8 IAUG INSIGHTS | ISSUE 3, 2014

FEATURE STORY

Avaya Communication Server 1000 (CS 1000) — Utilization, Migration and EvolutionBy Richard F. English

A s enterprises continue to pursue the operational efficiency and cost advantages of unified communications and

collaboration, many organizations question the future potential of previous investments made in their Avaya Communication Server 1000 (CS 1000) infrastructure.

Every organization that is serious about leveraging communications and collaboration for improved operational efficiency and a competitive advantage should take a serious review of its existing infrastructure. This article looks at options available for enterprises with CS 1000 infrastructures.

Avaya has developed several strategies depending on a customer’s unique situation and platform:

• Upgrades: Gaining the advantages of the latest CS 1000 release (R7.6).

• Transitions: Implementing a transition to advanced collaboration, such as running Avaya Communication Manager and CS 1000 side-by-side.

• Cut-Overs: Going entirely to an Avaya Aura® infrastructure (Avaya’s core collaboration platform for the enterprise) while gaining the software/license investment credits through the Avaya Software Investment Protection Program (ASIPP). Another option, based on enterprise capacity requirements, is migrating to an Avaya IP Office mid-market infrastructure through technology refresh to Avaya IP Office, Avaya Networking and Avaya Collaboration solutions.

Several options exist to assist Avaya customers to achieve specific performance and financial objectives now and get the flexibility going forward to respond to the huge changes taking place in enterprise communications.

CS 1000 EvolutionAvaya is committed to providing its CS 1000 customers with the simplest, most cost-effective approach in migrating to unified communications and collaboration, while evolving your communications investment at your own pace. The CS 1000 remains a sound and sensible investment for enterprise customers looking to continue a robust communications solution and extend it with Avaya Aura® for advanced capabilities.

With the introduction of CS 1000 R7.5 in 2010, Avaya established a clear evolutionary path to Avaya Aura® by making Avaya Aura® System Manager and Avaya Aura® Session Manager integral parts of the CS 1000 solution.

The introduction of R7.6 in April 2013 (complementary software upgrade from 7.5) builds on this with a range of new serviceability tools, as well as shared bandwidth management for voice and video communications, another key step for supporting integration into Avaya Aura® collaboration environments.

No further major software releases are planned for CS 1000. Post R7.6, the delivery cadence changes and the focus is on service packs for quality and stability. There will also be some functionality included for concurrency purposes. For example, Service Pack 4 (December 2013) added support for new HP DL360G8 server, as well as improved browser support for system management purposes. Additionally, Service Pack 5 (June 2014) added support for new Avaya Media Server 7.6 as well as improved system security. All service packs are tested against wider Avaya Aura portfolio for interoperability purposes.

Avaya has made significant enhancements, including expanded support for SIP-based integration enabling CS 1000 customers to

start taking full advantage of Avaya Aura® collaboration capabilities.

Next-Generation CollaborationAs a global leader in enterprise communications and collaboration solutions, Avaya sees these forces impacting its customers in numerous ways:

• A global bank with offices in dozens of countries relies on its Avaya unified communications systems for “global presence”— for example, enabling team members to see who is available at any moment in the day, speeding processes and decisions across geographies.

• A major health care provider in the United States is seeking to improve care in rural communities by implementing a major video-based, telemedicine initiative through its Avaya infrastructure.

• A leading magazine subscription company has achieved increases of up to 98 percent in productivity and $200,000 per year in savings by using Avaya software that transforms agents in its contact centers into “blended agents,” able to handle voice, email, text and other communications from customers.

All of these companies are using mobility and collaboration capabilities to enhance performance, and they all have something else in common: They accomplished these enhancements by building on current Avaya investments, including existing CS 1000 infrastructures.

Predicting future technologies, form factors or channels of communications is impossible. But one overall trend seems unstoppable: the growing reliance on richer, smarter, more contextual communications capabilities delivered to

ISSUE 3, 2014 | IAUG INSIGHTS 9

any person on any device. These forces are driving changes in how we collaborate.

The ability to leverage existing CS 1000 investments to achieve the benefits of evolving channels of collaboration provides customers a unique and financially prudent approach to next-generation collaboration. As the diagram illustrates, value in the enterprise communications infrastructure is transitioning to the applications/user experience layer.

All CS 1000 enterprises can take advantage of two Avaya programs — Avaya Software Investment Protection Program (ASIPP) and Avaya Partner Assurance Support Services (PASS Plus) — that deliver significant credits for existing licenses, lowering the cost of upgrades.

ASIPP covers Unified Communications and Contact Center product licenses sold by Avaya (including those brought to Avaya from Nortel), and offers customers significant discounts on specific license upgrades as they progress along the Avaya roadmap. Enterprises can also combine ASIPP with Avaya Aura Suite Licensing, creating cost-effective upgrade/purchase paths to mobility and collaboration that meet the needs of specific users and groups of users.

Customers with PASS Plus get “complimentary” migration of software licenses from, for example, CS 1000 to Avaya Aura Foundation Suite. Customers without PASS Plus do not have to

purchase those user licenses as new; they can pay transactional upgrade pricing.

CS 1000 Migration StrategiesHere are several examples of organizations that have followed different strategies to satisfy their migration requirements, providing both financial and operational benefits:

Support and Develop Following a Support and Develop strategy, an enterprise implements R7.6 now to maintain the support, stability and user experience of its current CS 1000 TDM infrastructure (including existing TDM-based phones) while establishing the SIP-based core that allows for transition planning.

Targeted EvolutionIn Targeted Evolution, an enterprise implements R7.6 and Avaya Aura®, maintaining its current CS 1000 infrastructure while accelerating its ability to meet the needs of select group of high need /power collaborators with capabilities such as video conferencing and Avaya Communicator experience.

Controlled Enterprise-wide EvolutionAn enterprise that wants to implement collaboration on a more wide-scale basis while preserving its existing CS 1000 infrastructure can follow a path of Controlled Enterprise-wide Evolution: upgrading its CS 1000 infrastructure to R7.6 while integrating Avaya Aura® Communication Manager side-by-side via SIP. Operational expenses

can be lowered as the Avaya Aura® infrastructure is effectively a “single instance” of software.

Full Migration to Avaya Aura®

In some instances, a full transition to a SIP-based core through the Avaya Aura® solution may be the right choice. Especially in the case of an older CS 1000 infrastructure (R5 or before), this path makes it possible to get the value now from a SIP-based infrastructure: current operational savings and a platform for future growth.

SummaryMaking the move to a next generation enterprise architecture is about getting the right capabilities — scalability, resiliency, applications, virtualization — and adapting those capabilities to the specific needs of your enterprise and your market.

That’s why Avaya has created a range of options that enable CS 1000 customers to make the move on their terms, on their budget and in the way that enables them to support their overall business objectives. Through its evolutionary paths to unified communications and collaboration, Avaya provides you the capabilities to evolve.

Finally, the strategic consultants from Avaya Professional Services can provide you the consultation, guidance and cost/benefit analysis to help make the right decision for your organization based on your unique situation.

For the most up-to-date CS 1000 information, please review the Avaya Support Portal:

• Communication Server 1000 Lifecycle Management Bulletin: https://downloads.avaya.com/css/P8/documents/100151321

• Avaya Product Lifecycle Policy: https://downloads.avaya.com/css/P8/documents/100081098

For more information on Avaya Professional Services, visit www.avaya.com/professionalservices. ●

Richard F. English Director, Strategic Consulting Avaya Professional Services 248.213.3736 englishr@avaya.com