New Avaya Unified Communications System For SMBs Focuses On Role-Based Solutions

Avaya IP Office Release 5 offers small and midsize businesses 6 different versions of UC for different kinds of workers, from telecommuters to customer service agents.The idea is to simplify the buying and setup process by creating a pre-configured set of functionalities designed to meet the needs of 6 different kinds of workers:

1. Receptionist:
high call volumes and streamlined call handling
2. Mobile Worker:
make any mobile phone an extension of your office phone system
3. Tele-worker:
full-time home office workers
4. Power User:
executives, consultants, and knowledge with laptops and cell phones who need to work from anywhere can make any mobile phone an extension of their office phone
5. Agent:
browser-based client includes information on the number of calls on hold, in progress, etc.
6. Supervisor:
includes monitoring and reporting

According to Avaya, IP Office Release 5 also delivers a number of other new capablities, focusing on scalability and resiliency. For resiliency, SMBs can now use offsite servers to keep their IP phones and voice working in the event of a local outage. Avaya says this eliminates the need to maintain a backup onsite system.

Avaya IP Office Release 5 also makes UC and customer service functions accessible via a Web browser (using one-X Portal), which also makes it easier for adminstrationrs to deploy and manage communications.

In a statement, Philip de Souza, CEO of Aurora Enterprises, a 25-employee, 4-office IT-security firm based in Torrance, Calif., said "Letting home office-based and mobile workers use a unified communications or customer service application via the Web is a major benefit... This will not only make it easier for workers to bring up what they need from any location, but will also save us the expense of deploying applications on every employee's laptop."

The latest Avaya release -- available now -- supports up to 384 users per system (up from 272), while conferencing capacity now supports two 64-party bridges (instead of just one).

For contact centers, Avaya has made its reporting application easier to install, update and use. Customer Call Reporter tracks system status (number of agents logged on, calls arriving, waiting or lost, etc.) and agent productivity and uses real-time alarms to alert administrators to problems.

IP Office solutions start at $89 per user for mobile workers and $169 per user for full UC. Discounts kick in when ordering more than 5 units.

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