HP strengthens Avaya partnership

HP and Avaya have signed a three-year deal to deliver advanced business communications into clients' networks and systems, reports Techday.

As part of the agreement, elements of Avaya's unified communications and contact centre products will be added to HP's unified communications and collaboration services portfolio for enterprises.

"Organisations face constant change and the decisions they make must be flexible enough to meet future needs - such as unification of real-time communication with Web 2.0 and social media applications," says Gary Budzinski, senior VP and general manager, HP Technology Services.

Social media has jumped to the top of the priorities list for Australian-based contact centre managers, it was revealed at the Frost & Sullivan Customer Contact conference, states Dynamic Business.

According to the research firm, 65% of surveyed respondents outlined investing in social media monitoring tools as a primary concern.

The Frost & Sullivan survey, conducted by customer service management company RightNow, also found 25% of contact centres will begin to outsource some or all of their contact centre functionality within a year.

Mahindra Satyam, the new brand identity of Satyam Computer Services, said its business process outsourcing (BPO) arm - Mahindra Satyam BPO - has entered into a partnership with Direct Channel Holding, an African-based contact centre and BPO company, says CBR.

The company says the newly-formed alliance allows Direct Channel to extend its service offerings to its domestic customer base, to meet business challenges including business process consulting.

In turn, Mahindra Satyam BPO will extend its service offering to its global client base, which already has operations in Africa.