"Panasonic is big on SMBs," quipped a Panasonic executive today at a New York City press conference. There, Panasonic introduced a network-savvy voice, data and video access solution which uses phones as a primary user interface.

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- With phones becoming increasingly popular for data and video access as well as voice, Panasonic today rolled out a phone-oriented but IP-capable communications platform for SMBs, geared to integration with products from Panasonic and other vendors for custom vertical solutions.

At a press conference here today, Panasonic VP Bill Taylor suggested that the company's new Enhanced Communications Solution (ECS) platform is a natural extension of Panasonic's long-time leadership position in phone sales to businesses, especially SMBs. "Panasonic is big on SMBs," Taylor quipped.

The centerpiece of Panasonic's new ECS platform is a series of second-generation IP-capable digital PBXes, known as the KX-NCP500 and KX-NCP1000. Both switches come with new Windows-based software from Panasonic, dubbed Communication Assistant.

"You can almost think of the NCP as a [network] server, particularly because of the Communication Assistant applications for communications management," said one of Panasonic's third-party solutions providers, speaking with BetaNews at the event.

Panasonic's sleek new box -- which would look at home even in a corporate data center -- also supports analog voice and is designed to integrate with just about any type of wired or wireless IP-based network, BetaNews was told.

The NCP also works with most existing Panasonic equipment -- except for early legacy phones -- as well as with other new Panasonic devices introduced today: the DECT 6.0 cordless phones, for seamless handoff between cell station areas; and the NT700 speakerphone.

In a series of demos for reporters today, Panasonic showed how the NCP digital switch supports custom applications in traditional voice, VoIP, video, and data access.

For a retail point-of-sale security application, for example, Panasonic's NCP switch, network cameras and routers have been brought together with Quadrox's WebCCTV network digital video recording technology.

For a home office app, Panasonic's NCP switch and cordless phones have been integrated with flat panel TVs and Control 4's home automation system to let users control lighting, environmental settings, and video entertainment systems from their phones.