Avaya, a leading global provider of communications networks and services for businesses, today said its Internet protocol telephony solutions serving medium and large-sized enterprises received Network World`s 2003 "Best of the Tests" award.
Network World, a leading provider of news on information technology, chose the best products in 13 categories based on a total of 240 enterprise products tested over the course of 2003. Avaya was recognised for top performance in the convergence category.
Network World awarded Avaya`s IP telephony platform comprised of Avaya Communication Manager, the company`s flagship IP telephony software, running on an S8700 Media Server. Communication Manager software is a core component of Avaya`s suite of MultiVantage Communications Applications, and helps organisations evolve to IP telephony based on the path and pace a business chooses. IP telephony enables enterprises to utilise new and advanced applications that integrate Internet communications with a range of communications media - including telephony, audio, video and wireless voice - driving greater productivity and cost-efficiency throughout an organisation.
The Avaya IP telephony solution for medium to large enterprises was rigorously tested by the Network World Test Alliance throughout 2003. This included an IP PBX management test that focused on how vendor management tools address a variety of key factors, and a test that measured how well IP PBX systems accommodate tele-workers and those requiring mobile capabilities. Ed Mier, a partner in the Network World Test Alliance and president of Miercom, an independent product test centre, presided over the tests for management and mobility.
"Avaya had a sound and multi-faceted plan for leading its TDM-legacy enterprise customers, as well as greenfield customers, into the world of VOIP," says Mier. "Based on our testing throughout 2003, we have found Avaya`s IP telephony equipment to work very reliably, supporting one of the richest feature sets and with management capabilities that are evolving in concert with the industry`s transition to IP telephony."
In the management tools test, which took place in May 2003, four IP PBX vendors competed in a test centred on how products address real-time monitoring, phone configuration, reboot time, quality of service (QoS), event and alarm notification and trend reporting tasks. Avaya`s strengths included best overall performance for trend and activity reporting, and top ratings for alarms, events and traps. Avaya also was singled out for having a "very slick and well-managed implementation of VOIP encryption".
"VOIP media encryption stands to be a major marketplace advantage for Avaya," added Mier in his assessment. "No one else now offers it on such a clean, well-integrated basis."
Avaya Communication Manager incorporates media encryption features that protect voice conversations and defend converged networks against hackers and other intruders in an open standards-based environment.
In a test on IP telephony mobility applications, Avaya`s tele-worker package was cited for delivering excellent call routing and mobility capabilities. The Avaya IP Softphone, a central part of the test, showcased innovative capabilities such as instant messaging, the option to automatically connect and transfer calls to a tele-worker`s cell and home phones, and the ability to tune the IP Softphone for optimising call quality.
"Network World`s award reinforces Avaya`s leadership in IP telephony, and spotlights the benefits that converged solutions are bringing to organisations across the globe," said Micky Tsui, vice-president and general manager, Communications Systems Division, Avaya. "Avaya will continue to focus on delivering new IP telephony tools and applications that drive real, bottom line benefits for businesses, and help organisations of any size achieve the highest levels of mobility, cost-savings and productivity."
Avaya`s portfolio of converged products and solutions is designed to help businesses choose an IP telephony strategy that best suits their needs, enabling organisations to migrate to IP while protecting existing investments, or implement IP telephony in a greenfield environment. Recently announced additions to Avaya`s converged portfolio include the Converged Communications Server, a suite of open standards-based software applications that enable enterprises to securely and cost-effectively deploy SIP and presence-enabled applications. The server extends the calling, mobility and IP-based features of Avaya Communication Manager software to SIP phones and applications, fostering the integration of Internet applications such as instant messaging with new telephony and voice capabilities.
For more information on all of Avaya`s IP telephony solutions, visit www.avaya.com/iptelephony.
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