Avaya Powers NORAD Hotline Serving Santa's Most Precious Customers

SANTA CLARA, CA--(Marketwired - Dec 17, 2013) -

• Children anticipating the arrival of Santa and his gift cargo on December 24 can call the NORAD Tracks Santa hotline (1 877 HI-NORAD) for all the details.
• Technology deployed by Avaya Government Solutions will support 1,250 volunteers staffing the hotline.

Children waiting with bated breath for the arrival of Santa and the gifts he's carrying can rest easy this year. Hotline volunteers using the latest Avaya technology will have precise details about his travels. They are part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command's "NORAD Tracks Santa" program -- a complex initiative to help Santa and his cargo make a safe journey. 

NORAD uses the most sophisticated technology available to track Santa as he streaks across the night sky. Experts monitor data gathered from radar, satellites and Santa Cams positioned in strategic locations around the globe. As a result, hotline volunteers have ready access to detailed information on Santa's flight -- from the weight of the gifts he carries to the number of pounds he gains as he eats cookies through the long night.

Nearly 114,000 children around the world called the NORAD Tracks Santa hotline last year during its 23 hours of operation. Calls this year will be answered by more than 1,250 volunteers, including members of the American and Canadian militaries and their families, civilian employees of the Department of Defense and community volunteers. 

The NORAD Tracks Santa hotline will rely on the same technology Avaya Government Solutions provides to the NORAD Operations Center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. Avaya Aura® contact center solutions will seamlessly route each caller to a well-informed volunteer who speaks the caller's language and has details on Santa's location. The Department of Defense Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) has extensively tested Avaya's solution and has certified it is able to handle this most critical of Christmas Eve tasks.

Based on historical data accumulated through the years, NORAD says Santa most likely will travel west from the International Date Line under the darkness of night. In most countries, he arrives between 9 p.m. and midnight, and only after children are asleep. 

NORAD Tracks Santa originated more than 50 years ago when an ad for a department store's Santa hotline mistakenly listed the number of the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center. The commander answering the phone didn't want to disappoint the children who called, so he and his team provided live updates on Santa's travels. Since then, thousands of volunteers and corporate contributors have helped NORAD keep the program alive. 

Quotes
"Children give new meaning to the idea of 'precious customers.' We know, though, that Santa is up to the task -- especially with NORAD watching to make certain he has a safe journey. Children everywhere can sleep soundly, knowing the most capable people and the best technology are helping Santa on his way."
-- William Laurie, VP, Department of Defense Programs, Avaya Government Solutions

Resources:

• 1 877 HI-NORAD (1 877 446-6723) (staffed beginning 4 a.m. MST on 12/24/2013)
• www.noradsanta.org
• www.facebook.com/noradsanta
• www.twitter.com/noradsanta
• www.youtube.com/noradsanta

Tags: Avaya, Avaya Government Solutions, NORAD, Santa, Avaya Aura, contact center, customer experience management, unified communications, collaboration, conferencing,

About Avaya Government Solutions
Avaya Government Solutions offers collaboration, communication and professional services solutions that support citizens, government employees and warfighters. We provide full lifecycle support of mission-critical communications systems and business applications with proven expertise in program management, software engineering, network engineering and cybersecurity. With our technology platforms and professional services support team, agencies can streamline communications, deliver mission success and bring the right people together with the right information at the right time. For more information, please visit www.avayagov.com.

About Avaya
Avaya is a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, providing unified communications, contact centers, data solutions and related services to companies of all sizes around the world. For more information please visit www.avaya.com.

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