Contact Information: Media Inquiries: Jonathan Varman 908-953-6432 jvarman@avaya.com
New Avaya IP Office Makes Unified Communications and Customer Service Simple for Small Businesses
Avaya IP Office Release 5 Delivers Greater Scalability, Business Continuity and Workforce Productivity
| Source: Avaya Inc.
BASKING RIDGE, NJ--(Marketwire - September 21, 2009) - Avaya
announced the launch of the new version of Avaya IP Office, the company's
flagship communications solution for small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The new version -- Avaya IP Office
Release 5 -- is software that simplifies unified communications and
customer service for SMEs, while delivering a range of new capabilities
improving the scalability, resiliency and productivity of organizations.
To make communications easy for small and medium-sized businesses, Avaya IP
Office is now offered in six role-based solutions -- tailored to roles such
as "tele-worker," "mobile worker," and "customer service agent" -- each
designed to meet specific worker needs. Using this approach, small
businesses no longer have to pick from a multitude of application options,
removing the complexity of choosing the right communications solution.
Avaya has also streamlined IP Office by consolidating multiple hardware
options down to a single, higher-capacity hardware platform(1). It now
supports 384 users per system, up from 272, extending the scalability and
usefulness of an IP Office system as a business grows. Additionally,
conferencing capacity has been doubled from one to two 64-party bridges.
"Small and medium-sized businesses require solutions that are easy to
understand and use," said Deepinder Sahni, senior vice president, AMI
Partners, a research and consultancy firm specializing in the small and
medium business sector. "With IP Office Release 5, Avaya has effectively
incorporated simplicity into the way communications is architected,
delivered and communicated. The new role-based solutions improve how
business partners meet customer needs, while enhanced capabilities like
expanded conferencing are especially compelling."
Avaya IP Office Raises the Bar for SMEs with New Resiliency, Applications
For SMEs with multiple sites, Avaya introduces a more efficient and
reliable method of business continuity. With Avaya IP Office Release 5, a
business site can use servers at alternate sites to keep an IP
communications network -- including phones and voicemail -- operating in
the event of an outage. For example, if an outage occurs at a site, the
system automatically re-registers to another IP Office site. This drives
greater network resiliency, and eliminates the need to have a second system
at a site solely for continuity purposes, reducing hardware and labor
costs.
Avaya IP Office also delivers new productivity-enhancing applications for
unified communications and customer service -- now accessible via Web browser using a
'thin client' model. Using the Web eases user access to essential
communications tools, while providing administrators a simplified way to
deploy and manage communications. New Web-based applications include one-X
Portal for Avaya IP Office, a communications portal designed for PCs
providing workers a better way to manage phone communications using
real-time call control, presence and call logs.
Additionally, Avaya IP Office Release 5 introduces a powerful new contact
center reporting application -- also accessible via Web -- that is easier
to install, update and use. Customer Call Reporter can track customer
service progress and agent productivity, while using alarms to help
administrators react to issues in real-time. With Customer Call Reporter,
agents can see how they are performing against workgroup averages, while
supervisors can track factors such as the number of agents logged on, as
well as calls arriving, waiting or lost.
"By strengthening and expanding the range of communications capabilities
available to small businesses today, Avaya is giving these companies the
tools necessary to compete in today's challenging business environment,"
said Anthony Bartolo, vice president and general manager, Small and Medium
Enterprise Communications, Avaya. "Today's IP Office enhancements represent
our commitment to simplify offers, and help businesses get the most out of
user-friendly unified communications and customer service applications."
Data Security Company Keeps Customers Satisfied with Avaya IP Office
A customer using Avaya IP Office Release 5 is data security consulting
services company Aurora
Enterprises, a 25-person business with four offices including its
Torrance, CA headquarters. Due to the urgent nature of Aurora Enterprises'
business, the company required an "always-on" communications solution that
ensures calling customers have quick access to a live person. To quickly
get customers to the best representatives, Aurora Enterprises relies on
Avaya IP Office, and its unified communications capabilities. The solution
was successfully implemented by Van Nuys, CA.-based Telemasters, a member
of the Avaya BusinessPartner program.
Avaya IP Office gives Aurora Enterprises' employees seamless access to
communications -- including phones, voicemail and faxes -- from any
location. According to Philip de Souza, CEO of Aurora Enterprises, moving
to Web-based applications with the new version of Avaya IP Office will help
SME employees gain greater flexibility and productivity while working at
home or on the road. Aurora currently uses tele-workers on the front lines
of customer service, keeping employees motivated, while helping customers
reach associates located anywhere.
"Letting home office-based and mobile workers use a unified communications
or customer service application via the Web is a major benefit," said de
Souza. "This will not only make it easier for workers to bring up what they
need from any location, but will also save us the expense of deploying
applications on every employee's laptop."
Aurora's de Souza added that offering Avaya IP Office in just six
role-based solutions simplifies purchasing decisions for small business
owners. According to De Souza: "This helps us pre-define the tool set we
require, giving us a better way to pick exactly what we need. Plus, it does
wonders for our budget."
Avaya IP Office Release 5 Availability
With the introduction of Avaya IP Office Release 5 software, available now,
the Avaya IP Office 500 server becomes the company's single server offering
for the SME market. The Release 5 software can also be used on existing
IP406v2 and IP412 IP Office servers.
About Avaya
Avaya is a global leader in enterprise communications systems. The company
provides unified communications, contact centers, and related
services directly and through its channel
partners to leading businesses and organizations around the
world. Enterprises of all sizes depend on Avaya for state-of-the-art
communications that improve efficiency, collaboration, customer service and
competitiveness.
(1) Single platform is based on the Avaya IP Office 500 system