* The company also announces progress with its Avaya IP Office roadmap following the company's acquisition of Nortel Enterprise Systems
Avaya has announced several upgrades to its small and midsize enterprises portfolio including enhancements to the Avaya IP Office; improvements increased interoperability options between the IP Office, Norstar and Nortel BCM; and a newly Avaya branded BCM 6.0 that adds unified communications features.
Enhancements to the Avaya IP Office, considered by Avaya to be its SME flagship communications solution, include:
* A new version of Avaya that enables installation with a single DVD containing a Linux-based operating system and key communications applications. Avaya contends that with the new approach, software installation times can be reduced by as much as 75% and the Linux environment (which does not require user licenses) further reduces TCO.
* A newly designed, customizable interface with drag-and-drop applications.
* Improved contact center reporting now featuring location-based business intelligence and call analysis viewable on a geographic map.
* Expanded video options offering more advanced multi-point HD videoconferencing with up to four parties and video interoperability with selected third-party SIP phones.
Avaya also announced progress with its Avaya IP Office roadmap following the company’s acquisition of Nortel Enterprise Systems (NES.) Among the roadmap milestones:
* A newly Avaya-branded BCM 6.0 (formerly NES’ SME offering featuring enhanced unified communications.
* Improved interoperability in mixed Avaya IP Office and BCM environments.
* An enhanced “Essential Edition” targeting the Norstar installed base.
* New teleworking solutions and improved mobility features for the ‘Find Me Follow Me’ application along with conferencing applications so BCM customers can add teleworkers to their system.
In a statement, Anthony Bartolo, general manager for SME communications at Avaya said, “Our vision is to bring all of the powerful collaboration capabilities of big business to the SME community — without the complexity. With the latest release of Avaya IP Office, we are advancing on this vision, while introducing new levels of cost-efficiency and TCO that drive new savings through advanced communications.”
