June 04, 2007
Avaya IP Telephony Solution Exceeds 100,000 Subscribers

By Spencer D. Chin
TMCnet Web Editor

Avaya (News - Alert) Inc. announced that its Avaya IP Office solution has crossed a new milestone, with more than 100,000 IP Office systems sold to small and mid-sized organizations around the globe, serving an estimated 3.6 million users. 
 
Avaya IP Office is cost-effective, easy to use and especially designed for secure converged voice and data communications at small and mid-sized companies. Two healthcare organizations using IP Office systems to help them operate more efficiently and effectively are a leading U.S. cardiology practice and a U.K Teenage Cancer Trust. 
 
“A substantial number of small and mid-sized companies worldwide will move to IP telephony over the next five years, in a rapidly growing global market that is worth over $3.5 billion,” said Deepinder Sahni, senior vice president, Access Markets International (AMI) Partners Inc., in a statement. “Understanding and meeting these companies’ requirements – with solutions that deliver high quality communications with a unique value proposition – is absolutely paramount to successfully serving this market segment.”
 
One customer is Austin Heart, a leading cardiology practice in Austin, Texas, that has grown to include 40 physicians, an estimated 350 employees and 12 fulltime offices across the state’s central region. 
 
The disparate, stand-alone communication systems formerly used by Austin Heart simply weren’t up to the demands of the busy practice. With Avaya IP Office systems now installed at each site, the organization has a new communications network that is up to the task and can effectively link the practice’s small community of offices.
 
“In the past, a static phone system was fine for us,” said Paul Pannell, information technology operations supervisor, Austin Heart. “We mostly handled incoming calls, made outgoing calls and kept up with patient demands. But as call volumes increased, we needed a means to keep up. With the Avaya solution, our team has more options available to ensure our patients receive the responsiveness they have come to expect from us.”
 
To speed response times and support the critical communication needs of the practice, Pannell’s information technology team is using Avaya IP Office to automate how “on call” staff members are reached outside of normal office hours. 
 
“You can dial one number and be routed automatically to the individual on call, regardless of who that is,” Pannell said. “You don’t have to keep up with schedules or search for phone numbers. In addition, I can use Avaya IP Office to change on-call assignments on the fly, whether I’m in the office or dialing in from home.”
 
Austin Heart is using the built-in conferencing capabilities of Avaya IP Office to hold regular status meetings and quickly disseminate information to team members regardless of where they are based. On the administrative side, Pannell is able to use IP Office management tools to make moves, adds and changes centrally, without having to visit each site.  A simple graphical user interface lets him create standard configurations or ‘templates’ that can be applied across multiple offices. 
 
“IP Office is very flexible, and we can configure the features and options exactly the way someone wants them to work,” Pannell said. “For example, employees can program their phones to accept or forward calls based on the time of day and whether they plan to be in the office or on vacation. We’ve been able to use many of the system’s options to increase productivity and reduce costs.”
 
With its own private voice network, Austin Heart is able to use four-digit dialing to reach any member of the practice. In addition, toll charges have dropped significantly since calls between offices now travel across Austin Heart’s own network.
 
Spencer Chin is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
 
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