Thursday, May 13, 2010

RSI Offers Upgrade Assurance to Avaya / Nortel Norstar customers

The recent announcement by Avaya to eliminate the sale of Norstar gives customers the option of upgrading to Avaya BCM, IP Office or enterprise grade platforms. The option to upgrade generally carries a price tag.

RSI is making this transition easier. All Norstar customers of RSI Call Accounting are assured that it will perform for all Avaya telephony platforms. Customers subscribing to the RSI Extended Annual Maintenance plan will receive new drivers that function with their existing investment. Non-maintenance customers can upgrade to BCM, IP Office or other Avaya gear for a minimal re-configuration fee.

Customers moving to other vendor platforms will most likely not need to upgrade RSI Call Accounting either. The software is multi-platform and multi-vendor compliant.

Contact us for details.

AVAYA's RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Due to higher than expected demand and earlier than anticipated component obsolescence, Avaya must announce the End-of-Sale (EoS) for NEW systems of Norstar 3x8, CICS, MICS, and Call Pilot 100/150 products, effective October 4, 2010. Please keep in mind that there is no impact to Avaya Business Communications Manager (BCM) or any other heritage Nortel products!

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU? A FEW THINGS:
Learn more about Avaya BCM and Avaya IP Office to determine best solution for new opportunities:
1. Avaya IP Office: IP Office Release 6.0 introduces new hardware and features to simplify the ordering, deployment and use of IP Office in small offices below 20 users - including key system functionality with Essential Edition - PARTNER® Version (North America and Americas International only). It also supports enhanced capacity and resilience for multi-site installations as well as several new ranges of telephones, enhancements in applications, and much more.
2. Avaya BCM: Both the BCM50 and BCM450 provide scalable migration paths and open up incremental business growth opportunities. Customers can keep their phones and in many cases they can also retain their fiber trunk and station modules, which can account for up to 70% of the total cost of a new telephony system. The need to re-train end users is also minimized when migrating to BCM as feature, functionality, and use are similar to the Norstar system.
3. We are offering a Migration Toolkit which provides all the information you need to assist you in transitioning from selling Norstar to selling Avaya BCM or Avaya IP Office. The migration collateral and sales enablement tools below will assist you in understanding and positioning the best solution for the customer with confidence.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO AVAYA NORSTAR CUSTOMERS?
• Avaya will support the Norstar products for a total of six (6) years after the effective EoS date of October 4, 2010
• The Avaya support policy of three (3) years of Manufacturer Support beyond the effective End of Sale date applies to all Norstar products for both hardware and software (after the October 4, 2010 End of Sale date). Avaya is providing two (2) additional years of Manufacturer's Support on Norstar software compared to the one (1) year of Manufacturer Support on software that is normally provided by Avaya's standard support policy.
• Avaya will also provide and an additional three (3) years of Extended Services Support after the Manufacturer's Support period for both hardware and software, bringing the total length of support to six (6) years after the effective EoS date.