AVAYA

AVAYA 

 

Unified communications (UC) has become the buzz word of the hour and is fast becoming a crucial solution in meeting the communication challenges that arise with the need for an increasingly mobile workforce.

Unified communications is not a new technology, but a way of combining existing and new technologies into one collaborative system. From the answer phone to PDAs and teleconference technology, unified communications brings a myriad of devices together to suit the unique needs of any businesses or individual.

Avaya is a leader in providing the latest communications solutions, including UC, to businesses hunting for more efficiency and is at the forefront of shaping the market to meet new demands.

A key aspect to Avaya's success in meeting the evolving needs of the market lies in strong relationships with training and certifying resellers and users of its technology.

Partnerships between various organisations are increasingly common as UC technologies and solutions become more diverse. Avaya has a partnership with Microsoft to integrate its UC solutions with the latest desktop technologies.

Avaya invests heavily in research and development in Australia. AvayaLabs is one of the only hotbeds of innovation of its kind in this country as more and more major research centres move offshore. AvayaLabs has produced more than 22 worldwide patents in UC technologies in the last financial year alone and continues to be a key component to Avaya's global innovations.

- Carlton Taya, managing director, Avaya Australia and New Zealand

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CA

CA 

 

Innovation is driven in 3 ways at CA - visible innovation; customer outcomes; and employee engagement

Computer Associates is extremely proactive in Australia in the area of research and development, with 100 developers in Melbourne devoted to R&D. This unit's $25m investment into R&D is proportionally high for a company with a $200m turnover in Australia.

We also have 35 staff developing mainframe software for our global operations at our Frenchs Forest, Sydney, facility. This office supports our global operation. It was natural that we should have such a facility in Australia for a number of reasons:

• The high quality of output and potential staff from Australian universities like Monash and Swinburne
• Quality of output-quick delivery time-high efficiency output
• Staff collaborate better in Australia than elsewhere
• In Australia, IP protection is high.

Another of our activities to spur innovation is the Computer Associates initiative to sponsor PHD students

The second area for innovation, and one of our main areas of focus, is helping our customers to innovate. We specialise in enterprise IT management helping our customers to govern, manage and secure IT systems.

Our aim is to help free up time on IT management which companies can then devote to innovate and manage the business better and improve customer service.

One of our big success stories is Qantas.com, where we manage the online customer experience.

Thirdly, I believe that if your employees are engaged, your customers will be happy. We proactively support our staff in a number of ways to drive this engagement.

In our new facility in North Ryde we will be expanding our Montessori school. Supporting a diverse spectrum of employees helps foster creativity and innovation. We have also designed the building to encourage interaction and collaboration with open stairwells and workspaces and numerous breakout spaces

We also run several initiatives to support high achievers - 'Hypo' for high achievers and the Talent Review Board aid this process.

We regularly involve high achievers to be involved in projects in areas that they are not usually involved in to increase collaboration and innovation. Hypo seems to be working with 50 per cent of the staff on the first course already receiving promotions and 30 per cent becoming company mentors. The mentor program is especially useful in enabling key staff to share and pass on their wealth of experience and knowledge with others in the company.

I also regularly hold 'skip meetings' which involve me skipping over mid management to speak to staff at the coalface. This gives me a thorough understanding of what's happening at the frontline of the business.

- Tony Armfield, Pacific area manager & managing director, Computer Associates

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CSC AUSTRALIA

CSC AUSTRALIA 

 

Innovation has become a key part of our business strategy, and it the most important topic in any discussion.

We don't make hardware or packaged software; rather we provide innovative solutions that deliver business results. Outsourcing used to be about cost saving. Now it's about delivering enhanced business benefits for our clients, whose attitude is "What have you done for me lately?"

Innovation at CSC is driven by those client expectations. Our clients expect us to be alchemists, bringing hardware software and global communications together and blending them into a successful formula.

CSC has an office of innovation whose president reports directly to the CEO. Their innovation agenda is driven through research, the office harvesting the global learning within the company and synthesising it into new service offerings.

Across the company, we have collaborative tools like RSS and blogs to foster a spirit and share information concerning innovation in the company. Through dynamic work products like work groups, communities and portals we encourage everyone to submit their innovative ideas. Because you are identified by log-in, there is no hierarchy in this system, and nor is it elitist or ageist - the most junior or senior person can submit a worthwhile idea.

Rewards and recognition programs naturally drive this process. We have a papers competition which is assessed individually or via a group effort.

We also have a technical excellence award across six categories where the winners receive stock options and are invited to attend a senior leaders' conference. At the annual business and technical conference, these winners are recognised a second time.

These initiatives give a real priority to innovation. Innovation is certainly at the front and centre stage with our clients, who expect us to deliver innovative solutions, so must it be front and centre within our organisation.

- Nick Wilkinson CEO, CSC Australia

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DELL AUSTRALIA

DELL AUSTRALIA 

 

Already this year more and more small and medium-sized businesses want the same technological capabilities as large enterprises. They are the cornerstone of the Australian economy and they say they need tailored services, a simple infrastructure and reliable support mechanisms.

Dell is helping SMBs make the most of their resources by helping them simplify their IT and remove complexity from their infrastructure. Dell's aim is to help companies point more of their resources toward innovation and gaining an edge in the marketplace toward their competitors. Most companies spend 70 per cent of their time and resources on maintaining their current environment and only 30 per cent on innovation. Dell believes these figures should be reversed.

IP-based storage solutions, for instance, are very straightforward, and we are seeing huge growth in this area. We have also revamped our services offering, acting more as a partner to our customers in order to help them make the most of their IT infrastructure.

Green IT is also a priority for an ever-increasing number of business owners. Whether they are motivated by cost, environmental concerns or both, our customers are keen to reduce power consumption, reduce cost and reduce cooling requirements. It makes sense for businesses, and we are constantly working to provide our customers with more efficient products.

- Joe Kremer ,managing director, Dell Australia

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EARTHWAVE

EARTHWAVE 

 

In February 08, earthwave launched ISONet, a secure carrier-neutral network, Internet gateway and portal for schools. This was in response to the sharp increase in school IT security issues as the Rudd Labor governments 'digital education revolution' kicks off.

ISONet is the Independent Schools Online Network, a secure wide area network initiative developed by earthwave in conjunction with the Association of Independent Schools of NSW (AIS). The project has been designed to provide independent schools with access to secure high quality broadband data services, essential internet resources and managed security at sustainable rates.

The project, which has been deployed to more than 50 schools since its inception, has witnessed the average student usage rise from 15Mb per month to over 200Mb and with the promised $1 billion in extra funding and 'one computer per child' that rate is set to sky rocket over the next four years.

The rise in computer usage and increase in classroom activity performed on the web can be directly correlated with the increase in risk of exposure to malware and other harmful material. At the moment, ISONet blocks up to 60 per cent of traffic bound for schools as it is unsolicited and about 85 per cent of email traffic is blocked at ISONet because it is spam.

But it is not all doom and gloom. ISONet also provides access for secure sharing of education resources within the network. This also allows for video conferencing, which in the last 12 months has experienced exponential growth as teachers and school administrators take advantage of its full potential. For example, using the technologies' ability makes light work of distance education, teaching subjects remotely or easily accessing teachers with specialty skills and training as well as providing excellent means for collaboration.

ISONet gives students fast access to quality online content such as virtual tours of museums for art and science classes, e-books for those not available at the school or local library, and access to the latest news and current affairs.

Online communication across great distances, such as interaction with overseas students for foreign language classes and webchats with subject experts, is another major drawcard of the service.

- Carlo Minassian, CEO, earthwave