[July 17, 2008]

UTDi Delivers IP Solution for FAME; Lowers Operating Costs and Protects Employee Base

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. --(Business Wire)-- Unified TelData, Inc. (UTDi) has announced that Financial Aid Management for Education, Inc. (FAME) of Ft. Lauderdale, FL reduced operating costs and improved employee retention as a result of the implementation of Avaya's IP Softphone solution. FAME also experienced increased productivity and a reduction in support issues as a result of its ongoing relationship with UTDi.

FAME operates in the highly specialized area of processing federal government student financial aid funds for postsecondary education schools - a $110 billion a year industry - and its employees are considered experts in their field. As such, each employee is a valuable asset to the organization.

Over the years, FAME, with its large base of employees, found that some employees moved from the Ft. Lauderdale area for a variety of reasons. In addition, the acquisition of competitors and some of their employees led FAME to focus on enabling employees to work for FAME regardless of their location. FAME implemented a telecommunications system ten years ago that allowed employees to work from anywhere in the U.S.

While this system provided the flexibility that FAME was seeking in its base of remote employees, it proved to be expensive and cumbersome. These employees had to periodically interact with FAME's IT Support Department when this telecommunications network malfunctioned, reducing the individual's productivity.

In addition, FAME's Finance Department Accounts Payable contact had many additional phone bills to review and pay monthly for every remote employee. As these disadvantages caused frustration and required extra work on the part of the remote and local employees, FAME risked losing valuable employees to competitors.

FAME Chairman Bill Little sought a new solution that would streamline this process, reduce costs and provide a pleasant environment for his employees. Little turned to UTDi and the Avaya IP Softphone solution.

"Our number one goal was to protect our employee base as they are our most valuable asset. Our current system provided some of the functionality we needed, but was too cumbersome to deliver on efficiency," said Little. "UTDi and the Avaya IP Softphone solution provided the streamlined process we needed, eliminated the support issues we regularly experienced and lowered our operating costs by $2,300 per month."

As a result of the success of its implementation of the Avaya Softphone solution, FAME recently implemented Avaya's IP Agent software. This latest application enables FAME's VP of Customer & Product Support to monitor his managers and their agents throughout the day regardless of where in the U.S. the employees are located.

"UTDi is more than just a provider of Avaya solutions. We are a Platinum member of the Avaya BusinessPartner program, ensuring that our experts work with our clients to deliver measurable results," said Lyhn Haller, UTDi president. "We are pleased to continue working with FAME, providing the Avaya solutions they need to achieve greater efficiency, optimal performance and protection of the employee base."

About UTDi

Unified TelData, Inc. (UTDi) provides Intelligent Solutions for world-class communications to a broad range of customers globally including AVMED, United Way, APCO Worldwide, Blue Coat, The U.S. Senate's 450 locations nation-wide, and the City and County of San Francisco. A full-service solutions provider with offices nationwide, UTDi offers its clients intelligently architected solutions as well as deployment, on-site training, technical support, financing options, and maintenance programs. UTDi is a National Avaya Platinum Business Partner, ranking among the top 10 Avaya dealers in the United States.

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