Communications solutions firm Adomo has rolled out a platform designed as a universal voice messaging system that integrates with Microsoft Exchange and Active Directory, the company said.

The Adomo Voice Messaging for Exchange combines a growing list of telephony components, including Voice over IP (define) technologies, smartphones and PDAs, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company said.

Andrew Feit, vice president of marketing for Adomo, says corporate migration to VoIP is well under way. However, he added, numerous challenges facing organizations must be addressed by firms, such as Adomo, in order to ease the transition.

"Adomo has been quietly building the perfect solution for enterprises looking to save costs and reduce risks, as they roll out next-generation converged networks based on VoIP and wireless technologies," Feit said.

"I'm incredibly excited about the opportunity to bring this product to market, to continue to expand our product offering, and to deliver significant value to customers in this dynamic environment."

Voicemail systems have often slowed users by not allowing them to easily view and prioritize messages, he says. With unified messaging, v-mail becomes voice e-mail, showing which users have contacted you, and determines which message to listen to first.

"Historically, unified messaging was impractical for larger enterprises, because it required separate Exchange integrations for every site or PBX added, and because it had a separate administrative interface for each telephony product on the network," Feit said. "Every integration with Microsoft Exchange required days to accomplish, and ongoing administration and maintenance had to be performed for the life of each additional telephony source."

With Adomo Voice Messaging for Exchange, voice messages can also be accessed from a phone, as well as from their Outlook inboxes. Users can listen to voice messages directly on their computers or click "Play on Phone" to have the message played on another phone.

They can also be directly delivered and accessed from wireless devices, including the smartphone, Pocket PC, Treo and BlackBerry.

Feit said Adomo minimizes risks and lowers costs of deployment by delivering voice messaging and unified communications applications that bridge legacy technologies to the next generation.

Another key factor is the ability to be flexible while using products from multiple vendors instead of solely using proprietary solutions. That and the ability to migrate from legacy PBXs to new IP-based systems on their own schedule is Adomo's advantage, Feit said.

Pricing for the appliance starts at $12,000.