HP ProCurve ONE Alliance partner spotlight: Avaya
On January 26, 2009, HP ProCurve launched the HP ProCurve Open Network Ecosystem (HP ProCurve ONE) multi-vendor alliance program, designed to optimize the performance of enterprise-class applications with HP ProCurve infrastructure. The HP ProCurve ONE program represents an expansion of HP ProCurve’s Adaptive Networks vision, which helps maximize the business value of networks by fortifying security, reducing complexity and increasing productivity.
One of the first companies to join the HP ProCurve ONE alliance program is Avaya, a global leader in enterprise communications systems. We’ve invited Bruce Mazza, Director, Branch Solutions for Avaya, to provide a bit more depth about Avaya and its role as an HP ProCurve ONE alliance partner.
First of all, who is Avaya and what do you do?
Avaya is one of the leading providers of communications technologies to enterprises of all sizes. Avaya makes intelligent communications solutions designed to help companies improve their business operations and achieve greater marketplace advantage. Enterprises both large and small use Avaya’s state-of-the-art communications solutions to improve their efficiency, collaboration, customer service and competitiveness.
We provide best-in-class unified communications (UC) and contact centers solutions and related services, directly and through our channel partners. We have achieved market leadership – number one or two – with essentially all our products and services.
Avaya’s products include Avaya Communication Manager software (available in enterprise and branch editions), servers, gateways, IP telephones, contact center applications and Avaya one-X™ unified communications applications.
Avaya and HP ProCurve have a successful history of working together to serve shared customers. What are some highlights of this established relationship?
Avaya and HP ProCurve began working together many years ago doing interoperability testing. On a technical level, it has been well proven that our products work together really well and are highly complementary. HP ProCurve switches have been certified as compliant through the Avaya DevConnect program, a program for independent software and hardware developers focused on building interoperability and extending value through Avaya technologies.
The interoperability between the HP ProCurve network infrastructure and Avaya IP telephony and contact center technologies makes it easy for organizations in a wide range of markets worldwide to use our products to improve their operations. The two companies share a number of customers. For example:
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Broward County Public Schools in Florida – the sixth largest K-12 school district in the U.S. – is building their convergence platform for the future based on Avaya and HP ProCurve solutions.
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Another large U.S. school district, in Yuma, Arizona, is cutting its telephony costs and freeing up network administrators’ time using Avaya VoIP phones and HP ProCurve switches.
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Cabot Financial, the pioneer and market leader for consumer debt purchase and collection in the U.K., is managing its growth with an HP ProCurve network infrastructure and Avaya IP telephony and contact center solutions.
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In Australia, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) has installed a powerful, flexible and reliable network based around HP ProCurve equipment, with Avaya IP telephony phones improving both productivity and cost savings for HREOC.
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HP’s Japan Customer Response Centre selected a combined solution from HP ProCurve and Avaya to achieve the reliability, flexibility and service quality it demanded in its contact center operations.
Besides sharing customers and interoperable technology, HP ProCurve and Avaya also share a commitment to providing customers with the widest possible choice in how they choose, deploy and migrate to the networked communications solutions that best meet their particular needs.
How does Avaya’s status as an HP ProCurve ONE alliance partner build on the existing working relationship between the two companies?
We see the HP ProCurve ONE program as a very significant expansion of our already successful working relationship. One of the most important aspects of this alliance is that it raises the level of our partnership from the technology to the executive and strategic levels at both our companies.
As organizations move increasingly toward UC solutions, which require that all aspects of the solutions work together seamlessly, it’s crucial for customers to know that all the vendors involved will stand behind their products. The HP ProCurve ONE program allows customers to deploy UC solutions with total confidence.
We are also excited that the HP ProCurve ONE program brings other best-of-breed vendors under the same umbrella. Companies such as Riverbed, F5 and McAfee offer important products that are very complementary to Avaya’s. We are looking forward to forming joint teams with these other companies to give customers choice that’s backed by testing, support and a joint roadmap.
How is the HP ProCurve ONE program different from other networking vendor partner programs?
The HP ProCurve ONE alliance signals a closer working relationship between HP ProCurve and the greater HP, which is a great thing for us and for our customers. Avaya has also worked closely with other groups within HP. In the realm of UC and contact centers, in particular, we see tremendous additional value in being able to tap into HP technologies, as well as HP Technology Services Group (TSG) and EDS system integration, in conjunction with HP ProCurve networking – all put together, delivered and deployed within HP ProCurve ONE.
What can customers expect to see as a result of the Avaya/HP ProCurve collaboration under the HP ProCurve ONE alliance program?
Avaya and HP ProCurve are deepening interoperability testing, coordinating channels and marketing efforts, and working on developing integrated solutions and services for IP networking and UC. We are porting the Avaya Communication Manager – our core IP telephony engine – and a number of UC applications to the HP ProCurve ONE Services zl Module.
The beauty of this module, which is a blade for the HP ProCurve Switch 5400zl and 8200zl series, is that it puts Avaya technology into the HP ProCurve switching architecture. Building UC capabilities directly into the switching infrastructure strengthens the solutions considerably, achieving real integration and the ability to lower costs, deliver “green” advantages and make it even easier for customers using our solutions to improve their business operations.
We think HP ProCurve has done a terrific job with setting up and launching the HP ProCurve ONE alliance, and Avaya is proud to be one of the first partners in this effort. We look forward to a relationship that continues to be successful for all of the alliance partners and, even more importantly, for customers worldwide.
Questions?
For more information on Avaya or ProCurve ONE, please submit this form with your question.
