Avaya IP Office

2018: June updating of the platform

On June 26, 2018 the Avaya company announced release of upgraded version of the Avaya IP Office platform which will allow the companies to increase productivity and to improve communications of the employees using the uniform application allowing to integrate all channels of communication and exchange of content. Support of Avaya Equinox helping to use UC in browsers, devices and applications which people use every day is added to Avaya IP Office, doing communication more transparent and simple and also a number of additional opportunities for ensuring functionality of the systems of level of large business at the preserving of ease of use and service inherent to solutions for small and medium business, noted in Avaya.

The Avaya IP Office platform will allow the companies to improve communications of employees using the uniform application allowing to integrate all channels of communication and exchange of content. Photo: algotech.rs

The release of IP Office includes enhanced capabilities of unified communications and joint work and also flexible scenarios of their application – locally and also in a net and hybrid cloud. The provided version of Avaya IP Office supports phones of a J-series and the Avaya Vantage device and also the software and mobile client applications Avaya Equinox.

According to the statement of the developer, for small business the packet of tools of the reporting of a full stroke and monitoring is available to accounting of activity of users which will allow even to the small organizations to increase efficiency of customer interaction. Avaya Chronicall for IP Office, the solution developed by the partner of Xima within the Avaya DevConnect program, offers more than 50 standard report forms with a possibility of their customization. Reports support call management visualization, the configured displays, collection of information about employees productivity and can be used both in cloud, and in local scenarios of implementation Avaya IP Office.

The partners who are already using the cloud version of the Powered by IP Office platform will also be able to seize the opportunities of the appeared version and to provide the competitive offer to clients with options of deployment both in net, and in hybrid clouds. Also partners will receive the instruments of installation and setup accelerating and facilitating processes of implementation and service of both local, and cloud option of a system. For example, the Cloud Operations Manager tool will help to simplify administration, installation of updates, maintaining registers and so forth for the big cloud systems with numerous clients, providing the necessary security level on the basis of a role model of administration, consider in Avaya.

2017: 600 thousand on the world

In October Avaya announced that the number of the Avaya IP Office systems released for the enterprises and the organizations worldwide exceeded 600 thousand since the beginning of release of the solution. Customers select Avaya IP Office Cloud as hybrid or purely cloud solution for the following reasons:

• protection of the previous investments: the preserving of the purchased earlier traditional local components and the user devices reducing need of retraining of personnel at implementation of new opportunities from a cloud;
• geographical expansion: simple adding new or consolidation of several existing platforms in single distributed system with a vista shot of numbering and the unified functionality for all nodes of network;
• flexible opportunities: scalable and seamless integration of the temporary personnel in contact centers helping to satisfy peak short-term or seasonal business needs without essential additional investments;
• business continuity: the hybrid cloud model of implementation provides the additional level of security and faster recovery in case of unforeseen situations on platforms or in network in general;
• satisfaction of new customer needs: the cloud model allows to expand a circle of the clients using such opportunities as contact centers and mobile services or to propose the solutions eliminating the restrictions connected with the sizes of premises or connection of the user devices on wires.

2016: Avaya IP Office Platform v.10

On September 21, 2016 the Avaya company submitted version 10 of the solution of support of unified communications for the enterprises of small and medium business.

The Avaya IP Office Platform platform of version 10 received a number of features regarding increased security, stability and multichannel interaction with users.

Avaya IP Office Platform platform, (2015)

In this version of Avaya IP Office the extraordinary approach to stability providing abnormal switching of a system from a cloud on a cloud from a cloud on the server installed on the platform of the customer from the server on a cloud, and from the server on the server is applied. At such implementation a system remains operable and users can stay in touch during malfunctions.

Meeting the growing expectations of users regarding stability of interaction, the Avaya IP Office Platform platform represents the videophone H175 with the 7-inch touch display of high resolution. It is suitable for personal and working use, for small conference rooms.

Besides, IP Office of version 10 publishes several API, they will help developers to create WebRTC-clients to simplify configuring and deployment for partners. The functionality of virtual meetings is optimized and enhanced by means of WebRTC-audio and opportunities for joint work.

Avaya IP Office Platform is available in three options of installation:

• on the server,
• in a hybrid cloud
• in a public or private cloud.

It is difficult to go in step with the growing and constantly changing cyberthreats, especially for the companies of small and medium business with limited budgets and resources. These restrictions cause the growing tendency to transition to cloud services. However there are no guarantees that the supplier of a cloud ensures or will ensure safety. Therefore we consider that security should be built in the solution, but not be offered separately. It is the integral and key component of our Avaya IP Office Platform platform. Gary Barnett (Gary E. Barnett), senior vice president and CEO of Avaya Engagement Solutions

Avaya IP Office 10.x supports from 5 to 2500 and more users of services of unified communications, having left far behind digit in 360 voice subscribers of the initial systems of version 1.0. Now the user of IP Office has access to services of contact center, video conference, mobile services and also a full range of services of unified communications as from a cloud, and directly at himself at the enterprise.

