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FTD Florists Get Avaya IP Telephony Contact CenterTMCnet VoIP Minute Watch Columnist
Business communications applications provider Avaya Inc. announced on Monday it was chosen by FTD, a flower delivery service based in Sherwood, Ark., in order to integrate Internet telephony into its contact center operations.
"We needed a communications solution that delivered on two important business requirements," said Larry Johnson, FTD technology executive vice president. "Since a significant segment of our consumer business is based on phone and Internet sales, reliability was a must. We were also seeking new efficiencies to improve our bottom line, including greater flexibility in meeting the seasonal demands of this business. Avaya delivered on both those fronts with a new converged voice and data network and IP contact center applications." The new agreement calls for Avaya to provide its Customer Interaction Suite of contact center applications powered by the company's Communication Manager IP telephony software. These two components will enable FTD's contact center support up to 500 agents who serve as customer service reps answering the phone and receiving orders from customers across the U.S. The new system will also allow Avaya media servers and gateways host the apps at the new contact center and support FTD's business continuity plans for its operations.
Avaya's Global Services will monitor FTD's Arkansas operation around the clock using Avaya Remote Managed Services for IP telephony. This automated service operates behind the scenes to monitor and manage the Avaya system and the Extreme Networks' data infrastructure.
FTD's underlying data network, also designed by Avaya, is comprised of two Black Diamond 8810 switches from Extreme Networks. The modular switches deliver Power over Ethernet (PoE), and 10 Gigibit Ethernet connectivity. FTD plans in coming months to link its new Arkansas center with two additional contact center sites in Oregon and Connecticut.
Avaya made news last month when it announced it opened new compatibility testing facilities in Germany and Singapore to extend its DeveloperConnection Program. The new Avaya DeveloperConnection program labs test third-party products for compatibility with Avaya systems including IP telephony, contact centers and mobility applications.
In Germany, the new Avaya DevConnect Solution Interoperability and Test Lab is based in Frankfurt and co-located with Avaya's research and development departments at the Avaya Tenovis facility.
The company's new Singapore lab is co-located with Avaya's main R&D facility in that country. This lab will also test for compliance with the company's Communication Manager, AES, IP Office, Interactive Voice Response systems and call center systems.
Avaya Inc.
FTD.com
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Johanne Torres is contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more articles by Johanne Torres, please visit:
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