OTTAWA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Natural Convergence Inc. (NCI), a leading supplier of hosted VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) software applications, today acquired NewStep Networks, an award-winning provider of “any device, any place” communications technology.

The acquisition enhances NCI’s flagship product, silhouette, with NewStep’s industry-leading fixed mobile convergence (FMC) solution, making silhouette the most robust hosted VoIP application in the market today.

“This acquisition is part of NCI’s long-term strategy to increase growth via partnering, leveraging adjacent markets and new products. Our committed customers and emerging markets have created the opportunity to allow NCI to make bold strategic moves in these challenging economic times,” said Bill Crank, President of NCI. “The immediate enhancements to our product portfolio, on top of our industry-leading silhouette product, mark another step in continuing to deliver value and add to our customers’ bottom line via increased ARPU.”

Built to replace premise-based small to medium sized business (SMB) and branch office voice equipment, silhouette is a carrier-grade, hosted software solution. Specifically designed for service providers to address the small and multi-site business market, silhouette’s familiar features and functionality make it simple to sell, simple to deploy and simple to manage. silhouette is deployed today throughout North America, South America and Europe and will be complementary to NewStep’s FMC products, which are deployed in North America, Europe and Asia.

“These are difficult times in the investor community, but NCI’s strategy, coupled with silhouette’s proven track record, has built a tremendous amount of investor commitment to NCI,” said Pat Smith, Chairman and CEO of NCI. “Of course, there are immediate benefits to this acquisition, but this is just the tip of the iceberg on our overall strategy. This is the first of a number of strategic moves we intend to implement to cement NCI as the global leader in providing hosted software applications that will drive value to our customer base.”

For more information on silhouette and winning with hosted voice in the small business space, visit: www.naturalconvergence.com

About Natural Convergence (www.naturalconvergence.com )

Natural Convergence supplies hosted VoIP applications that enable service providers to sell dramatically improved services to the huge, yet untapped, small business market. Its silhouette application replaces traditional premise-based voice solutions like key systems and small PBXs, combining familiar functionality with powerful cost and performance advantages. Its go-to-market channel strategy is optimized to the buying habits of small businesses—from value-added resellers, through service providers and original equipment manufacturers.

Founded in April 2001, NCI has grown with service provider customers, deploying their industry leading products to small business customers globally.

Natural Convergence is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with regional offices strategically located in the Americas and EMEA.

About NewStep Networks

NewStep Networks is an award-winning provider of seamless session management solutions based on its patented CSN platform. NewStep solutions enable enterprise and consumers to have an “any device, any place, any content” communications experience by facilitating the movement of information across all access technologies. Currently deployed and handling millions of calls per day, NewStep Networks’ platform offers a rich set of features that work with today’s technology and devices, developed for today and tomorrow.