call us now




Request a Demo

Let us demonstrate to you how BCM system can transform your business

Request a demo now >>



Contact Us

Contact us now for fantastic telephone system sales, support and advice

Contact us now >>

Product Brief

Audio Conferencing - Avaya Software Communication System 500

In today’s global economy, many companies face the challenge of workforces that are increasingly distributed and yet must collaborate more effectively than ever before to make things happen — not sometime tomorrow, but right now. But how can you create this type of environment when your employees are using multiple devices, communicating in different ways and potentially even in different locations?

Avaya communication system 500

Fortunately, Avaya can help with an advanced yet simple-to-use solution — Avaya Software Communication System (SCS) 500. Based on open standards using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Software Communication System 500 has the power to accelerate communications and collaboration between your employees, partners and customers. A long-time leader in providing communications solutions to companies around the world, Avaya recognizes the value that SIP can bring to Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) and branch offices. Working closely with other industry leaders like Microsoft, IBM, Dell, HP and LG, Avaya has been a driving force in developing and implementing the SIP-based solutions that change how businesses communicate. SIP: A foundation for unified communications

An internationally accepted open-standards-based protocol for interactive communications (e.g., multimedia elements such as voice, video, instant messaging and presence), SIP provides the foundation for unified communications. Unified communications simplifies how people connect with each other, and with applications, eliminating the challenge of disparate workforces and numerous devices and systems. Presence, real-time and near-real-time communications are unified into a single environment that enables more effective collaboration, faster decision-making, and ultimately, accelerated business processes.

The SIP-based Avaya Software Communication System 500 empowers users within your organization to control unified communications for stellar results, including greater efficiency, higher productivity, increased revenue and many other benefits.

Designed to meet the needs of SMBs who are ready to transform their business through unified communications
• Ideal for 30 to 500+ users (but scalable up to 1,000 stations)
• Converges all business communications at the desktop
• Voice, Video, Presence, IM, Conferencing, Unified Messaging
• Integrates with Microsoft and IBM applications
• Operates on industry-standard server platforms
• Future-proof, software-based solution
• Simplifies installation, administration and user experience
• Offers a variety of clients and gateways

Avaya Software Communication System 500: Unified Communications for SMBs

Avaya Software Communication System 500 is an economical, easy-to-manage and user-friendly unified communications solution designed specifically for SMBs. An enterprise-grade, highly robust, scalable and fully-featured unified communications solution, Software Communication System 500 enables SMBs to accelerate their business. This “business velocity” is fueled by unified communications capabilities such as integrated voice/unified messaging, Find Me/ Follow Me (call forwarding), advanced Conferencing (Meet Me, Scheduled and Instant), Auto Attendant and Personal Auto Attendant, Automatic Call Distribution (ACD), and a powerful ‘plug-and-play’ web-based configuration and management system. Rounding out the Software Communication System 500 solution is a full suite of hard clients, softphones and application plug-ins.

The Software Communication System 500 is pre-loaded on a standard server hardware platform that connects to the local area network via an Ethernet Switch (e.g., Avaya Business Ethernet Switch 50, 100, 200 or 1000). This switch is then used to connect all the other solution components, including:

• PSTN Gateways — These come in three flavors: FXS Gateways (or Foreign Exchange Station Gateways), which connect to analog devices like fax machines and cordless phones; FXO Gateways (or Foreign Exchange Office Gateways), which connect analog trunking interfaces; and Digital Gateways to provide digital trunking, including E1, T1 and Fractional T1, BRI and PRI.

• Routers (e.g., Avaya Business Secure Router 222 or 252) for Internet connectivity and/or to connect to another site within a Wide Area Network, or to provide remote workers with VPN connectivity to the office network.

• A Session Boarder Controller or SBC, of which there are two options: one that supports up to 40 simultaneous calls and one with support for up to 150.

The SBC provides a method of connecting phones, softphones and email with plug-ins if your remote workers simply want basic SIP phone or client access over the public Internet (i.e., without accessing the office VPN). The SBC can also be used to support more cost-effective SIP trunking services from an Internet Telephony Service Provider.

