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Avaya (News - Alert) announced today that its IP telephony system is being used by Youth Development, Inc., New Mexico’s largest social services nonprofit organization, providing educational, developmental and humanitarian assistance to children, youths and families in central and northern New Mexico.

 

The organization says it improves its client services and better controls communications costs with Avaya products.

 

Avaya resellers Abba Technologies and Global Voice, both certified members of Avaya’s BusinessPartner program, say they’ve configured and implemented YDI’s IP Office system. To update YDI’s existing data network infrastructure, the Avaya resellers partnered with Extreme Networks (News - Alert), Inc.

 

Before this, it was difficult and costly for YDI to administer, maintain and deliver software applications and services to its clients, officials said, as the organization was using a variety of disparate telephone systems at its 52 sites throughout the state.

 

The organization says it considered several options and then chose Avaya’s flagship voice and data communications system. One of the major reasons for YDI to choose Avaya products is that the organization believed Avaya products fit its tight budget. Also, YDI would get other benefits such as migrating voice systems to VoIP, managing the system from one location, and easily and quickly distributing communications applications to its employees. By doing all these, the organization could work more efficiently and better serve clients, according to the company.

 

With the help of IP Office feature called “small community networking,” 16 YDI offices with Avaya IP phones share the same features and capabilities, such as centralized voice mail, officials say. The IP Office now connects approximately 300 YDI employees. The employees can just “point and click” on their PC to make and receive calls, set up conference calls, or speed dial. The crisis intervention staff and IT teams, which must be on call 24 hours a day, send incoming office calls to their mobile phones if they’re out of the office.

 

“The ability to be mobile and productive, and collaborate more easily, are tremendous benefits,” Fortess said. “I can be on the road and still keep in touch with my staff by forwarding my calls to my mobile phone, or check email and voice mail on my laptop if I’m working remotely, as can any other employee. If I can’t reach someone at their extension, I can page them in their office -- even if they’re 10 miles away from me. We’re also using the built-in conference bridge, so instead of paying the conference service company to connect only six locations, I can talk to as many as 64 locations. When you address critical issues on a daily basis, such as counseling families and working with youth offenders, communications features such as these aren’t just ‘nice to have’ – they’re an absolute necessity.”