2013: Avaya IP Office 9.0

On October 15, 2013 the Avaya company brought upgraded version of the solution IP Office 9.0 to the market.

Significant changes

The version for the first time proposes solutions interaction by means of a voice and video and also mobile access for collectives with personnel number to 2 thousand human. New features of virtualization will help the companies of any scales to set quickly multifunction solutions for cooperation and communications.

2012

Avaya IP Office 8.0

The Avaya company specializing in telecommunication systems and services for business and systems for the organization of joint work provided in January, 2012 IP Office 8.0 — the new version of the unified telecommunication solution for small and medium business. Upgraded version offers the improved opportunities for the organization of joint work, including a set of mobile tools which will promote more productive team working, and to the mobile employees will help to interact with the colleagues and clients better.

The software for mobile users included in the structure of IP Office 8.0 and called one-X Mobile Preferred for IP Office is given to users by access to a set of the unified telecommunication opportunities on Android - compatible devices. It will be available on devices Apple iPhone at the beginning of 2012. Actually one-X Mobile Preferred for IP Office are full-fledged management tools a multi-user conference from the mobile device using which it is possible to invite, browse, muffle and exclude participants during a teleconference. The user can create a voice conference by the choice of participants, and then in one contact to start a multi-user conference.

The built-in means allow to set the status of availability to colleagues (for example, 'is available', 'not disturb') and to specify certain time of availability according to the user calendar of Microsoft Outlook. Employees at whom the status is set 'not disturb', can permit colleagues to monitor the status and to receive notifications on availability change. Instant messaging allows employees to find colleagues on business through the built-in corporate directory and to talk in an alpha mode to several colleagues at the same time.

Besides, function of display of location of the user which hospitals, hotels and other enterprises can use, for example, is developed.

The Visual Voicemail function allows to work with corporate voice mail on the mobile device, using date/time tags. Users can also listen to the voice message left to them and switch in case of need to a direct voice communication.

This application is a superstructure to the solution Essential Mobility for IP Office issued earlier which provides such voice functionality as access by uniform number and management of calls. Essential Mobility is supported on the Symbian platform, on Windows Mobile and iPhone devices now. Support for Android and BlackBerry devices will appear in the first quarter 2012.

Thanks to the integrated unified module for telecommunications of C110 Unified Communications the solution IP Office allows to organize joint work without installation of the dedicated server. As a result system deployment becomes simpler, time of its implementation is reduced and the total cost of the involved equipment falls.

Besides, IP Office plug-ins for desktop computers allow to implement means of communication in business applications, giving to users an opportunity to get access to the contacts of Google Talk and IP Office from a corporate telecommunication portal for small and medium business of one-X Portal for IP Office, to make calls and to answer calls from the Salesforce.com page, to browse contacts from the Google Talk and IP Office directories in the uniform list (with an opportunity to make calls to one contact and to initiate conferences) and also to use visual voice mail in the mail Microsoft Outlook window.

Avaya IP Office 8.1

The Avaya company announced in the summer of 2012 the new version of the solution of unified communications (UC) for small and medium business (SME) — Avaya IP Office 8.1 including new features of mobility, management and security and also individual services which will help the companies to take advantage of BYOD ("Use of own device in the course of work") and the increased mobility of employees.

Now Avaya IP Office 8.1 can service as absolutely small companies with staff from 5 people, and large corporations with number of users to 1000 people (against 384 earlier). Thanks to it representatives of medium business received more profitable and easy way to manage work of bigger number of people in independence of their location, says Avaya. IP Office 8.1 gives to business partners of Avaya new opportunities for providing clients of medium business available and at the same time the highly effective solution for joint work.

So, in order that employees had all necessary tools for a rapidly changing working environment, Avaya IP Office 8.1 includes: Avaya Flare Communicator; new centralized control system of access and applications; advanced options of security; Avaya IP Office Support Service.

Mobile application of Avaya Flare Communicator provides access to such opportunities of joint work as business calls, the notebook of the company, management of two simultaneous calls. Avaya Flare Communicator under iPad allows users "drag" contacts in Spotlight in order that in one contact to begin a chat, to call or send email. Avaya Flare Communicator for Windows opens the same opportunities for users of notebooks.

The new centralized control system of access and applications saves from excessive complexity of control over communications of different divisions of the company from one place. At the same time setup according to requirements of a certain location thanks to the simple administrative tool is possible that it allows to save temporary, working and money resources.

