Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE) launched its flagship portfolio of cloud-based business communication services called Rainbow in 2017. Its highlight was the library of open communication platform as a service (CPaaS) APIs, which we reviewed in detail. Over the years, the company has added to and grown its capabilities to make ALE Rainbow suitable for various use cases and deployment scenarios. Let us unbox the ALE rainbow solution and explore its key features and functionalities.
What Is ALE Rainbow?
Rainbow is a communication solution encompassing collaboration, PBX, cloud telephony, compliance, and Office suite integrations. Optional add-ins for audio conferencing, customer relationship management (CRM), and meeting rooms are available for desktop and smartphone environments.
ALE Rainbow is a cloud-first – and not cloud-only – communication solution. It has options that allow customers to deploy it on-premise or on their private remote servers. It also has a suite of APIs to support your CPaaS requirements and integrate the solution's functionalities into existing applications and processes.
Its key components include:
- The Rainbow app for all-in-one cloud communications
- Rainbow Edge for on-premise and private cloud deployment
- Rainbow Room to convert any space with basic hardware and a smart television into a conferencing room
- SaaS connectors – i.e., CPaaS capabilities
- Rainbow Classroom, a Europe-hosted platform to support remote learning
- Rainbow Office, which is a UCaaS solution in partnership with RingCentral
What Does ALE Rainbow Mean for Businesses?
ALE Rainbow offers many vital benefits to businesses and enterprise users.
- A single platform
ALE Rainbow brings together various communications capabilities, from voice to video, on one platform. It reduces the need to deploy multiple licenses, and Rainbow may be installed on-premises, in a hybrid environment, or the cloud, depending on your requirements. Its open design and support for advanced telephony enable it to connect with your current phone system and embed it into business processes and other SaaS applications.
- Global availability
The company has paid particular attention to worldwide availability for its business communications features, with access in 75+ countries. Enterprises can also use ALE Rainbow in 22 different languages, making for an easier learning curve. In 2021, RingCentral and ALE joined hands to create the Rainbow Office solution, which would be available to Europe and the UK. "It is a compelling offer for existing customers and new ones looking for an all-in-one public cloud solution," Claudio Soland, Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Business Operations at ALE, commented during the Europe launch.
RingCentral also aided the solution's launch in the UK. "This public UCaaS solution, which includes outbound and inbound calling minutes, represents a fantastic opportunity for companies who want to accelerate their transformation to the cloud," Heather Zhang, UK Country Lead for ALE, explained.
- The free tier
ALE Rainbow is among the few business communications platforms available for free, albeit with some feature limitations. Small teams can try the essential plan, which supports up to five folders and 50 bubbles or channel conversations, with a group chat with 20 participants. Notably, the solution will be free forever without any SLA guarantee. It also includes basic telephony features like access to OmniPCX Enterprise, call logging, call history, etc.
