IP-based, open architecture makes for a highly scalable system.
You can address your immediate needs by starting small, and then add
extra capacity or functionality as your needs increase. Unite interfaces with
third-party systems and offers comprehensive customization tools. You get
great flexibility combined with low total cost of ownership.

Based on Linux OS, Unite provides a set of standard communications
protocols to connect and seamlessly integrate different types of applica­tions, hardware modules, and carrier systems. Unite completely integrates
with Ascom paging, Ascom DECT system and Ascom VoWiFi handsets, but
also enables integration with other communication systems.

3ASCOM UNITE

Getting Unite to work for you

Unite connects applications and technologies to solve your communication
and security needs. The following cases illustrate how your workplace can
improve productivity and safety by intelligently integrating communica­tions technologies.

Unite your hospital, your production facility, your business.

4 ASCOM UNITE

mEETING ALL YoUR mEssAGING NEEDs

CLARIFYING MESSAGES

Whatever your type of message, it is automatically converted
into the format required by the receiving device, such as a
pager or wireless handset. Messages can be converted to
give precise information about what has happened mini­mising the risk for misunderstandings. Privacy and security
is guaranteed by encrypting messages. All messages, even
sensitive data, can therefore be handled by Unite.

Case – Underground communications

No longer bound to information available only from the
control room, workers at a zinc mine are free to move about
their workplace and attend to their jobs. Key process data
selectively taken from the ore processing automation system
is sent to mobile telephones to keep each miner abreast of
production values throughout the day. In addition to recieving
process data each mobile phone is configured to receive three
types of messages: voice, process alarm, and personal alarm
with positioning.

INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES

Multiple communications systems are joined and admin­istered to ensure the delivery of messages across a wide
variety of wire line, wireless, and mobile media. Unite
integration enables heightened cooperation among your
resources.

Case – Emergency C-section

The push of a button at the Birth Centre starts a chain
reaction. An audible evacuation message is given in a bed
elevator. Once the elevator is empty, it proceeds to the
Birth Centre on floor 7 and waits there with open doors.
Elevator doors open to the emergency on the 4th floor and
blue lights go on creating a path leading from the emer­gency room entrance to the emergency surgery area.

An on-call anaesthesiologist and gynaecologist are
paged, as are the nurses specialising in surgery, anaesthe­siology, and neonatal care. The alarm text “Emergency
C-Sect” displays in each of their pagers.

5ASCOM UNITE

ESCALATING MESSAGES

What happens when a time-critical message is sent to a staff
member, but that staff member is unavailable to answer the
call? Using predefined criteria, a time-critical message
reroutes to a second staff member, and if necessary, to
a third staff member, until that call is acknowledged.

Case – Minimising production stoppages

A production plant with 24/7 operations needs to minimise
production losses during unplanned stoppages. To achieve
this goal, the plant put wireless alarm functionality in the
hands of the machine operators. In the event of a machine
malfunction, the push of a button starts a chain of alarms to
service personnel. Event management settings, based on
time of day and work schedules for the service personnel,
determines which serviceman would receive the alarm first,
second, third, etc. In this way, the serviceman closest to
the malfunction could quickly fix the problem and restart
the production. Even off-site personnel could be messaged
using GSM.

LOGGING AND TRACKING

By logging response calls, a service industry can track their
quality of service and help make adjustments for improve­ments.

Case – Proof of service

Mrs. D’Arcy suspects that her mother, who complains of long
nurse-call waiting times, is not receiving quality care. The care
manager invites Mrs. D’Arcy to a meeting where together they
review call and response time statistics from the past two
months. The average response times prove to be well within
accepted care standards. They both agree that Mrs. D’Arcy’s
mother has been somewhat more confused lately, and that
her personal care plan should be adapted accordingly.

6 ASCOM UNITE

smooThER EVENT hANDLING ThRoUGh coNsoLIDATED FUNcTIoNALITY

TECH FACTS – Unite employs state-of-the-art
technology for interactive messaging:

An IP protocol-based system easily interfaces

with other equipment

Linux OS for optimal performance and low

maintenance costs

Built-in firewall

Solid-state hardware for long-term reliability

Automatic start-up and recovery facility

Encrypted messages to ensure communica-

tions integrity

Event handling

Crucial to Unite’s ability to disseminate information quickly and in turn get
fast responses is the event handling functionality. As illustrated within the
cases above, event handling determines who gets messages and when,
which types of alarms or messages are sent and where, when to set up
success and failure conditions, and how to configure the events database.

Logical composition

Unite consolidates the functionalities and potentialities of three logical
layers of applications, services, and carrier systems. These layers are:

User Applications – equipment and applications used in daily activities.

For example, interactive messages on handsets, alarm presentation and
handling, message initiation from web browsers, emails directly to your
handset.

System Services –message routing and escalation, group handling,

system supervision and logging, address resolution, and much more.

Carrier Systems – these systems handle the data and communications

with mobile terminals and input/output hardware. For example DECT,
VoWiFi, Paging and GSM.

7ASCOM UNITE

Functionality

When connected over an IP backbone, Unite modules and
applications act as a single system. The following Unite
building blocks are available:

IMS2 (Integrated Message Server)

Provides basic support for alarms and messages via DECT and
VoWiFi systems, including group handling and messaging from
web-browsers. IMS2 has a built-in phonebook, but also supports
external database phonebooks. Handles absent status for users,
and is a base for the Unite system.
Our Centralized Management platform for device manage­ment is aslo included in the IMS2. Through an intuitive PC interface,
handset upgrades can be applied easily and quickly. The platform
also simplifies monitoring.

ESS (Enhanced System Services)
Supports Unite systems with a number of services, such as centralised

number planning, remote management, system supervision, fault
handling and notification, group handling, message routing, conditional
and unconditional diversions, logs messaging traffic, alarm events and
faults, and handles user access rights. Gives additional services to IMS,
and is required in Unite systems that employs multiple types of
portable devices. ESS is also Unite’s time server.

AMS (Alarm Management Server)
An event-handler engine with a web-based user interface for the

configuration of presentations, actions, and escalation for alarms and
other types of events.

AMC (Alarm Management Client)
A Windows based presentation/alarm handling client to the AMS.

Presents alarms with graphical locations, and is a graphical interface
for users to respond to alarms.

MailGate
A gateway that transfers emails to portable devices.

Open Access Server (OAS)
A server enabling integration between Windows applications and Unite.

Open Java Server (OJS)

Contains a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) enabling customised
embedded Java applications to integrate with Unite.

XGate

A generic gateway that handles integration with external systems
through a variety of different types of protocols. Converts events to
actions, such as notifications or activating outputs. Dynamically assigns
users to specific alarms and events. Handles escalation chains.

External Carrier Gateway (ECG)

Enables interaction with an external system. Available for SNPP, TAP
and Cisco Call Manager.

www.ascom.com

Unite carrier systems

Unite works with the following carrier systems:

Carrier Category Supported Carrier

DECT Ascom DCT1800-S
Ascom DCT1800-GAP
Ascom EMN
Ascom IP-DECT
Aastra MD110
Aastra MX-One
Aastra BusinessPhone
Aastra MD Evolution
Aastra Ascotel
Alcatel OmniPCX

VOIP/WiFi Ascom VoWiFi
Cisco Call Manager

Paging Ascom teleCOURIER/telePROTECT
Public GSM/SMS

TAP
SNPP
Email

Ascom
Wireless Solutions

P.O. Box 8783 SE-402 76 Göteborg, Sweden
T [phone] | F [phone]
www.ascom.com

05.2009M0268701 Ver D © Ascom (Sweden) AB Specifications are subject to change without notice.