In turn, the advanced options of security Avaya IP Office protect from fraud, the service attacks and other dangers thanks to the new version of Avaya Session Border Controller to SME which provides protection using a firewall on the basis of the SIP protocol. It allows representatives of SME to use easy and available solutions of protection with the advanced opportunities for mobile employees (for example, data encryption and communication lines without use of VPN connection for unified communications), noted in Avaya. The option will be available in the third quarter 2012.

At last, Avaya IP Office Support Service — the first service of support from Avaya for SME — allows to resolve quickly arisen questions and to get technical support from experts. The new opportunities of SSL-VPN integrated into Avaya IP Office 8.1 provide safe delivery of updates, patches and web services. Clients have the right to the main updates, and partners of Avaya can deliver them through the wholesale or combined deliveries.

According to Avaya, IP Office 8.1 is perfectly combined with the ERS 3500 switch which is recently provided by the company and allows to automate network settings completely. One idle time the command automatically creates a configuration of the switch and IP-telephony based on Avaya IP Office. Avaya one-X Mobile for mobile application of IP Office is also available to iPhone now (earlier announced for Android platforms), allows medium and small business to use more opportunities. Besides, by the end of the current year the company is going to implement functional combination of Radvision SCOPIA and IP Office workstations that should provide as a result big openness of a system, its cost efficiency and usability of video conference.

"In view of all changes connected with the mobility of business required by degree of its security and the mechanism of management, the Avaya company presented the last innovative solutions for a segment of small and medium business. At the same time the company aims to adhere to moderate price policy. Avaya IP Office 8.1 offers is made new solutions for satisfaction of constantly changing needs of consumers" — Mark Monday, the vice president of division "Platform on joint work" of Avaya company said.

2011: Avaya IP Office 7.0

The Avaya company announced in May, 2011 the new version of the communication solution for small and medium business of IP Office 7.0 which completes integration into IP devices and digital phones of production Nortel Enterprise Solutions (NES).

Now about 14 million users of products of NES can get access to functions of joint work to Avaya IP Office. Upgrade can be accelerated using the new instrument of migration which allows partners to transfer the data which are available in the company, such as voice mail and expansions for phone, to a new system.

IP Office 7.0 allows to use for cooperation broader set of multimedia devices, including the new desktop phones with touch screens giving an opportunity to scroll the contact list or to manage visual voice mail. Besides, new phones for meeting rooms offer a broadband sound playback, record of calls on SD cards and connection to the notebook through USB port for temporary setup. They enter product assortment, providing the most different communications, including video conferences in the HD format using desktop PCs without additional hardware.

Besides, Avaya announced that a number of her partners — service providers, including Bell Canada and Verizon, will offer IP Office to 7.0 clients from SMB. The recent research of Forrester Research analytical company revealed that nearly 60% of medium-sized companies use, are interested in use or are going to use software for the organization of collective work.

Avaya shared also the vision of application of hybrid clouds for the organization of communications in SMB. At this Avaya IP Office is established at the client, and the separate applications providing it — in a cloud, in network of the partner. The company reported that it will provide big flexibility of use and the accelerated deployment of its latest applications for collective work.

2010: Avaya IP Office 6.1

Avaya IP Office differs from solutions of competitors in lower total cost of ownership (TCO), allowing to save up to 25%. The new version of Avaya IP Office can be set from one DVD disk on which the open Linux operating system and key applications for communications is installed. Before it was necessary to install the operating system and the IP Office applications, using different sources and numerous DVDs disks. This factor also provides lower total cost of ownership.

Similar approach allows to reduce time for the software installation for 75% that at the same time reduces costs on work and simplifies installation process. Moreover, unlike other OS, for Linux user licenses are not necessary that allows to achieve a bigger economy.

Among other improvements of the updated solution:

• Flexible solution of Avaya One-X Portal for IP Office: The dynamic communication web interface of a desktop for distant, mobile and office employees has a possibility of personal setup and also supports the drag and drops functions of windows. These applications allowing users to manage calls, instant messages and mail from the uniform portal based on the PC give the chance to users now to place gadgets (such as directories, a log of calls, etc.) in any place on the screen. It is also possible to configure "cover" and to set wall-paper with a logo of the company on a desktop.
• The advanced system of reports for contact center: Now the enterprises of small and medium business can estimate success of a client campaign using a special system which analyzes all incoming calls and defines their geographical location on the card. This function submits the evident report on the volume of calls from clients taking into account their location.
• Expanded video opportunities: Avaya IP Office expands functionality of a video conferencing and offers, in addition to video conference on the basis of program phone, more perfect video conferencing of high definition with a possibility of participation to 4 parties. Moreover, the solution provides integration of video into a number of SIP telephones of third-party producers.
• Distributed control: Owners of small and medium business can manage numerous offices using the single consolidated interface now. After uniform login it is possible to browse and manage parameters of communications (i.e. user rights, groups of ports with one address) in different places (up to 32 places).