Avaya Inducted Into Technology Services Industry Association STAR Awards Hall of Fame

Avaya Honored With STAR Awards for Best Practices in Customer Commitment, Knowledge Management Practices, and Service Delivery Optimization


BASKING RIDGE, NJ--(Marketwire - May 24, 2010) -  Avaya, Inc., a global leader in business communications services, today announced it has been named the winner of three Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) 2010 STAR Awards for Best Practices: Best Customer Commitment, Best Knowledge Management Practices, and Best Service Delivery Optimization. The awards for excellence in support services were presented May 5 at the Technology Services World conference in Silicon Valley. Avaya received more STAR Awards than any other company this year.

Avaya also earned a spot in the STAR Awards Hall of Fame, which honors companies that have received five or more STAR Awards. In addition to the accolades at Technology Service World, Avaya has previously been recognized for Excellence in Service Operations in 2009 and 2010. The company has also previously received Best Practices STAR Awards for its knowledge management practices in 2009 and for excellence as an automation vendor in 2000.

"Achieving recognition of this caliber validates our strategy to provide an outstanding customer experience and demonstrates that customer excellence is at the core of everything we do," said Chris Formant, senior vice president and president, Avaya Global Services. "This year's TSIA awards -- as well as the J.D. Power and Associates certification for 'An Outstanding Customer Service Experience' that Avaya has received for two years running -- sends a powerful message on the level of our investment and commitment to customer satisfaction."

The STAR Awards recognize technology companies who display exceptional leadership, innovation, and commitment in developing and implementing best practices for support and maintenance services. The awards are among the highest distinctions given in the service and support industry.

"We're pleased to recognize Avaya as a leading service organization that is setting the pace for the industry by pushing the envelope and delivering the strategies needed to help customers bridge the technology consumption gap," said J.B. Wood, CEO, TSIA. "The company's latest awards place them firmly in the top tier of technology companies serving customers, as further validated by its standing in the STAR Awards Hall of Fame."

The TSIA's Best Knowledge Management Practices Award, which Avaya now has won two years in a row, is presented to a company whose knowledge management strategy includes repeatable, effective processes for capturing, publishing, and maintaining content in order to solve customer problems in a consistent and efficient manner. Avaya's key services tool in this area is the inSite Knowledge Management Application, which comprises more than 100,000 troubleshooting and diagnostic articles available to customers and partners with an Avaya maintenance contract.

The Customer Commitment Award recognizes organizational commitment, alignment, and focus around gathering and responding to customer feedback, issues, and requests, including using voice-of-the-customer input to improve support operations and offerings. Avaya provides a number of communications channels to ensure timely client feedback and to gauge satisfaction. According to internal metrics, Avaya currently maintains a 93% customer satisfaction rating via its support services portfolio.

Avaya also was recognized with an award for Best Service Delivery Optimization, which recognizes a company that successfully improves support delivery operations through consistent global processes, service technology development or deployment, and/or a quality improvement methodologies such as Six Sigma, ISO 9000 to optimize and improve efficiency. Avaya deploys a range of processes, procedures and technology through its global support services organization. The company, for example, resolves 99% of system-generated alarms remotely with EXPERT Systems(SM) or a remote Engineer. Avaya also resolves some 89% of major service requests in less than four hours.

Avaya Global Services encompasses three business areas: Avaya Professional Services, comprised of more than 2,000 experts specializing in driving business results with technology by optimizing communications environments and solving industry challenges with innovative solutions; Global Support Services, which provides around-the-clock monitoring and problem resolution via 34 network operations centers; and Avaya Operations Services, which manages and monitors customer communications infrastructures.

For information on the STAR Awards, go to www.tsia.com/awards_and_certifications/star_awards.html

About Avaya
Avaya is a global leader in enterprise communications systems. The company provides unified communications, contact centers, data solutions, and related services directly and through its channel partners to leading businesses and organizations around the world. Enterprises of all sizes depend on Avaya for state-of-the-art communications that improve efficiency, collaboration, customer service and competitiveness. For more information please visit www.avaya.com.

About TSIA
The Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) is the leading professional association of the technology services industry. Our ranks include thousands of services executives, managers, and professionals from around the globe, representing the world's leading enterprise and consumer technology companies, as well as scores of innovative small and midsize businesses across nine vertical industries. For more, visit www.tsia.com.

Contact Information:

Avaya Media Contact:
Jonathan Varman
P: 908 953 6432
jvarman@avaya.com

TSIA Media Contact:
Suzanne LaBounty
239-822-9226
suzanne.labounty@tsia.com