Avaya opens IP Office in Malaysia

• With launch of Avaya IP Office in Malaysia, Avaya now offers end-to-end solutions which support its growing customer base, including SMEs
• Grew partner and reseller network to 50, with another 125 for IP Office

AVAYA has launched IP Office, its unified communications (UC) solution for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in Malaysia -- a decade after the solution rolled out globally.

“With Avaya’s end-to-end SME business collaboration solutions, we are poised to assist SMEs become more globally competitive and ultimately increase the value these firms are already contributing to the nation,” said Mohd Rasidan Mohd Taher (pic), country director, Malaysia, Avaya.

IP Office is an advanced IP-enabled voice communications and data solution offering which the company says brings UC features typically reserved for large enterprises to smaller ones.

The latest version of the software, 8.1, includes features such as the capability to scale up the platform to handle as many as 1,000 users per site (the previous limit was 384); management tools that allow UC platforms at multiple sites to be managed from a single console; and support for the company's Flare Communication tool, which allows IP Office 8.1 to be accessed via smartphones and tablets.

Asked why the solution which initially launched in 2002 is only experiencing its Malaysian debut now, Avaya Asean managing director Ray Teske said that it was due to the challenges faced in acquiring certification for import from the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM).

“Malaysia has a very stringent approval process. However, the evolution of our technology, especially with the latest version of IP Office, has made these obstacles easier to overcome,” he said.

Teske said that the key selling points for Avaya’s solutions was its interoperability with legacy infrastructure, and ease of use.

“The other thing is that we do not force our customers to buy everything or nothing, by choosing our solutions you are not agreeing to a vendor lockdown,” he claimed.

He said that even before the official launch of IP Office, the company already has five confirmed clients.

“I believe especially in Malaysia, there is pent-up demand for a simplified and unified communications solution. Part of the reason we continuously pursued IP Office’s entry into the market was because we kept encountering cases of people buying our products overseas and bringing it into the country,” he said.

“The demand has certainly reached an inflection point and we are expecting heavy growth from this market in the months to come,” he said, adding that a road show with concrete offers is slated to kick off next month to further introduce the local market to Avaya’s solutions.

Strong local growth

The company’s SME solutions announcement follows the company’s recent move to a new, larger head office in Kuala Lumpur, reaffirming its commitment to the market.

The Malaysian SME market, with its focus on Government-Linked Companies (GLCs), government and financial services sectors, represents a significant growth opportunity for the company.

Since opening its doors in Malaysia in January 2011, Avaya has enjoyed significant milestones, said Rasidan, adding that its workforce has grown to 32 and the company has acquired seven new large Data Networking Customers, including two Wireless sites.

While declining to share specific names, he claimed that among the company’s new clients were five GLCs, three service providers, six government agencies and four from the education sector.

Avaya has also beefed up its network of registered partners and resellers to 50, with another 125 more already lined up for its IP Office solution.

With the availability of Avaya IP Office and Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch (ERS) 3500 for SMEs; and Scopia, its interoperable and affordable video application for desktop and mobile; Avaya can now offer its Malaysian clients access to its portfolio of end-to-end solutions.

“We used to only be able to talk to 4% of the market, now we can go to the other 94% with our solutions,” said Rasidan.

Teske (pic) also said that pending the official report from research firm IDC, the company’s rank in the market has certainly climbed up significantly from its current rank of 12th.

“In terms of UC’s market growth, the Asean average is 9.4% while Malaysia is ranked second behind Indonesia, both with a growth rate of above 10%,” he said.

According to analyst firm Frost & Sullivan, Avaya is the clear leader in the contact center application market in Malaysia with a 34.7% share, and dominates the Automated Call Distribution (ACD) market with a 68.7% market share.

Frost & Sullivan also ranks Avaya as the second largest provider of IP PBXs holding 16.3% of the market, and an overall 10.4% share of the Enterprise Telephony market in Malaysia.