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| Avaya Enhances Its IP Telephony Solutions Avaya has introduced enhancements to its IP Telephony solutions delivering advanced Intelligent Communications capabilities using end-to-end, full-featured Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). This includes the latest version of Avaya's flagship IP telephony software – Avaya Communication Manager 5.0 – which enables businesses to gain essential and innovative telephony functions using end-to-end SIP. With open standards-based SIP, businesses can drive greater cost-efficiencies in the deployment of enterprise communications, and help improve productivity among an increasingly-mobile workforce. Since its debut in 2002, Avaya Communication Manager has helped businesses cost-effectively evolve their communications to IP Telephony and now, SIP. It also provides a foundation for applications powering contact centers, unified communications and mid-sized businesses (using MultiVantage Express). Avaya Communication Manager 5.0 gives IT administrators a more cost-efficient and reliable way to implement end-to-end SIP. The software now features embedded SIP, allowing co-residency on a single server (initially with the Avaya S8300C Server) – eliminating the cost and management issues associated with multiple servers. New SIP trunk alternate routing – a key capability for redistributing voice, video and data when network congestion arises – is also available, making communications more reliable. New SIP firmware for Avaya endpoints provides an integral part of the end-to-end solution. Avaya's advanced one-X IP Deskphones can be SIP-enabled – leveraging open, multimedia communications for improved productivity and mobility – and the phones can interchange between SIP or IP environments. Avaya's SIP-enabled phones bring presence to directories to let users see the availability of colleagues. Mobility features are also SIP-enabled, such as Extension-to-Cellular, which transparently bridges a user's cell phone with their phone extension, and "SIP Visiting User", which lets users log into and access their deskphone features from any phone on the network. A new version of the Avaya Video Telephony Solution is also now SIP-enabled, providing a more cost-effective way to deploy enterprise-class videoconferencing. Enhancements allow users to handle "ad hoc" video calls in the same way as voice calls, simply adding and forwarding both voice and video, and creating video conferences for up to six people. Avaya recently attained SIPconnect Compliant certification from the SIP Forum, an independent IP communications industry association that contributes to the development of global IP communications based on SIP. Other new advancements in the Avaya Communication Manager platform include a new software maintenance model for its communications applications Software Support Plus Upgrades. With the introduction of Communication Manager 5.0, this new model is available on virtually all of Avaya's enterprise communication applications. It provides a three-year subscription for all major upgrade releases and service packs, driving lower upgrade prices and streamlined access to future releases. Customers can save 25-35% on average in upgrade costs with Software Support Plus Upgrades. The updated portfolio also gains a new media gateway – the Avaya G450 – for more flexible choices for branch offices and small campuses. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Computing News :: home page |