• Two different softphones (i.e., 3455 and 3456) and two integrated application- centric plug-ins (Microsoft Outlook and IBM Lotus Sametime and Lotus Notes).

• A variety of SIP-based telephones, including the LG-Avaya IP Phone 6800 Series, the Avaya IP Phone 1535 Video Phone, and the Polycom® SoundPoint® IP Phones and Polycom® SoundStation® IP Audio Conferencing Units.

Applications that accelerate business

As a SIP-based product, Software Communication System 500 offers a wide range of capabilities that can help your business respond faster to marketplace changes, deliver elevated levels of service to your customers, and tap into opportunities for market differentiation and growth.

Find Me/Follow Me (Advanced Call Forwarding)

Through advanced forwarding capabilities, users can define individual call forwarding rules, including simultaneous forwarding (i.e., both devices will ring at the same time) and sequential forwarding, which points to a different device if users don’t answer the primary one. Users can even set up time-of-day and day-of-week parameters — an ideal feature for mobile employees, shift workers or employees that may be out of the office but need to be “on call” in case of emergency.

Integrated conferencing capabilities for every requirement

The Software Communication System 500 offers flexible and sophisticated advanced conferencing capabilities that are controlled through an easy-to-use, web-based portal.

• Meet Me conferencing, which is“always on”, doesn’t require a scheduled start and end time, and is often used for informal meetings. Organizers can even have their own passwords to start the conference and issue a password for participants, who simply call into a dedicated Meet Me conference bridge.

• Scheduled conferencing is very similar to Meet Me, but typically used for more formal calls as it enables the organizer to reserve capacity on the system for a pre-determined period of time.

• Instant conferences start as soon as the first participant calls and dials the Conference Start PIN. The system then calls all other conference participants, who can join immediately or at a later time, when they are available.

Advanced Auto Attendant: 100 better ways to take care of business

Advanced Auto Attendant is an enterprise-grade telephony feature that comes complete with more than 100 customizable Auto Attendants that you can develop using the Configuration Manager. You can fine-tune attendant features to suit your business based on day, night or holiday schedules, and even enable customers to dial by extension and name.

Personal Auto Attendants that are always on call

Personal Auto Attendant is similar to Auto Attendant but really focused at the end-user level by providing employees with advanced yet simple-to-use menu options in their personal mailbox. For example, they can allow incoming callers to press 1 for the individual’s assistant, 2 for their cell phone, 3 for their home office, and so on, making it easy for employees to remain accessible and for customers to obtain the information they’re looking for.

Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) — A basic contact center already built in

The Automatic Call Distribution creates a simple yet effective entry-level solution that is highly configurable and easy to set up. It’s ideal for businesses that don’t need advanced call center features and simply want the basics, including:

• Support for up to 50 agents (up to 30 active at one time)
• Up to 50 queues per server (and an agent can serve one or several queues)
• Several lines (i.e., extension numbers) per queue that can accommodate multiple callers simultaneously if needed
• Choices of call routing/call distribution algorithms
• Support for overflow queues during peak business periods

Voice and Unified Messaging so you always get the point

Software Communication System 500 offers a voicemail system that’s integrated with the user’s desktop, offering a simple, seamless way to access and control voice messages from a variety of user touchpoints. It supports up to 1,000 voicemail boxes, up to 2,000 hours of storage, user-configurable distribution lists and messages can even be accessed through telephone set, soft-client or a personal browser-based user portal. Messages can even be forwarded to a user’s email account, creating a singular (or unified) place for both email and voicemail for easy filing or forwarding. The result is very simple and effective unified messaging that can lead to substantial time-savings for employees.

