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Winning company: Avaya
Winning product: Avaya's IP PBX platform, featuring its S8700 Media Server and Communications Manager Software
Since awarding the 2002 Best of the Tests Award, we've changed how we assess products that fall under the convergence umbrella. Rather than use a single, broad test to provide a little insight on many product aspects - particularly the IP PBX systems and VoIP gateways that anchor most VoIP deployments - we're testing these products multiple times, honing in on a specific feature set each time. The result is a series of stories that provide a deeper analysis of the products from many angles.
Our choice for the top convergence product for 2003 - Avaya's IP PBX platform featuring the S8700 Media Server running Communications Manager software - was a top performer in our IP PBX management review (see review) and placed in the top three in our test of how well-equipped these systems are for supporting teleworkers (see review). A third test, not used in this judging, looked into VoIP analysis tools.
Our IP PBX management test focused on how each vendors' collection of management wares addressed real-time monitoring, phone configuration, reboot time, quality-of-service (QoS) configuration, event and alarm notification, and trend reporting tasks. The Avaya tool suite - comprising the Avaya Site Administration command-line-like interface, a customized SNMP element manager called Multi-Service Network Manager, the VoIP Monitoring Manager and a third-party call-accounting package from Veramark - was a clear winner in its ability to mark events, notify managers of events, and generate trend and activity reports. Avaya also got high marks for its well-managed implementation of VoIP encryption.
In our test of how well IP PBX systems can accommodate teleworkers, Avaya's product set proved to deliver excellent mobility and call routing.
Specifically, Avaya offers great soft phone setup tools for optimizing voice quality and integration with Microsoft Outlook and slick, real-time call-routing capabilities among business, soft, cell and home phones.
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Copyright 2008 Network World Inc.
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