FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10 December, 2004
Avaya Inc. (NYSE:AV), a leading global provider of business communications software, systems and services, today announced the launch of Avaya Contact Centre Express, the company's first complete multimedia contact centre solution designed solely for medium-sized businesses. The software component of the solution was developed by Avaya BusinessPartner, Agile New Zealand and has been licensed in a global agreement with Avaya.
Avaya Contact Centre Express extends the advanced customer service capabilities of large enterprises to any medium-sized organisation, including complete multimedia interaction - via voice, Web chat and e-mail - and the ability to route interactions and customer data to the appropriately skilled agent. It offers simple integration between contact centre applications and business applications, enabling organisations to reduce implementation costs significantly.
The solution also lets mid-sized businesses tap IP networks to closely link distributed workers, and extend contact centre functions to agents in any location. This helps businesses rapidly scale to meet the needs of expanding contact centre operations, ensuring the right people - with the necessary skills - have the tools to serve customers effectively.
NZAA implements Contact Centre Express to boost staff efficiency and productivity. The New Zealand Automobile Association (NZAA) is New Zealand's leading motoring association, with more than one million members. It has vehicle inspection centres, retail centres, call centres and franchise and agent networks all over the country and employs around 1,000 people.
The implementation of Avaya Contact Centre Express, the first in Avaya South Pacific, has enabled NZAA to achieve some significant improvements in efficiency within its call centre. The most recent are through the implementation of the Avaya Media Proxy and Preview Contact Client applications, which have improved the development and implementation of outbound dialling campaigns.
Previously, manual process had been used to generate lists and dial numbers, however with Avaya CCE, these processes have been automated for agents. There have also been considerable improvements in the reporting processes and data gathered from the call centre agents.
"The additional features in the CCE range have helped increase efficiency within certain business units and the Avaya Media Proxy and Preview Contact Client have had the greatest impact on these units. We are also seeing improvements in the administration process and there has been an increase in staff productivity," Dave Francis, Telecommunications Manager at NZAA said.
The NZAA has a long relationship with Avaya and its BusinessPartner in New Zealand, Agile.
"We have a number of different business units with different needs and with help from Agile, we have been able to use many of the different solutions offered by Avaya, and also partake in pre-release testing of some software. This has helped us to improve our call centre efficiency and the service that we deliver to our members and customers," he said.
Avaya Mid-Market Solution Makes Contact Centre Capabilities Easy to Use and Manage Avaya Contact Centre Express provides a full range of computer telephony integration (CTI) and intelligent routing capabilities, as well as desktop applications that support centralised configuration, easy-to-install access wizards and comprehensive reporting for all media channels. This makes it simple for mid-sized enterprises to rapidly implement contact centre applications, and allows for the centralised deployment of contact centre features without a large IT staff. Once installed, an administrator can introduce additional capabilities - such as outbound contact and extensive reporting of agent activity - to meet the needs of a business as it evolves.
Avaya Contact Centre Express also delivers a significant return on investment, enabling organisations to cost-efficiently implement an end-to-end contact centre solution, while protecting existing IT purchases. For example, it can integrate with traditional systems or an IP telephony platform based on Avaya Communication Manager, the company's award-winning IP telephony software. Avaya Contact Centre Express also integrates with business applications such as customer relationship management and MicrosoftR OutlookR software, further reducing implementation costs.
"Companies in the mid-market segment often have stringent cost savings and efficiency requirements, and Avaya Contact Centre Express directly addresses these areas," said Roy Ivimey, Regional Director for Converged Systems and Applications for Avaya South Pacific. "Through close integration of Avaya's IP telephony software and contact centre applications, this solution helps enterprises maximise existing investments, while providing the security, reliability and scalability expected from an integrated contact centre solution. This delivers on our strategy to provide advanced contact centre capabilities to any type of business - from small start-ups to large international businesses."
"As the mid-market sector continues to grow, so do the challenges placed on contact centre operations serving these organisations," said Katrina Howell, research analyst, Frost & Sullivan. "These companies require an integrated solution that can leverage the power of IP, and meet the needs of customers seeking 24x7 interaction via any medium - voice, e-mail or the Internet. Avaya offers customers the benefit of being able to tap the rich contact centre functionality formerly reserved for large enterprises, and extend those capabilities to any medium-sized organisation."
For organisations that need to further develop and customise their contact centre operations, Avaya Contact Centre Express also includes simple-to-use application development tools for enhanced customisation and integration.
Note to editors:
Avaya Contact Centre Express is part of the Avaya Customer Interaction Suite of contact centre solutions. It will be available immediatley in the following languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Brazilian Portuguese, and Korean.
About Avaya
Avaya Inc. designs, builds and manages communications networks for more than 1 million businesses worldwide, including over 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500R. Focused on businesses large to small, Avaya is a world leader in secure and reliable Internet Protocol (IP) telephony systems and communications software applications and services. Driving the convergence of voice and data communications with business applications - and distinguished by comprehensive worldwide services - Avaya helps customers leverage existing and new networks to achieve superior business results. For more information visit the Avaya website: http://www.avaya.com.
Bird & Hill Public Relations Pty Ltd
kylie@birdhillpr.com
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