Call Detail Recording (CDR) to understand and optimize communications

The system can collect Call Detail Records (CDRs) for all calls and store them in a database on the server. From there, CDRs can be accessed directly by a billing application. Business owners don’t have to print a report to see the information; they can view CDRs right from the administration Web interface. It’s also possible to export CDRs to popular reporting software applications like Crystal Reports, as well as Microsoft Excel. The end result is a complete set of records that are easy to access, browse and even export and customize.

“Plug-and-play” makes configuration and administration simple

Software Communication System 500 was designed with simplicity in mind, not only from an end-user perspective but also for IT managers concerned about administration and support. Through plug-and-play management, phones and gateways are ready for use the moment they’re installed. Software Communication System 500 automatically generates all required configuration profiles for phones and gateways, offering simplified provisioning of new devices with just a few clicks. Plugand- play management even extends to managing firmware upgrades, localization, phone directory and speed-dial information. This all boils down to an easy-to-manage solution that you don’t need a PHD to support.

Hard Clients

The Software Communication System 500 supports a variety of SIP-based telephones, including the LG-Avaya IP Phone 6800 Series, the Avaya IP Phone 1535 video phone, and the Polycom SoundPoint IP Phone Series and SoundStation audio conferencing series.

LG-Avaya IP Phone 6800 Series:

Portfolio of three (6804, 6812 and 6830) fully-featured, business-class SIP phones that balance advanced functionality in a cost-effective package. These desk sets have been purpose built for economy minded SMBs and come with a full range of big-business features available at a small-business price. The portfolio includes the 6804, an entry-level set for common areas; the 6812, an intermediate-level phone for most employees; and finally the 6830, a more professional-level offering for power users and administrative personnel. In addition, both the 6812 and 6830 models offer an optional add-on attendant for expanded auto-dialing (LG-Avaya Direct Station Select 6848).

Avaya IP Phone 1535:

An innovative video phone that uses SIP to establish both voice and video calls, and can even be used to check your email or browse the Web. The IP Phone 1535 provides extensive telephony services, multimedia tools, full video conversation functionality, an array of ring melodies and a personalized display. It uses SIP to establish both voice and video calls, connecting to the LAN via an Ethernet connection or even by 802.11b/g wireless (Wi-Fi) connection.

The Polycom SoundPoint IP Phone Series is a portfolio of six (330, 430, 550, 560, 650 and 670) fully-featured, business-class SIP phones to accommodate all types of users. SoundPoint IP 330 is a basic cost-effective desktop IP phone for lobbies, lunch rooms and other common areas, as well as entry-level users. SoundPoint IP 430 is often frequently used in common areas, but also targets intermediate-level users with low to medium volume of calls. SoundPoint IP 550 and 560 are similar in that they both target intermediate level users with a medium to high volume of calls, but the 560 is GigE enabled.

SoundPoint IP 650 targets more professional-level users like managers and office administrators, and supports up to three expansion modules. SoundPoint IP 670 is a GigE-enabled color phone that targets both executive and office administrative users with medium to high volume of calls while supporting up to three expansion modules.

Polycom SoundStation IP Solutions — Two audio conferencing units with superior sound quality, high-resolution displays and an integrated two-port 10/100 Ethernet switch. The SoundStation IP 6000 is a standard conferencing phone designed for small and midsize rooms, while the SoundStation IP 7000 is more advanced and typically used in larger rooms. The IP 7000 also has a large high-resolution display with XHTML microbrowser capability, flexible configuration options that allow you to do multi-unit connectivity, and even expansion microphones to meet the needs of many different types of rooms.

Softphones and application plug-ins

The Software Communication System 500 offers two softphones for making phone calls directly from a PC — a contact-centric and traditional key pad centric version, both of which offer presence, secure instant messaging and video conferencing. Avaya Softphone 34552: This business-grade phone features a dialpad- centric interface that allows users to manage their voice, video, Instant Messaging (IM) and presence applications on their desktop, for an easy transition from a traditional hard phone to unified communications.

