Avaya reveals integration plans

Unveils roadmap for product and service integration from the recently acquired Nortel Enterprise Solutions

VoIP, unified messaging, products and services

Avaya has unveiled its road map for product and service integration from the recently acquired Nortel Enterprise Solutions, so today we'll briefly cover the product highlights and include some insights from a post-announcement interview we had with Christopher Formant, president of Avaya Global Services. According to Formant, when the integration team set out to define how the two companies' portfolios would come together, it did so based on a goal to "protect customer and partner investment, helping them to extend the technology and grow their business."

The rise and fall of Nortel

As a result, Avaya has defined its SIP-based Aura as the "centerpiece" of its unified communications (UC) portfolio; Avaya concludes that Aura provides an upgrade path for all existing Nortel voice and UC customers, and that the addition of Avaya (formerly Nortel) Agile Communications Environment (ACE) adds to that value. Aura is also at the center of Avaya's contact center portfolio. Sales and support will continue for Avaya IP Office, BCM, Norstar, PARTNER® and Integral 5, with plans to converge these platforms to the company's IP Office. Avaya will adopt the current road map of NES data products in its entirety, according to the company.

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Avaya has unveiled its road map for product and service integration from the recently acquired Nortel Enterprise Solutions, so today we'll briefly cover the product highlights and include some insights from a post-announcement interview we had with Christopher Formant, president of Avaya Global Services. According to Formant, when the integration team set out to define how the two companies' portfolios would come together, it did so based on a goal to "protect customer and partner investment, helping them to extend the technology and grow their business."

The rise and fall of Nortel

As a result, Avaya has defined its SIP-based Aura as the "centerpiece" of its unified communications (UC) portfolio; Avaya concludes that Aura provides an upgrade path for all existing Nortel voice and UC customers, and that the addition of Avaya (formerly Nortel) Agile Communications Environment (ACE) adds to that value. Aura is also at the center of Avaya's contact center portfolio. Sales and support will continue for Avaya IP Office, BCM, Norstar, PARTNER® and Integral 5, with plans to converge these platforms to the company's IP Office. Avaya will adopt the current road map of NES data products in its entirety, according to the company.

As for services, Avaya now has "1200 communications consultants around the globe . . . who were mobilized early on to help in this transition," according to Formant. He noted that Avaya "set a goal two years ago to become the standard and not just best in class" when it came to service delivery, whether offered by Avaya directly of by its partners. "Customers and partners have already provided positive feedback [commending everything] from our intentions to our professionalism," he said.

Reinforcing Formant's comments about positive customer feedback, for the second consecutive year Avaya has achieved certification under the J.D. Power and Associates Certified Technology Service & Support Program. In its statement, J.D. Power and Associates said: "Avaya continues to deliver an exceptional level of service and support to its customers, and by passing this rigorous certification process for a second year in a row, demonstrates sustained levels of high performance year over year. The true mark of a world-class organization is its ability to sustain excellence over time."

Our observation: Avaya has taken some good first steps with a common sense approach to integrate its acquired products, and we believe its high marks for services will help customers and partners with a smooth transition. We've only hit the top of the highlights, but for readers who want more details, video-based presentations and other materials are available here on Avaya's Web site.

Next time: News from IT Expo.

Read more about voip & convergence in Network World's VoIP & Convergence section.

Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. Larry Hettick is a principal analyst at Current Analysis.