Avaya Inc, a leading global provider of communications networks and services for businesses, today announced the launch of Avaya Enterprise Connect Solutions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
With the growing number of multi-site companies based in EMEA, Avaya Enterprise Connect allows businesses to securely extend headquarters` communications features and functionality to the ever-increasing base of workers in branch locations, home offices and frequent business travellers.
Avaya`s own research has identified close to 60 000 multi-site firms in just five European markets alone: UK (6 500), Russia (21 000), France (7 500), Germany (11 500) and Italy (10 500).
Additionally, as increased traffic problems increase, governments are initiating changes in legislation to ease the difficulty. A recent example of this took place in the UK, where the new Flexible Working (Procedural Requirements) Regulations 2002 came into effect on 6 April 2003. The new legislation makes UK employers legally responsible to consider applications from parents to work flexibly. The legislation applies to parents with children under the age of six, and of disabled children under the age of 18.
"Today, the `disconnected majority` of a company`s employees experiences gaps between their branch or remote location capabilities and their headquarters hindering productivity and service quality, as well as increasing operating costs," said Patrick Lelorieux, EMEA president at Avaya. "Avaya Enterprise Connect is a direct response to these challenges being faced by many businesses in Europe and around the world. The solutions eliminate these gaps as well as leverage open standards, IP telephony and a full range of lifecycle services to enable businesses and workers to extract maximum value from their communications systems and software securely across all locations."
Avaya Enterprise Connect extends the advanced features and complete functionality of Avaya MultiVantage Communications Applications - including Internet Protocol (IP) telephony, contact centre, unified communication and messaging - from a central location to any size office or home in a distributed enterprise over a secure, high-performance converged network.
Security is embedded in Avaya Enterprise Connect Solutions and optimised by media encryption capabilities combined with Avaya Virtual Private Network Solutions. The solution set also provides business continuity through local survivability, meaning that individual networked locations are able to continue business as usual even if the wide area network or primary location goes down. This solution can be customised and is supported throughout the deployment by Avaya Global Services which provides a single-point of accountability for converged networks, including network assessment, planning, design, implementation, management and maintenance services.
Real-life benefits
Among the companies that have already deployed or are in the process of deploying Avaya Enterprise Connect are: Security Services Federal Credit Union, hi-tech manufacturer BOC Edwards, Grant Thornton, OmniAmerican Credit Union and Protection One, one of the largest security monitoring firms in the US.
Converged networks and IP telephony enable companies to systematically connect their entire enterprise and achieve efficiencies and cost savings not possible in non-converged environments. Avaya Enterprise Connect can provide communications consistency across the business enabling companies to increase revenues through top line growth driven by improved service, responsiveness and productivity, and bottom line growth through reductions in operating costs, IT management and service requirements for individual locations.
Additionally, greater access to information and communication capabilities throughout the enterprise spectrum allows companies to deliver a stronger, more consistent customer experience and improve real-time and long-term strategic decision-making.
Investment protection for existing multi-vendor networks and systems
With Avaya`s open-standards and Avaya Global Services, existing multi-vendor networks and systems can be incorporated into the common platform of Avaya Enterprise Connect. For example: an Avaya Enterprise Connect solution can interoperate with a headquarters PBX from another vendor to evolve the enterprise to IP telephony and distribute MultiVantage applications; some offices can retain Avaya digital telephones while others implement IP telephones; existing call centre applications can be integrated into a new IP telephony network; and data networking equipment from many vendors can remain in place.
Avaya offers a branch office solution for any company size or need. In addition to Enterprise Connect, the company offers its Avaya IP Office, which is a cost-effective, "all-in-one" voice, data, and IP telephony solution for small to mid-sized businesses or for autonomous offices within a larger enterprise.
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Avaya Inc designs, builds and manages communications networks for more than 1 million businesses worldwide, including 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 Web site: http://www.avaya.com.
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