Avaya Marks 5th Anniversary with Enterprise Mobility Leadership Push
IP Telephony and Contact Center Leader Plans Large Enterprise Mobility (Fixed-Mobile Convergence) Deployment for Its Global Operations By 2008
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Oct. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avaya Inc. (NYSE:AV), a leading global provider of business communications applications, systems and services today 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 center 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.
Don Peterson, Chairman and CEO of Avaya, 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 realizing 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 recognize 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.
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 $500 million during the past five years.
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:
oIP 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.
o 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.
o 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.
oVirtual 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.
o 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.
oExtension 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.
oAvaya Mobile for Series 60: client software which extends the
capabilities of Avaya Communications Manager to a Series 60 mobile
phone -- creating a virtual desk extension. This software runs on the
Nokia Series 60 smartphone 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 one million businesses worldwide, including over 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500(R). Focused on businesses large to small, Avaya is a world leader in secure and reliable Internet Protocol telephony systems and communications software applications and services. Also, Avaya is a pioneer and leader in enterprise fixed/mobile convergence with hundreds of thousands of customers using extension to cellular capability of Avaya Communication Manager every day.
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 Web site: http://www.avaya.com/
* 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.
CONTACT: Media, Lynn Newman, +1-908-953-8692, lynnnewman@vaya.com,
or Investors, Matt Booher, +1-908-953-7500, mbooher@avaya.com, both of Avaya Inc.
