Butler Group Technology Audit Rates Avaya Unified Communications Market Leader

BASKING RIDGE, NJ and LONDON--(Marketwire - October 7, 2008) - A just-released Butler Group Technology Audit has ranked Avaya, a leading global provider of business communications applications, systems and services, a Unified Communications (UC) Market Leader.

Avaya was lauded for its open-standard approach to UC, which allows companies to implement unified communications into an existing infrastructure, increasing productivity for the workforce and increasing organizational flexibility. These strengths, according to the Butler Group, have given Avaya a leading position in the Unified Communications market.

Allowing end-users the ability to choose their endpoint according to their needs will be one of the important tests of a Unified Communications system for any company. According to the audit, "Avaya's Unified Communications portfolio consists of tools that assist desk workers, teleworkers, roaming workers, and road warriors, allowing each employee access to the functionality they need to interact most effectively. Avaya, however, understands that a member of staff very rarely spends 100% of their time in a single role or location, so the company has designed a user interface that allows users to 'move' conversations mid-call to whatever device is the most appropriate at that moment in time, whilst still maintaining control and the ability to access telephony functions in a consistent fashion regardless of the device type."

The report also concludes that Avaya's strong communications expertise and knowledge, coupled with the strong Unified Communications solution set, should earn Avaya a place on every IT shortlist.

Mark Blowers, lead analyst and report author, commented, "Unified Communications can benefit any size of company, with the offering scaling from 20 employees upwards, making it particularly suitable for organizations that require enterprise-class solutions. The Avaya Unified Communications portfolio enables employees to communicate more effectively using every communications method: speech, IM, video, e-mail, voicemail, mobile, and portal."

"The report's findings demonstrate Avaya's world-class unified communications offering, and underline our commitment to helping customers boost productivity, enhance efficiency and deliver the highest class of customer service through Avaya Unified Communications," said Martyn Lambert, Vice-President, Product & Solutions Marketing at Avaya. "We continue to expand our technology leadership to ensure the ultimate success of every Avaya customer, and this report shows that Avaya's strategy and approach are viable and desirable, particularly in an age where end-user preferences are becoming almost as important in technology selection as traditional metrics."

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®, 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.

Contact Information: Deb Kline 908-953-6179 klined@avaya.com