World Conservation Monitoring Centre improves call handling and decision making with Alcatel IP telephony

Paris, April 11, 2006 - Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) today announced that the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), part of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), has deployed Alcatel’s OmniPCX Office at its global headquarters in Cambridge, UK. The future-proof solution was installed by Integrated Business Systems Limited (IBSL), an Alcatel business partner, and has enabled WCMC to significantly improve call handling while starting its migration towards IP telephony.

The Alcatel OmniPCX Office enables WCMC to operate a dual IP/TDM environment, deploying VoIP where required in order to reduce costs, while allowing the organization to migrate to a complete IP solution at a pace that best suits its needs. IBSL has also provided Alcatel Reflex phones, and WCMC now benefits from dial-by-name and enhanced conferencing functionality for those employees required to spend a large amount of time on calls.

WCMC evaluated solutions from a number of leading communications vendors, opting for the Alcatel OmniPCX Office based on its ease of use and overall value for money. WCMC was also impressed by the Alcatel system’s ability to handle both IP and TDM environments concurrently, as the organisation is currently considering future plans to migrate to VoIP and to deploy collaborative applications for improved internal processes and increased employee productivity.

“Communication is key to our work, but in the past we have struggled to interact effectively with our local and global partners, as staff have often been hard to reach even when they are in the office said Dr. Tim Johnson, deputy director, WCMC. ”The Alcatel solution has solved that problem, greatly increasing our ability to stay in touch and speeding up the decision-making process as a result"

IBSL provided training and support at all stages of implementation, deploying on-site staff to assist WCMC’s own IT department with the installation of the new system.

“It was important to provide WCMC with a solution that offered both ease of use and ease of management,” said Pete Tankard, managing director, IBSL. “The Alcatel OmniPCX Office telephony solution simplifies tasks that had been notoriously difficult to undertake using the old system, allowing staff to complete their vital work more quickly and effectively than ever before.”

“The WCMC implementation stands as proof that it is not just large enterprises that are looking to embrace the benefits of IP telephony,” said Graeme Allan, VP for Alcatel enterprise activities in Northern Europe. “By giving smaller organizations the ability to make the move to IP at their own pace, they can start making productivity and efficiency gains while minimising the risks associated with overhauling legacy networks and systems.”

About UNEP-WCMC
The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) was established in 2000 as the world biodiversity information and assessment centre of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The Centre’s roots go back to 1979 when the IUCN World Conservation Union established a Cambridge office to monitor endangered species. In 1988, the independent, non-profit World Conservation Monitoring Centre was founded jointly by IUCN, WWF and UNEP. In 2000, the Centre became an integral part of UNEP, the first new United Nations institute to open in Great Britain for 50 years. The Centre is guided by a high-level Scientific Advisory Council closely linked to the UNEP Divisions, which acts as a guarantor of the Centre in its role within UNEP. The Centre is now well established as UNEP’s biodiversity assessment and policy implementation arm. In 2004, UNEP-WCMC celebrated its 25th Anniversary.
http://www.unep-wcmc.org/

About Alcatel
Alcatel provides communications solutions to telecommunication carriers, Internet service providers and enterprises for delivery of voice, data and video applications to their customers or employees. Alcatel brings its leading position in fixed and mobile broadband networks, applications and services, to help its partners and customers build a user-centric broadband world. With sales of EURO 13.1 billion and 58,000 employees in 2005, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries.

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Régine Coqueran

Corporate Media Relations

Alcatel

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