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Avaya Data Solutions Launches Virtualization Strategy


WEBWIRE

End-To-End Architecture and Solutions Simplify Data Center, Campus Networking

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Avaya, a global leader in enterprise communications systems, software and services, today launched a new data networking architecture that helps enterprises reap the benefits of virtualization in a more simplified and cost-effective manner. This technology utilizes a new, end-to-end enterprise-wide architecture designed to help CIOs and IT departments meet the surging demand for new content and business collaboration applications.

Avaya Virtual Enterprise Network Architecture (Avaya VENA) allows organizations to more easily optimize business applications and service deployments in and between data centers and campuses. Avaya VENA helps reduce costs and can significantly improve time to service by more efficiently optimizing the network connections between application servers and end users – essentially providing an end-to-end connection from the desktop all the way to the data center. It can also reduce risks for CIOs by simplifying provisioning and policy configurations, reducing network re-designs, and providing new, streamlined tools for network management.



Avaya is also announcing a series of relationships in support of Avaya VENA with companies including VMware, an industry leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure; QLogic, an industry leader in converged networking; Coraid, an industry innovator in converged Ethernet SAN storage; and Silver Peak Systems, the leader in data center WAN optimization - in addition to many other companies that have joined as members of Avaya’s DevConnect program, an initiative to develop, market and sell innovative third-party products that interoperate with Avaya technology. Avaya VENA is based on open industry standards, and Avaya is aggressively pursuing and building out a broader ecosystem of technology collaborators to support the architecture.

“No one else can offer this level of simplicity around virtualization and collaboration,” said Steve Bandrowczak, vice president & general manager, Avaya Data Solutions. “Together with our technology partners, we are delivering a truly revolutionary and unique solution that maximizes the business model for virtualization and data center networking. The new Avaya VENA architecture, coupled with our cutting-edge innovation in business collaboration, is re-defining the way enterprises communicate.”


“Enterprises today are asking for more than just choice when looking at networking solutions. They clearly need solutions that will empower IT to quickly respond to changing business requirements, improve time to service, while simplifying their network and reducing costs,” said Mark Fabbi, vice president and distinguished analyst, Gartner. “Enabling the agile enterprise requires a new way of approaching network architecture. It requires a new level of synergy between collaborative real-time applications, the virtualized data center environment and the underlying, enabling network.”


The new architecture features a ’Virtual Services Fabric’ that spans the entire network and enables one-touch provisioning for the full range of capabilities provided by Virtual Services Networks. This architecture increases flexibility and scalability by delivering an infrastructure that creates a ’private cloud’, to deliver always-on content and access to applications in a dramatically simplified model. This approach also protects enterprises’ core networks from the costly failures and human-error issues that are often experienced by the traditional, complicated process for provisioning or adding, deleting or changing applications in a virtualized environment.

“Yankee Group research shows that human error accounts for 37 percent of all network downtime – the single biggest factor in network disruption. Avaya’s Virtual Enterprise Network Architecture reduces costs and improves time to service by providing a more efficient way to manage the connectivity between users and their content,” said Zeus Kerravala, senior vice president and distinguished research fellow, Yankee Group. “Avaya VENA provides an end-to-end connection from the desktop all the way through to the data center – a critical requirement to the success of virtual computing. The new architecture also reduces risks for CIOs by providing new, streamlined tools for network management, IT agility and simplifies the process of provisioning and policy configurations.”

Avaya VENA’s Virtual Services Fabric is built on enhanced IEEE Shortest Path Bridging to provide resiliency, simplicity and a consistent interconnect that transparently supports co-existing services. Avaya VENA is implemented on new data center modular and fixed platforms in addition to being a simple upgrade option for existing products. It also includes comprehensive tools for effective management of a virtualized environment.

Avaya VENA expands Avaya’s proven data center solutions that have been deployed by customers for almost a decade. The new technologies leverage existing data network infrastructures and investments, and are scalable to provide a path for future growth.

“As we move towards deploying new applications such as electronic medical records, multipoint video conferencing and monitoring wireless medical devices, our network must be faster and more scalable. But most critically, it has to be absolutely resilient,” said Dean Pang, chief information officer, Hawaii Medical Center. “We chose Avaya for our data center because of their proven, simplified, always-on active/active model, and their long-term commitment to the data market. Also, for us, it just made sense to implement an integrated, single vendor voice, video, wired, and wireless data systems solution. HMC is partnering with Avaya to build a more agile and robust network that is keenly focused on delivering quality care, which will help us work faster, more accurately and keep up with new technologies that are evolving within the health care industry.”

The new architecture is supported by the Avaya Virtual Services Platform 9000 (Avaya VSP 9000), a future-ready platform that has been architected to scale in support of emerging 40/100G technologies. Avaya VENA is also supported by Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 8600 and 8800 products. Avaya is currently developing a range of next-generation, top-of-rack solutions as part of its VSP portfolio for data centers to support high-density 10G with an evolution to 40/100G and FCoE. Additionally, a series of campus products will be introduced in 2011 allowing easy extension of the fabric all the way to the campus and branch edge. Avaya data products are designed to deliver energy efficiencies that can reduce enterprise operating costs, while evolving current infrastructure investments to help eliminate the need for costly forklift upgrades.

The Avaya VSP 9000 provides fully redundant hardware with no single point-of-failure, including a hardened data center operating system with instantaneous re-route capabilities. It offers efficient Layer 2 and 3 network virtualization along with high-density 10GbE today, and provides a seamless evolution to 40/100 Gigabit with a life-cycle architecture that has been designed to scale up to 27 Tbps.

“Avaya’s VENA architecture is radically different conceptually,” said Kevin Schukraft, manager of network technology, Kutztown University. “We actually have the Avaya VSP 9000 working well in limited production today as we continue with our roadmap to fully deploy the technology. From an operational standpoint, it consolidates systems, reduces footprint and decreases the risk of downtime, which is critical for us as we support round the clock student activity. And, it positions us to keep up with new app demands of our tech savvy students.” (Kutztown University case study available here.)

About Avaya
Avaya is a global leader in enterprise communications systems. The company provides unified communications, contact centers, data solutions, 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.

Certain statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “should” or “will” or other similar terminology. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While we believe these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. These and other important factors may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Some of the key factors that could cause actual results to differ from our expectations include: our ability to develop and sell advanced communications products and services, including unified communications, contact center and data solutions; our ability to develop our indirect sales channel; economic conditions and the willingness of enterprises to make capital investments; the market for advanced communications products and services, including unified communications solutions; our ability to remain competitive in the markets we serve; our ability to manage our supply chain and logistics functions; the ability to protect our intellectual property and avoid claims of infringement; our ability to effectively integrate acquired businesses into ours; our ability to maintain adequate security over our information systems; environmental, health and safety laws, regulations, costs and other liabilities; the ability to retain and attract key employees; risks relating to the transaction of business internationally; pension and post-retirement healthcare and life insurance liabilities; and liquidity and our access to capital markets. We caution you that the foregoing list of important factors may not contain all of the material factors that are important to you. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, please refer to Avaya’s filings with the SEC that are available at www.sec.gov. Avaya disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.



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