Survey Reveals Data Networking Trends in Implementing Unified Communications

Resilient, Efficient, Scalable Data Solutions Critical to Meeting Growing Demand for Bandwidth at Campuses and Data Centers

INTEROP 2010 - Las Vegas – Avaya, a global leader in enterprise communications systems, software and services, today announced the results of a global survey indicating enterprises today prefer networking solutions that are more resilient, efficient and scalable in supporting the growing bandwidth demands of their communications technologies. These findings validate the technological strategy of Avaya’s “Fit for Purpose” data networking solutions that were announced earlier this week at Interop Las Vegas 2010.

The survey, “Campus and Data Center Priorities,” commissioned and conducted independently by Webtorials Analyst Group, examined the campus and data center networking priorities of global enterprise companies with more than 1,000 employees. The survey data revealed that network security, resiliency/uptime, cost management and return on investment were rated most important overall for networks supporting implementation of unified communications.

Survey respondents were first asked to consider which attributes of their networks they rated as most important. The top issues were:

* Network security – (96%)
* Network resiliency – consistent availability/quick recovery from node/link failure – (95%)
* Network scalability – future-proof architectures/seamless growth and cost-effectiveness – (88%)
* Cost reduction and/or cost management – (88%)
* Quality of service management – (86%)


When asked to consider various properties of their networks from a more detailed perspective, survey respondents considered the following as priorities:

* “In-service maintenance and repair” (82%) and “consistent high availability” (81%) most important for “network resiliency and uptime”
* “Low total cost of ownership” (84%) and “optimized designs” (84%) most important for “network efficiency”
* “Future-ready architectures” (79%) and “high-end capacity throughput” (76%) most important for “network scalability”


“These survey results confirm that the best positive value for a high-performance, secure network that in the current economic climate, users are keenly interested in getting allows the capabilities to be added as needed,” said Steven Taylor, Principal Analyst, Webtorials. “I have been covering the telecommunications industry for more than 25 years and currently see a dramatic shift in the market away from ’one size fits all’ network solutions and toward solutions that map to customers’ unique IT infrastructure and needs.”

The Avaya Data Solutions announced at Interop, including the Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 8800, the Avaya Wireless LAN 8100 Series, the Avaya Unified Communications Management (UCM)/Configuration and Orchestration Manager (COM), and the Avaya Advanced Gateway 2330 SIP gateway all directly address the customer demands that were uncovered in the Webtorials research.

“Avaya is committed to delivering data products that are faster, more cost-effective and consume less power to support the growing needs of today’s bandwidth-intensive unified communications applications,” said Joel Hackney, President, Avaya Data Solutions. “The Webtorials survey data further validates our strategy to deliver a data portfolio that is tailored to meet our customers’ unique needs for today’s intensive data networking demands.”

The full “Campus and Data Center Priorities” survey is available for review at: http://www.webtorials.com/content/featured/avaya/.

About Webtorials
The Webtorials Analyst Division provides research-based editorial products – including papers, webcasts, and custom editorial projects – to complement the sponsor-provided products available on Webtorials. The Analyst Division adheres to the philosophy that sound advice comes from research, not from by “proofs by blatant assertion.” For more information please visit www.webtorials.com. For press inquiries, please contact Nancy Leonard, Webtorials Chief Marketing Analyst, nancy@webtorials.com, (908) 489-3713.

About Avaya
Avaya is a global leader in enterprise communications systems. The company provides unified communications, contact centers, and related services directly and through its channel partners to leading businesses and organizations around the world. Enterprises of all sizes depend on Avaya for state-of-the-art communications that improve efficiency, collaboration, customer service and competitiveness. For more information please visit www.avaya.com.