12 November, 2007

GUILDFORD, UK – Avaya’s annual BusinessPartner conference for the executives of its channel partners was this year held in Paris. This was an opportunity to recognize Avaya’s ongoing portfolio investments and partnering commitment. It provided an opportunity to recognize BusinessPartners for their EMEA performance but was also an occasion to acknowledge eleven partners who demonstrated channel excellence and above expectations in delivering winning networking solutions for enterprises and small businesses (SMB) specifically in the UK and Irish markets.

“I was very impressed by the commitment of our BusinessPartners and the great belief in Avaya that they have demonstrated” said Nick Roullier, Country Manager, Avaya, UK “Over the years we have seen some dramatic changes in both the enterprise and small business market place, first with convergence and now with unified communications. As a result BusinessPartners with their skills in delivering the right networking and applications solution, are increasingly important to Avaya” concluded Roullier.

And the winners are? At a champagne breakfast reception, the following Avaya BusinessPartners were presented with their awards in recognition of strong success and real commitment to Avaya in 2007:

•   BusinessPartner of the Year Enterprise – Central Telecom for being a high level sales driven business, which has enjoyed significant growth in Avaya business.
•   BusinessPartner of the Year SMB – NEG – for their ability of utilizing Avaya solutions in the vertical markets.
•   Growth Award Enterprise and SMB – G3 for Enterprise and Comtec for SMB – both companies performed exceptionally in FY07 vs FY06.
•   Application BusinessPartner – Datapoint – for delivering the most revenue or complex implementations focusing on Avaya’s applications portfolio.
•   System Integrator (SI) of the Year – Dimension Data – for being the best performing SI.
•   Service Provider of the Year – BT Ireland – for achieving year on year growth as well as their ongoing investment in training and certification whilst recruiting Avaya trained personnel.
•   Most Complex Deal of the Year – Sabio – for their ability to answer and meet some unique customer needs understanding how Avaya’s application strategy can address customer’s complex needs.
•   Most Significant Deal of the Year – BT – for being able to supply a solutions specifically designed to meet the customers needs providing them with a core building block to develop competitive edge.
•   Awards for Representing Avaya’s Values – CCT (as a BusinesPartner organization) and Tim Brooks (as an individual) of Westcon Convergence– both winners have consistently demonstrated unparalleled value to customers, while fostering creativity, innovation and risk-taking.

“This event was an important opportunity as we ‘kick’ off 2008 to meet with our BusinessPartners and discuss further our Intelligent Communications strategy and how we can continue to work together. It is all about having the right channels, the best products and excellence in support and BusinessPartners are fundamental to Avaya” said Jason Flynn, Country Manager, Avaya, Ireland.