State of Maine Relies on Avaya IP Telephony to Speed and Enhance Service to State Residents

LAS VEGAS, Nev., May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- INTEROP -- For the State of Maine, providing its government employees with fast, simple and "always on" access to communications is critical to meeting the 24/7 demands of its residents. But even as it enhances customer service, the State of Maine must keep a close eye on expenses to ensure that productivity gains from new technologies are made within budget. To achieve this, the State of Maine uses advanced Internet protocol (IP) telephony solutions from Avaya that increase the responsiveness of government workers anywhere, while providing Intelligent Communications in an affordable way.

"For a large government operation like ours, we need a simple and efficient way to deliver IP telephony capabilities to employees across many different locations," said Jeff Welsh, senior technical support specialist, State of Maine's Office of Information Technology. "Our departments are distributed in buildings across a 10 mile radius -- ranging from public safety to regulatory agencies to the department of administration -- and our people often move to different locations or sometimes work from home. Avaya enables us to quickly deploy IP telephony to our employees in a way that makes sense from both an infrastructure and cost standpoint."

According to Welsh, once deployments are complete, State of Maine employees have the tools necessary to quickly access communications, and speed responses to state residents and each other.

Gaining IP Telephony Benefits In a Familiar, Cost-Effective Solution

Many State of Maine employees access advanced IP capabilities using a familiar solution -- the deskphone. The state's government uses more than 1,100 Avaya IP deskphones, including the new Avaya one-X Deskphone Value Edition which delivers all of the telephony functions employees require, at an affordable price. Announced today, the one-X Value Edition is priced at approximately 25 percent less than comparable IP phones, enabling a large government like the State of Maine to migrate to Intelligent Communications while meeting strict budget requirements.

State of Maine has been an early tester of the Avaya one-X Deskphone Value Edition IP deskphones. The state's government employees enjoy the phone's features, including Call Logs that provide read-outs of calls made or received, embedded Contact Directories, and Mobility capabilities such as Extension to Cellular, which enables users to bridge their deskphone with a cell phone. The Value Edition's features are available through a user-friendly interface, helping users get easily acclimated to a new phone, speeding adoption and eliminating the need for costly retraining.

"We're in a very busy environment, and we need communications solutions that cut through the complexity," said Welsh. "Avaya one-X Deskphone Value Edition makes life simpler by helping us migrate to IP using an approach that is consistent with our framework and familiar to our employees. In terms of user experiences, we can scroll through menus and see feature buttons clearly light up. We can see a roster of past callers. And if we want to go mobile, we just hit a button, walk away, and remain connected via cell phones. These are important capabilities for government workers."

Helping Ensure Continuity of Government Operations with Avaya IP Telephony

State of Maine's workers also rely on Avaya IP phones and applications to support disaster recovery efforts. When an office disaster or network interruption strikes, for instance, the Emergency Management Agency can help ensure its employees remain accessible at home using an Avaya IP softphone application that is a virtual representation of one's deskphone on a laptop computer. Or if a worker needs to set up shop in another state building, they can simply log into an Avaya IP phone in the new location. According to Welsh, this hassle-free ability to move people -- and their phones -- from one place to another is another benefit of IP telephony.

Adds Welsh: "Speed makes all the difference, and that's what Avaya IP telephony helps bring us. Whether it's as simple as enabling a state worker to remain productive while at home, or moving hundreds of workers to another building due to a disaster, Avaya IP telephony keeps us connected."

About the Avaya one-X Deskphone Value Edition:

The Avaya one-X Deskphone Value Edition, announced today, is also known as the 1600 series of IP telephones. Focused on delivering high functionality at an affordable price, the phones offer businesses a consistent, evolutionary path to IP telephony and are compatible with former versions of the company's IP telephony software, Communication Manager.

The Value Edition expands and complements Avaya's broad one-X portfolio, which offers a range of IP Phones for different user profiles. This includes Avaya's award-winning 9600 series IP deskphones, Avaya's most sophisticated phone platform.

The 1600 Series is planned to be available in July 2007. They include the following models dedicated to different types of user profiles:

-- 1603. Designed for Walkup users in places such as lobbies, warehouses or drop-in cubicles, and Everyday users who require basic telephony capabilities. Includes three line appearances, 2-way speaker phone, and backlit display. (Price: $139) -- 1608. A mid-range, Everyday model that is ideal for office clerks, small offices or retail locations. Features eight line appearances with LEDs, and a full duplex speaker. (Price: $249) -- 1616. Designed for the high-end Navigator user, which includes receptionists, secretaries and managers involved with heavy calling duties. Sixteen line appearances/feature keys - each with LEDs. (Price: $299) About Avaya

Avaya delivers Intelligent Communications solutions that help companies transform their businesses to achieve marketplace advantage. More than 1 million businesses worldwide, including more than 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500 (R), use Avaya solutions for IP Telephony, Unified Communications, Contact Centers and Communications Enabled Business Processes. Avaya Global Services provides comprehensive service and support for companies, small to large. For more information visit the Avaya Web site: http://www.avaya.com/.