Other highlights include:
• Enhanced Quality of Service (QoS) for voice and video calls
• A comprehensive personal address book, including detailed call lists and history
• Instant Messaging (IM) and presence management
• Voice and video call recording
• SIP-based signaling for all interactive media sessions
• Low-touch configuration of your audio and video devices

Avaya Softphone 34562:

His business- grade phone is similar to the 3455, but features a contact-centric interface that lets individuals use their address book to provide a unified communications experience for voice, video, Instant Messaging (IM) and presence applications. The 3456 offers all the great features of the 3455 plus:
• Call Management that lets users see a picture-in-picture video layout and use Quick Transfer for calls
• Contact Management that allows users to view their combined history for calls and IM attached to contact details, along with avatars for individual contacts
• IM Management that enables them to send instant messages to groups and use IM tabs for multiple IM conversations in one window
• The ability to send email to a contact or group using your default email application
• Offers presence management that allows for unique privacy rules for each contact

Avaya Plug-In 3457 for IBM® Lotus Notes®/Sametime®3:

This client brings IP phone functionality to a user’s IBM® Lotus Notes®/Sametime® environment, allowing them to make, receive and transfer phone calls without having to leave the Lotus application. In addition to full call-handling capabilities, the Lotus Client also provides users with easy access to their voicemail inbox. Avaya Plug-In 3458 for for Microsoft® Office Outlook®4: This client offers communication integration within a user’s Microsoft Outlook environment, allowing them to easily import their address book into or from their contact list and dial directly from the application. They can even establish a call from manual entry, redial, drag and drop, contacts, inbox, profile or directly from an email message.

Avaya SMB Data — Rounding out the Software Communication System 500 solution

When you combine Software Communication System 500 with the Avaya SMB Data portfolio— including the Business Access Point 120, the Business Secure Routers 222/252, and the Business Ethernet Switches 50/100/200/1000 — you get a comprehensive, end-to-end solution for SMBs. All of these products are standards-based offerings that complement Software Communication System 500 with Quality of Service (QoS) and Power over Ethernet (PoE) capabilities, and have been designed from the ground up with SMBs in mind, including growth considerations, form-factor, security and pricing.

The better alternative

Compared with the leading data competitor, Avaya’s SMB Data portfolio is 30 percent more costeffective with twice the wireless reach and free VPN support. In fact, Avaya has been working closely with the Tolly Group, an objective third-party product performance testing organization, and our SMB Data portfolio has always come through with flying colors. This all boils down to better price/performance, better technology and features, better reliability and simply put, a better alternative. Interoperability with third-party solutions. The open-source philosophy of Avaya’s SIP-based Software Communication System 500 enables third-party companies to pursue interoperability and compatibility designations with this innovative Avaya platform, thereby expanding the portfolio of complementary solutions even further. Exclusively through membership within the Avaya Developer Program, companies are provided with access to information, resources and services designed to enable the delivery and deployment of world-class, next-generation customer solutions which align and interoperate with Avaya’s Software Communication System 500. For a complete listing of third-party products currently registered as interoperable or designated as compatible with Software Communication System 500.

When it comes to affordable, unified communications solutions that reduce costs, enhance productivity and increase revenue for SMBs, look no further than Avaya — a company that has been delivering voice and data systems to companies large and small for decades— and which continues to lead the market in small and medium business communications today.

Unified communications defined…

• Presence-enabled communications that integrate telephony and desktop applications over a unified user experience, for any device that can be extended to business applications
• Offers SMBs a better way to communicate and do business by enabling them to integrate and optimize their communications environment within their business processes
• Accelerates business through improved customer interaction, faster decision-making and response times, and the general creation of opportunities for market differentiation and growth
• Can lead to extremely positive business impacts:
— 29% improvement in customer satisfaction
— 27% increase in employee satisfaction
— 18% increase in sales
— 30% reduction in conferencing expenses

 

If you have any queries or would like more information about any of the solutions outlined, please contact us or request a call back. Alternately, you can call us on 905 695 2237 or 877 336 7710 for more immediate help and advice.

Links

2033 Features & Benefits

Technical Specifications

2033 Conference Phone