Avaya, IBM Team to Integrate Applications from their UC and Collaboration Portfolios

Avaya has announced a broader effort with IBM to integrate applications from the two companies’ unified communications (UC) and collaboration portfolios. Leveraging the IBM (News - Alert) Lotus user experience and the Avaya Aura core communications platform, the new integration provides customers with a streamlined interface backed by real-time communications features, quality and reliability.

Avaya (News - Alert) Aura provides a real-time communications platform with an open, standards-based architecture. Company officials said that this allows Lotus customers to incorporate and integrate a wide range of communications applications.

It’s seen that single-vendor unified communications and collaboration solutions set typical limitations. Company officials said that Avaya Aura addresses these limitations. In reality, companies need a highly flexible, centralized environment that can encompass new and existing multi-vendor solutions that meet their specific business needed.

Initially, the integration aims deeper integration of the IBM Lotus Sametime collaborative user experience with the set of Avaya Aura communications services. Thanks to the integration of Lotus Sametime with Avaya Aura, employees now have a powerful yet simplified user experience, and IT can improve its control, security and operating expenses.

Company officials said that this integrated user experience is easily accessible from a wide ranging set of applications for in-context access to unified communications and collaboration solutions.

Recently, Avaya announced enhancements to a packaged application for Avaya Agile (News - Alert) Communications Environment (ACE) that integrates voice in the newest release of IBM Lotus Notes and Lotus Sametime.

With Avaya ACE 2.3, employees can click-to-call and see telephony presence from within Lotus Sametime 8.5.1 while using deskphones from Avaya or other vendors. Plus, Avaya Aura Application Enablement Services, Avaya Aura Conferencing and Avaya Meeting Exchange can also integrate with the latest version of Lotus Sametime 8.5.1 for a more streamlined, productive collaboration experience.

“These recent enhancements further strengthen the relationship between Avaya and IBM that has been in place since 2001," said Sandy Priezler, vice president for SI/SP Channels at Avaya, adding that the continued focus on development, collaboration and services enable the company to take advantage of shared technologies, platforms and roadmaps.