Avaya Upgrades IP Office to Support SMEs' BYOD Environments

Avaya on Tuesday launched the latest version of IP Office; it’s sold exclusively through channel partners.

The upgraded edition, 8.1, now includes mobility, management and security features so SMEs can control BYOD environments. That’s a significant push as more employees bring their own Android and iPhone devices to the corporate network. Now, partners can help their customers oversee the complexities with the help of some new functionality.

For example, the Avaya Flare Communicator app now is available to Avaya IP Office SME users on the iPad or Windows laptops. Previously, it was only available to large enterprises. That means there’s mobile access to collaboration including calling, presence and company directory search. Users also can drag and drop available contacts into a spotlight, and launch instant messages, voice calls or emails.

Next, new security options protect against toll fraud, denial-of-service attacks and other threats. Avaya developed a SME version of its session border controller to make this happen. Plus, there’s IP Office Support Service, which offers tech support and delivers upgrades, patches and web-based services through new SSL-VPN capabilities. Avaya partners may offer this option through a wholesale or co-delivery model.

Additional IP Office 8.1 information includes:

Avaya IP Office 8.1 works for organizations with as few as five users and as many as 1,000 up from 384 in one location.