For Immediate Release: 17-Dec-2005
Media Relations:
Alicia Price,
Avaya
+61 2 9352 9107
aprice@avaya.com
Lina Han,
Professional Public Relations
+61 2 9818 0932
lina.han@ppr.com.au
Sydney, AUSTRALIA – Avaya Inc. (NYSE:AV),
a leading global provider of business communications applications,
systems and services has marked the 5th anniversary of its debut
as an independent company, and stated a goal to become the global
market leader in enterprise mobility and fixed-mobile convergence
applications by 2008. The overall global market for enterprise
mobile solutions is projected to be $7.6 billion in 2008*.
The global IP telephony and contact centre leader also unveiled
a plan to equip the most mobile 8,000 of its 20,000 strong workforce
with new fixed-mobile communications (FMC) software, devices and
network features. FMC solutions integrate fixed line and mobile
networks, allowing people to move from one work mode to another
transparently. Using Avaya’s FMC solutions, mobile workers are
able to extend the features found on their office desk phone – such
as conferencing, voicemail and corporate directory information – to
mobile devices. The company estimates the deployment will save $25
million a year through productivity gains, lower communications costs
and other operational benefits.
Carlton Taya, Managing Director of Avaya, South Pacific said:
"The seamless integration of fixed and mobile networks will change
everyone’s view of what mobile communication is and what it can do
for businesses. Our goal – to become the global market leader in
enterprise mobility and fixed-mobile convergence applications by 2008
– is critical to our plans to deliver Intelligent Communications,
providing our customers with the ability to reach the right person,
at the right time, by the right medium – over any network. We see
the convergence of wired and wireless IP telephony, cellular systems
and business applications as an important step to realising this vision.
We intend to lead the charge for our customers and be a model for best
practice."
Bob Hafner, Chief of Research, Communications, Gartner said:
"The first challenge for voice was the convergence with data; the
second challenge will be the convergence of wired and wireless voice.
The mobile workforce is demanding seamless connectivity and access to
the IP voice applications they are now becoming dependent on in the
office. Vendors need to recognise this early and respond with products
to meet these needs."
During the past 12 months, Avaya has established and strengthened major
initiatives with the market leaders in mobile and cellular technologies,
including Intel, Meru Networks, Motorola, Nokia, Research In Motion, ScanSoft
and Symbian. Last month the company launched several new IP-based mobile
solutions including productivity tools for teleworkers, and software downloadable
over the air to enable Avaya customers to extend the capabilities of their
office desk phones to Nokia Series 60 smartphones. Benefits include the convenience
of one business number and one voicemail box, as well as access to enterprise-class
features, such as multi-party conferencing, simultaneous call appearance on desk
phones and mobile phones, group calling and call transfer.
In Australia, St. George is trialing the Avaya Mobile for the Nokia Series 60
and is highly impressed with the ease at which its mobile workers can transform
their mobile phones into fully featured virtual office phones.
"St. George is excited to be one of the first in Australia to trial the converged
Avaya and Nokia solution," said Paul Bristow, executive manager, IT Network Services,
St. George Bank. "We see great potential for this product in terms of its functionality,
usability and potential to increase the productivity and efficiency of our workforce."
Avaya customers rolling out the new Avaya Mobility client include Reykjavik Energy,
which operates the world's largest geo-thermal district-heating system and provides
water and electricity distribution to half of Iceland's population. Arnlaugur Gudmundsson,
CIO of Reykjavik Energy said: "With 200 workers dispersed over a wide area, we wanted
to ensure they could communicate as effectively on the road as if sat at their desk.
We found the benefit of having desk-phone features, such as abbreviated dialing and
voicemail, extended to their mobile saves 400 hours a week and makes them responsive.
It is as though the mobile is just another extension of the IP-telephony system.
This is helping us to deliver better levels of service to our citizens."
Underscoring Avaya's commitment to lead the enterprise mobility applications sector,
the company unveiled a plan to deploy FMC solutions by 2008 to 8,000 of its most mobile
customer-facing employees, comprising key sales, services and executive staff.
The FMC solutions are planned to be deployed over the next three-years and expected
to yield productivity gains in excess of 5 percent. The first phase involves enabling
Avaya’s network infrastructure to cope seamlessly between the demands of wired and wireless
devices, and completion of trial evaluations. Currently, Avaya Mobile for Series 60 (one
of the FMC solutions) is being trialed by 160 employees in North America, Europe and Asia
Pacific using Nokia Series 60 smartphones. The main deployment of devices, which is also
likely to include dual-mode WiFi/cellular devices as they become available, is planned for
2007/2008.
The FMC project forms part of the company’s ‘Avaya by Example’ business transformation
program in which Avaya has used its own technologies and services to increase efficiency,
customer service and reduce cost (see Notes to Editors for information on other mobility
solutions within this program). Avaya by Example, together with other wide-ranging IT
initiatives, has helped the company reduce its IT costs by nearly US$500 million during
the past five years.
* Internal analysis based on research with leading industry analysts.
Figures relate to self-service speech access; telephony-based mobility
clients; VoWLAN handsets; dual-mode/crossover infrastructure; WLAN
infrastructure; planning and design.
Notes To Editors:
Avaya Mobility Solutions
Avaya mobility solutions have been instrumental to the company’s own business
transformation program, helping increase the productivity and responsiveness
of staff, and reduce costs across the organization.
Currently, more than 4,000 Avaya employees work "virtually" (where their
primary location is not an office), logging into the company’s network from
homes, customer premises, hotels and other locations.
Avaya mobility solutions implemented across the company include:
- IP Softphone: graphical user interface that makes it easy to place
and receive calls from a PC or PDA using the worker’s office phone number.
About 10,600 have been deployed to Avaya employees; nearly all employees will
be equipped by 2008.
- Unified Communication Center (UCC): software application that allows
mobile, remote and office workers to easily access telephone, web, wireless and
business applications. Using UCC, employees can listen to and answer emails and
launch conference calls using speech commands. About 2,800 seats have been deployed
and nearly 60 percent of employees – those who are most mobile – will be using the
technology by 2008. Productivity gains using UCC equate to 3-weeks time saved per
sales person per year.
- Modular Messaging: software-based voice, email and fax messaging platform,
providing unified access to messages, anytime, anywhere from an array of devices.
About 5,000 seats have been deployed; all employees are scheduled to be equipped by 2008.
- Virtual Private Network (VPN): software-enabled secure encrypted tunnels
through the public Internet providing network access for remote workers and linking
sites. This initiative, that links all major Avaya sites, reduced network costs by $13
million over five years. By 2008 the company plans to have rolled out over 3,300 VPN
phones which allow home office workers to simply plug their Avaya phone into a broadband
connection. Nearly every Avaya employee has a laptop computer and VPN software so they
can telework in case of a crisis.
- WiFi: All major Avaya sites have WiFi wireless connectivity. A standard
configuration across the world makes login easy without the need to reconfigure between
sites. Currently, more than 150 employees use Spectralink WiFi phones.
- Extension to Cellular technology: software that seamlessly bridges office
phone services to mobile devices, permitting the use of just one phone number and one
voice mailbox. Most major sites are equipped to use this technology.
- Avaya Mobile for Series 60: Client software which extends the capabilities
of Avaya Communications Manager to a Series 60 mobile smartphone – creating a virtual
desk extension. This software runs on the Nokia Series 60 phone and works in conjunction
with Extension to Cellular and Avaya Communications Manager.
About Avaya
Avaya Inc. designs, builds and manages communications
networks for more than 1 million businesses worldwide,
including over 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500®. 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:
www.avaya.com.au
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