Avaya To Extend Enterprise-Class Communications to Nokia-Developed Ser

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. and HANNOVER, Germany, March 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avaya Inc. today announced it will deliver advanced mobility capabilities powered by its Internet protocol-based software to the Nokia- developed Series 60 Platform. The company said its Communication Manager software -- part of the suite of Avaya MultiVantage(TM) Communications Applications -- will transform Series 60-based mobile devices into fully- functional office phones, extending full business telephony capabilities to mobile users. By delivering Avaya Communication Manager on the Series 60 Platform, a mobile workforce can easily use key office phone features -- such as transfer, multi-party conferencing, and abbreviated extension dialing -- while remaining accessible to clients and colleagues through a single business phone number.

Avaya is the world leader in IP telephony. The Series 60 Platform, developed by Nokia, is the world's leading smartphone platform, with millions of devices already on the market.

For the first time, Avaya Communication Manager functions will be accessible as a menu option on a cellular mobile device. This helps businesses simplify management of mobile communications, increase the productivity and efficiency of a mobile workforce, and improve business continuity for an organization. Using this solution, Series 60-based device users on the go can eliminate missed business calls and collaborate more effectively when away from their primary work location.

For example, a customer calling a salesperson's office number can instantly reach him on his Series 60-based mobile device -- even as he travels in a different country. Calls that are made and received from the mobile device appear as if the salesperson is at his desktop phone extension. The salesperson can then set up a multi-party conference by accessing his business contact directory and dialing other business extensions or outside parties. After the conference, the salesperson can transfer the customer to another colleague, just as if he were in the office.

"The need to bring enterprise-class telephony applications via highly popular wireless devices to the corporate market sector has been long awaited," said Lars Vestergaard, senior analyst with IDC. "Avaya's application on Series 60-based devices is a significant step towards extending the benefits of IP telephony, including increased productivity, to businesses worldwide."

Employees will be able to obtain this capability by downloading the client software for Avaya Communication Manager to both new and existing Series 60 second edition-based mobile devices-protecting companies' existing investments in mobile devices. Series 60 Platform devices are built on Symbian OS(TM), the operating system that powers the most popular smartphones, and is used on Nokia devices.

The target release date for availability of client software for select models of Series 60-based devices is the third calendar quarter of 2005.

Avaya Makes Mobility Simpler for Enterprise Workers

An organization that is already using Avaya enterprise mobility applications to improve productivity and simplify communications management is Sheppard Pratt Health System Inc., a large, non-profit organization and one of Maryland's leading behavioral health providers. It took them "mere minutes" to provide Avaya Communication Manager's mobility capabilities to multiple executive users.

"We are a very mobile organization, with staff members traveling among 14 buildings on our corporate campus and nearly two dozen community-based facilities across the state," said John Shirk, director of communications and project manager for Sheppard Pratt. "With Avaya Communication Manager, we can use what was formerly in-transit downtime to be much more productive."

Shirk has provided Avaya's mobility functions to its leadership team so critical business calls can reach them anywhere they go -- whether they are meeting on campus or visiting patients. If they decide not to take a call routed to their mobile phone, their office voicemail will intercept the call, consolidating messages in a single inbox. It even allows Sheppard Pratt executives to switch from a mobile phone to an office phone in the middle of a call.

"As more organizations adopt business models supporting virtual offices for workers worldwide, they require mobility solutions that make their people more productive and processes more intelligent," said Geoffrey Baird, Avaya's vice president and general manager, Communications Appliances Division. "For mobility to succeed, however, it needs to be easy to use. By making enterprise telephony simpler for users of Nokia Series 60 devices, Avaya has taken the next step in addressing the needs of mobile workers and placing communications at the heart of business."

"Fixed to mobile convergence is an important step in increasing the value proposition of business mobility," said Gerard Bruen, director, Enterprise Voice Solutions, Nokia. "Extending the capabilities of Avaya Communication Manager to the Nokia Series 60 platform will speed deployment of these devices into the enterprise, making it easier for companies to install and reap the full benefits of mobility."

According to research, businesses increasingly rely on mobile phones to conduct business daily. Recent global research conducted by Avaya* shows that many organizations miss important revenue-generating opportunities because calls do not reach the right people at the right time. Sixty-eight percent of respondents reported they receive important messages late more than once a week. Results also show positive attitudes toward mobile work scenarios, with seventy-five percent of US and UK respondents believing a flexible working environment improves an employee's work/life balance.

The Avaya mobility capability described in this announcement is Avaya Extension to Cellular. It is part of Avaya's award-winning portfolio of enterprise mobility solutions designed to help organizations extend IP-based MultiVantage(TM) Communications Applications to mobile workers in any global location. For more information on Avaya mobility solutions, including Avaya Extension to Cellular, please visit http://www.avaya.com/mobility.

For more information, or to see a demonstration of these solutions, visit the Avaya booth at CeBIT 2005 (Hall 13, Stand C20) from March 10-16. These solutions will also be demonstrated at the US-based CTIA Wireless 2005 event in New Orleans, LA, March 14-16 at the Nokia booth (Booth # 4345, Hall E).

Editor's Note: In a separate release issued today, Avaya also announced it has become a platinum partner in Symbian's development partner program. Symbian provides the operating system for the Series 60 software platform discussed in this announcement.

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/

* This research has been published in the 2005 Global Research Report 'Working to Communicate Better in Business'. Research company, Vanson Bourne surveyed 600 managerial level business contacts in commercial organizations in each of the target countries: Australia, Brazil, Germany, Russia, UK and USA. The commercial organizations had a minimum of 200 employees.