Introducing Xura: Comverse and Acision Launch New Global Company; Fresh Brand Reflects Digital Communications Leadership

WAKEFIELD, Massachusetts, September 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Bigger, Stronger, Further: Xura creates pathways to next-generation digital technology for CSPs and Enterprises, unlocking limitless communications 

New Report from Industry Analyst Firm Ovum Underscores
Customer Needs in Evolving Digital Communications Marketplace  

Comverse, Inc. and Acision is today officially introducing Xura, Inc. to the mobile and digital communications world - a new global company, brand name and ticker symbol (NASDAQ: MESG). The new identity reflects the joint company's mission to be the trusted next-generation digital technology provider to operators and enterprises across the globe, offering limitless communication solutions that generate new monetization and engagement opportunities with today's multi-device, multi-service consumer.  Already, Xura counts as customers eight of the top 10 global operators, reaching over three billion end points. The company's new website is http://www.xura.com.   Xura will also be renaming all Comverse and Acision subsidiaries.

"Our new brand identity reflects the modern and unique outlook the combined Comverse and Acision companies have for the future of digital communications, enabling us to think bigger, reach further and act smarter. We wanted a name that echoed our no boundaries, anything is possible mindset, and Xura provided this through adaptation of the word "Aura," which imparts a sense of powerful, positive feeling all around you, and connotes the freedom to map thoughts and expression, which is what we want to drive with our digital communication services," said Philippe Tartavull, Chief Executive Officer of Xura, Inc.  

"In today's quickly-shifting world of communications, we will harness our new brand to offer clever ways for operators and enterprises to quickly realize opportunities from existing technology while building richer communication futures. Xura's values, positioning and no boundaries attitude will guide our strategic direction and set us apart in the market environment in which we operate," continued Tartavull.  "We will be agile in delivering new technologies and solutions that differentiate us from other providers. And with a shared set of goals with our customers, the new Xura team will use its insight, knowledge, and thinking to create paths that help them successfully navigate and effectively monetize this next generation of digital communication services and gain competitive advantage."

Xura's Market Perspective 

Worldwide, Communication Service Providers (CSP) are evolving from managing messaging infrastructure systems to reasserting their leadership with advanced digital communications services across IP and NFV.  These communications services are reshaping businesses and opening lucrative new multi-million dollar revenue streams for operators worldwide.

Similarly, enterprises are aggressively engaging their own customers in new ways through mobile and digital services.   Almost every smartphone user today has mobile banking, travel and other "enterprise-class" apps on their phone.  While these apps are designed around the service they offer, very few seamlessly integrate multi-channel communications to enhance the customer experience.  

With leadership across messaging and voicemail services, Xura helps operators and enterprises across the globe address the ever-changing market and meet a full spectrum of communications needs both efficiently and profitably. With three business lines --Digital Communications, Monetization and Enterprise -- Xura's portfolio includes its flagship IP messaging solutions, as well as:

• Cloud Advanced-VAS (SMS, MMS, Visual Voicemail, Messaging Gateways)
• IP Messaging and RCS (Rich Communication Suite) services
• Multi-device Mobile Monetization Services
• Security Solutions, such as Spam & Fraud Prevention and Control
• Multi-Content Store and Data Analytics
• Secure Enterprise Application-to-person (A2P) Messaging
• Two-factor Authentication (2FA)
• Richer, Real-time Communication Solutions, through rapidly emerging standards such as WebRTC

New Ovum Report Underscores Xura's Market Vision 

Underscoring Xura's market vision, industry analyst firm Ovum today issued a new report that evaluates the changing face of consumer communications and the opportunities this presents for operators and enterprises. The research finds that there is an imperative for both the telco and enterprise to evolve their communications platforms.

Commenting on the evolution of communications platform providers, Pamela Clark-Dickson, Principal Analyst in Ovum's Consumer Services Practice, said, "What has emerged is a new breed of vendor: the digital communications service provider which, while competing on some level with a new set of rival companies, is probably most in tune with its telco and enterprise customers across the gamut of digital communications services."

The report advises that special emphasis is given by the telco and enterprise to:

• Moving from silos to multi-purpose modular platforms
• Transitioning their platforms to support IP-based communications
• Acquiring or developing technologies such as RCS and WebRTC
• Introducing new delivery models such as network functions virtualization (NFV) and cloud
• Targeting new markets such as enterprise messaging; and revising their business models

For more details on Xura or to receive the Ovum's report, The Digital Communications Service Provider: Delivering Communications without Limits, please contact, corporate.marketing@xura.com

About Xura 

Xura offers a portfolio of digital services solutions that enable global communications across a variety of mobile devices and platforms. We help communication service providers (CSPs) and enterprises navigate and monetize the digital ecosystem to create innovative, new experiences through our cloud-based offerings. Our solutions touch more than three billion people through 350+ service providers and enterprises in 140+ countries.  You can find us at Xura.com.   

About Ovum 

Ovum is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. Through its 180 analysts worldwide it offers expert analysis and strategic insight across the IT, telecoms, and media industries. Founded in 1985, Ovum has one of the most experienced analyst teams in the industry and is a respected source of guidance for technology business leaders, CIOs, vendors, service providers, and regulators looking for comprehensive, accurate, and insightful market data, research, and consulting. With 23 offices across six continents, Ovum offers a truly global perspective on technology and media markets and provides thousands of clients with insight including workflow tools, forecasts, surveys, market assessments, technology audits, and opinion. In 2012, Ovum was jointly named Global Analyst Firm of the Year by the IIAR. Ovum is a division of Informa plc, one of the leading business and academic publishing and event organisers globally, headquartered in London. Informa is quoted on the London Stock Exchange.

Forward-Looking Statements 

This press release includes "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements include statements of plans and objectives for future operations, statements of future economic performance, and statements of assumptions relating thereto. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "may," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "potential," "projects," "forecasts," "intends," or the negative thereof or other comparable terminology. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results, performance and the timing of events to differ materially from those anticipated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release. These risks and uncertainties discussed above, as well as others, are discussed in greater detail in our filings with the SEC. The documents and reports we file with the SEC are available through us, or our website, http://www.Xura.com, or through the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system (EDGAR) at http://www.sec.gov.