Avaya's Middle East and North Africa Master Distributor Increases Team

9th JUNE, 2003

DUBAI - Avaya Inc. (NYSE:AV), a leading global provider of communications networks and services for businesses, today announced that Universal Solutions, its master distributor for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has increased its regional team to meet demand for Avaya's voice and data portfolios. Universal Solutions' team, originally slated at 14, has been increased to over 20, with a greater range of skill sets and experience than previously planned. The increase was due to heightened interest in Avaya's data switching range.

"Since introducing the master distributor business model to the Middle East at Gitex 2002, we have attracted some notable BusinessPartners to Avaya, including some of the largest information and communication technology players in the region," said Jerry Mayo, Universal Solutions president for Middle East and Africa. "Avaya data switches represent roughly half of Avaya's voice and data business in the region and we are working very closely with Avaya Tier 3 engineers at the Regional Centre of Excellence in Bahrain to make sure all requirements are promptly met." Mayo said the biggest swings towards Avaya have been experienced in Egypt and the UAE, with Saudi Arabia and the northern Gulf markets gradually increasing in interest.

"Originally our commitment was to build a regional team of 14. That was very quickly surpassed and we now have 21 consultants responsible across 22 countries in the Middle East and Africa. The team is in place to service and manage a business partner network through the region that is increasingly submitting tender documents specifying Avaya," said Mayo. In addition to several new senior technical positions, Universal Solutions has appointed a Marketing Director, Ms. Nora Molnar, responsible for ensuring successful planning, implementation and measurement of all marketing activities designed to help meet its BusinessPartner's objectives.

The expanded Universal Solutions team includes expertise in a number of technical and support fields to assist Avaya's MENA BusinessPartner network meet business objectives as well as improve efficiencies and profitability. Louay Osman has been appointed as Chief Technical Officer, focusing on channel development for converged telephony and data switching solutions. Hany A. Ross will look after planning, direction and support, to ensure the Middle East and Africa technical support services team successfully delivers the Universal Solutions customer vision with commitment, proficiency and quality.

Adrian Gjytetza will act as UAE liaison between technical support and customer service issues, while Jeffrey L. Mayo joins Universal Solutions as UAE software specialist, focussing on implementation, database control, scheduling and project management.
"We've experienced massive gains in North Africa and India for call-centre technology to service outsourcing for the European markets," added Jerry Mayo. "We are on the edge of seeing entrepreneurs in Egypt and the UAE start to address call-centre outsourcing as a viable business opportunity. In fact, there are already a number of companies in the Emirates beginning to see the benefit of outsourcing customer relationship management and we expect to see this trend experience a marked increase soon.

Two additional people will also soon be added to the team to provide Tier III support on data and voice solutions in the UAE and Egypt. Universal is predicting a spike in interest in these two countries for call-centre solutions, as outsourcing becomes a viable option.-keralamonitor.com