Avaya Strengthens BusinessPartner Programme in the Middle East and North Africa




Company announces points-based certification system to develop skills of indirect channel and grow customer base


DUBAI , UAE -/August 12, 2004 - Wi-Fi Technology News/- Avaya Inc. (NYSE:AV), a leading global provider of business communications software, systems and services, unveiled its new 'Business Partner' programme designed to accelerate the growth of its indirect channel in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The BusinessPartner programme will further strengthen Avaya's network of channel partners, and assist them in providing and supporting customers' converged voice and data solutions, networking infrastructure and applications, to customers across the region. The programme was presented at the recent Avaya Partner Summit, held in Dubai.

"Our BusinessPartners are essential to the success of Avaya in the Middle East and North Africa. The programme launched today empowers these partners to maximize the business opportunities that our solutions offer to the Middle East market while maintaining high technical skill and customer satisfaction," said Roger El-Tawil, Channel and Marketing Manager, Avaya MENA.

Avaya's new BusinessPartner programme consists of a multi-tier certification model that gives channel partners access to training and marketing support depending on their certification level. To certify for the different levels in the programme, BusinessPartners have to qualify on five components, namely product authorisation, professional certification, customer service, business engagement and marketing support. A core requirement is that Avaya's BusinessPartners train staff to a certified level of competency, to properly configure, design, implement and support Avaya solutions for customers.

"As we strive to maximise the business performance of our customers, we are committed to aggressively growing our BusinessPartner community in the MENA region. The partner summit provided us with a great opportunity to share our plans and technology with our partners, and to strengthen our working relationships with these organisations. We will continue to serve a significant number of customers through our BusinessPartners across 15 markets in MENA. This programme is a demonstration of our strategy to build our indirect channel business to reach even more customers in the region," concluded El-Tawil.

About Avaya
Avaya Inc. designs, builds and manages communications networks for more than one million businesses worldwide, including over 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500?. Focused on businesses large to small, Avaya is a world leader in secure and reliable Internet Protocol (IP) telephony systems and communications software applications and services.

Driving the convergence of voice and data communications with business applications ? and distinguished by comprehensive worldwide services ? Avaya helps customers leverage existing and new networks to achieve superior business results. For more information visit the Avaya Web site: http://www.avaya.com