Avaya Positioned as Leader in Unified Communications Magic Quadrant

BASKING RIDGE, NJ--(Marketwire - September 9, 2009) - Avaya today announced it has been placed in the leaders quadrant in the Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications, 2009 report published by research and advisory firm, Gartner, Inc.*

The report, co-authored by Bernard Elliot and Steve Blood, positions vendors in one of four quadrants based on the companies' vision and ability to execute on that vision. The four quadrants are Leaders, Challengers, Visionaries and Niche Players.

Gartner defines Unified Communications (UC) products (equipment software, and services) as "those that facilitate the use of multiple enterprise communications methods. This can include control, management and integration of these methods." Gartner divides UC into six broad communication areas: voice and telephony; conferencing (voice, video and web); messaging (email, UM and voice mail); presence and IM; clients for access through a consistent interface, and communications applications.(1) Vendors included in the Gartner report were required to have on-premises solutions in at least three of these areas.

Vendors appearing in the Magic Quadrant are evaluated according to their completeness of vision and ability to execute. For the ability to execute, Gartner analysts evaluated UC product providers based on the "quality, efficacy and overall maturity of the products, systems, tools and procedures that enhance individual, group and enterprise communications." For completeness of vision, UC vendors were evaluated on their "ability to articulate logical statements about current and future market directions, innovations, customer needs and competitive forces and how well these map to...the marketplace."

According to Gartner, "vendors listed in the leader's quadrant sell comprehensive and integrated UC solutions that directly or with well-defined partnerships, address the full range of market needs. These vendors have defined migration and evolution plans for their products in core UC areas, and are using their solution sets to enter new clients into their client rosters and to expand their footprints in their client bases in new function areas."

"Avaya Aura™ changes the landscape for unified communications," said Dr. Alan Baratz, senior vice president at Avaya and president of its Global Communications Solutions. "With Avaya Aura, customers can wrap their legacy communications infrastructure and embrace next generation SIP technologies. This approach provides new flexibility for employees to connect via their voice, video and messaging applications across multiple devices and at any location. More importantly, it provides companies the ability to simplify complex networks and reduce infrastructure costs. The results are dramatic, as customers in some cases are seeing a return on their investment in Avaya Aura in a matter of months."

The report is available for sharing at the following link: http://mediaproducts.gartner.com/reprints/avaya/vol5/article3/article3.html

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.

About the Magic Quadrant

The Gartner Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 2009 by Gartner, Inc., and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

(1) Gartner, Inc. "Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications" by Bern Elliott and Steve Blood, Sept. 1, 2009.

Contact Information: Deb Kline 908-953 6179 klined@avaya.com