Black & Decker to Power Worldwide Locations with Avaya Intelligent Communications

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Aug. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avaya Inc. , a leading global provider of business communications applications, software and systems, today announced that Black & Decker has selected Avaya Intelligent Communications to power the company's communications. Avaya will help Black and Decker build an IP Telephony-based network with the sophisticated communications for nearly 200 locations with highly diverse needs around the globe. The implementation will help the company improve productivity and customer service, control costs, and support new ways of doing business.

A global manufacturer with several leading brands, Black & Decker is known for quality power tools and accessories, hardware and home improvement products, and technology-based fastening systems. The company's facilities include large commercial offices, 11 call centers, manufacturing operations in 10 countries and more than 100 smaller retail or repair locations.

"We needed a vendor who could support a staged migration to IP telephony in a global business with very basic to highly advanced telecom and telephony needs," said Karen Dean, Director, Global Telecommunications, Black & Decker. "Avaya meets those needs and does so securely, reliably and cost-effectively."

Migrating and unifying for productivity and cost-effectiveness

Black & Decker's network architecture will extend Avaya Communication Manager IP telephony and Modular Messaging features and applications using a combination of servers and survivable gateways. To help maximize cost- effectiveness, the IP Telephony migration will incorporate existing digital phones and add Avaya IP desktop telephones and IP softphones for new locations and end-users.

Avaya Unified Communications can support mobile employees, allowing them to use any approved device to access, activate and manage Avaya telephony, messaging and conferencing, Microsoft Outlook messaging, calendaring and tasks when in the office and on the road. The goal is for employees to have more consistent, easier access to colleagues, resources and communications tools, to enable greater productivity whether they are in the office or on the road.

Intelligent Communications power customer service with speed, accuracy and security

Black & Decker already started honing its customer service edge with Avaya Customer Contact applications to support the company's Worldwide Power Tools and Accessories business. All customer calls in North America -- whether from a large retailer or individual user -- come into the main call center number and are routed over Black and Decker's IP network to agents in Maryland, Tennessee or Toronto. Avaya Intelligent Communications intuitively defines the call path and information required to make sure the customer and agent are quickly matched in the most appropriate manner to produce an effective outcome.

The company is also a "power user" of Avaya Interactive Response (IR) for a variety of both 'classic' self service and highly innovative applications. For example, Black & Decker pairs the Avaya IR and a proactive contact solution to notify retail repair customers of estimated costs for a repair and the opportunity to accept or decline, and subsequently notifies customers when the repairs are complete.

More recently, Black & Decker recognized a need to help construction companies improve security for expensive tools and appliances on job sites. To help solve this challenge, the company's DeWALT business introduced a new product called MobileLock(TM). The product uses Avaya Interactive Response to dial a customer when a tool or appliance is "on the move" via unauthorized activity. The customer can quickly take action, such as calling authorities, and the GPS monitoring system can be used to pinpoint the location of the activity.

"The Avaya Interactive Response lets our company deliver a new product to the market in a much more cost effective way," said Dean. "Through convergence, we simply couple communications capabilities with a business application and leverage the intelligence in our existing infrastructure to provide new value to our customers."

Avaya Global Services key to successful integration

The Avaya Global Services (AGS) organization provides a wide range of maintenance, consultative, and project management services to Black & Decker. AGS Consulting and Systems Integration group is helping the tool maker to develop and execute a long-term strategy for migrating and converging its communications platforms. AGS will help design business unit and geographically-based technology architectures, create a 'Black & Decker Playbook' to ensure global consistency; and develop a roadmap for ongoing management of the converged infrastructure, such as monitoring, issue management, firmware and operating system upgrades. Avaya Program Management services ensure that each implementation adheres to 'The Playbook,' thereby leading to predictable, repeatable, and successful migration to the IP-based telephony environment. Avaya Global Services also provides essential maintenance and monitoring for all of Black & Decker's North American locations.

Said Dean, "Avaya Global Services is a key ingredient in developing our strategic direction in convergence, helping ensure we achieve a high degree of consistency and reliability in our implementations and maximizing the return on each investment we make. This is what Black & Decker requires from a strategic technology partner."

About Avaya

Avaya delivers Intelligent Communications solutions that help companies transform their businesses to achieve marketplace advantage. More than 1 million businesses worldwide, including more than 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500 (R), use Avaya solutions for IP Telephony, Unified Communications, Contact Centers and Communications-Enabled Business Processes. Avaya Global Services provides comprehensive service and support for companies, small to large. For more information visit the Avaya Web site, http://www.avaya.com/.