Avaya Enables Its Distributors to Cut Avaya Modular Messaging Delivery Time to Resellers by More than 75 Percent, Speeding IP Telephony Solutions, Applications to Enterprise Customers

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., May 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avaya Inc. , a leading global provider of business communications applications, systems and services, is enabling its distributor partners and their resellers to serve enterprise customers more efficiently with a new channel assembly program that "fast tracks" delivery of the Avaya Modular Messaging platform to distributors' resellers.

The program is designed to help distributors speed delivery of IP telephony solutions based on Avaya's Modular Messaging, bringing the product to market faster. Avaya's distributors' expanded role enables them to perform final channel assembly on Avaya Modular Messaging, a function they already handle today for Avaya Communication Manager IP telephony and TDM servers. Avaya's Indirect Channel Operations team partnered with Avaya's logistics organization and Enterprise Communications and Applications division (ECAD) to implement the new program for Avaya's U.S. distributors, Catalyst and Voda One.

"Having the ability to perform final channel assembly on Avaya's Modular Messaging R2.0 tool will enable us to provide a turnkey solution, cut lead time significantly, and meet our customers' needs even more quickly, as they strive to deliver intelligent communications to their end-user customers at an increased pace," said John Black, president of Catalyst Telecom.

Robert Linder, vice president of sales for Voda One, commented: "Avaya's new program helps us make our BusinessPartners more competitive by enabling us to deploy complex convergence solutions on an expedited basis. These solutions, which are assembled in a dedicated integration facility in our warehouse, are totally customized to fit the need."

Avaya Modular Messaging enables workers to easily access and manage voice and fax messages in Internet Protocol (IP) and traditional telecom network environments. Avaya is the world leader in voice messaging and unified messaging, with approximately 117 million voice mailboxes in use by businesses today. Avaya Modular Messaging uses industry standards to provide interoperable systems that allow companies to enhance the value of current messaging systems while moving toward efficient, next-generation converged networks.

"Our goal is to enable our distributors to offer faster delivery of intelligent communications to enterprise customers. Together with Catalyst and Voda One, we are moving integration closer to the customer and speeding the market delivery and quality of our Modular Messaging solution," said Jim Smith, vice president, product management, Enterprise Communications Applications division, Avaya. "Intelligent communications -- such as Modular Messaging, where we're experiencing significant growth -- connects communications and business applications to give workers, customers and processes the ability to be linked to the right person, at the right time, by the right medium over any network. Avaya Modular Messaging is our flagship messaging platform, providing the performance and quality that BusinessPartners need to deliver to their enterprise customers."

Avaya offered training to its distributor's personnel who are managing the new function for their company, and conducted on-site visits to ensure ISO 9000 quality standards are being met.

About Avaya

Avaya Inc. designs, builds and manages communications networks for more than 1 million businesses worldwide, including over 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500(R). Focused on businesses large to small, Avaya is a world leader in secure and reliable Internet Protocol (IP) telephony systems and communications software applications and services.

Driving the convergence of voice and data communications with business applications -- and distinguished by comprehensive worldwide services -- Avaya helps customers leverage existing and new networks to achieve superior business results. For more information visit the Avaya website: http://www.avaya.com/.