Avaya responded to our RFP, but its Unified Messenger did not meet a threshold requirement to support SIP and, therefore, was not included in the competitive review. If it were, Unified Messenger for Microsoft Exchange (5.5 or 2000) and for Lotus Notes would have been a competitive bid.
In the RFP, Unified Messenger was poised as a single-vendor VoIP solution that teamed with Avaya's S8300 Media Server, G700 Media Gateway and Model 4620 IP phones. But Avaya also offers Unified Messenger as a "best of breed" UM solution to work with all major IP PBX suppliers--including Ericsson, NEC, Nortel Networks and Siemens--supporting both AMIS (Audio Messaging Interchange Specification) and VPIM (Voice Profile for Internet Mail) for legacy voicemail.
A standard Intel processor (at least 400 MHz) and Microsoft Windows NT 4 or 2000 powers Unified Messenger and Avaya's TTS (text-to-speech) speech-access software. The TTS supports the usual array of features for users to access and manage their messages from a TUI (telephone user interface). It also enables access to personal contacts, calendars and tasks. Fax support is limited to third parties, such as Captaris RightFax, and autoattendant functions do not include ASR (automatic speech recognition). Also absent from Unified Messenger is an IVR (interactive voice response) module; however, Avaya provides call-flow applications through the Caller Applications feature.
Focusing on Unified Messenger for Exchange, any device that can access the Exchange message store can access multiple message types. Unified Messenger draws on end-user familiarity with Outlook to manage e-mail, fax and voicemail. From the Outlook interface, users can maintain greetings, establish notification rules and configure "follow me" features. Unified Messenger's client application installs to all versions of Windows, but support for handheld devices is limited to those running Microsoft Pocket PC. There's also remote access from a Web browser using Outlook Web Access, though UM options and the Outlook voice form are not available from the browser interface; you need to use Outlook or Outlook Express.
Unified Messenger directory support includes Microsoft NT 4 domains and Active Directory, and Lotus Domino, with a single point of administration for Unified Messenger within Exchange 5.5. If you're using Exchange 2000, the Archimedes point changes to Active Directory. Unified Messenger logs events to the Windows Event Log and Performance Monitor.
There is a snap-in utility for the MMC (Microsoft Management Console), and Unified Messenger can be monitored by a variety of tools that may already be in your enterprise--for example, BMC Patrol and HP OpenView. Unified Messenger also supports MOM (Microsoft Operations Manager) but not a standard SNMP-based console.
Avaya was spun out of Lucent Technologies in 2000. It sells, implements and supports Unified Messenger through resellers and systems integrators. Unified Messenger has been shipping since November of 1996.
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