Avaya Releases Aura Conferencing 7.0

Avaya has announced the release Avaya Aura Conferencing 7.0, a premise-based solution designed to bring the UC architecture of Avaya Aura to audio and web conferencing. Along with that, the Avaya Flare Experience has been released for iPad and Windows computers, as well as a new version of the Avaya Aura UC platform.

With the new Avaya Aura Conferencing 7.0 solution, users gain access to session-based unified voice and web collaboration from their computers, tablets, and smartphones. It's supported by Avaya Aura 6.2 in order to provide scalability and security, while still working for a variety of devices for a BYOD environment.

Included in the solution are: a Collaboration Agent client to help users participate in conferences from any web browser or iPhone, the Avaya Flare Experience client for iPad tablets and Windows computers, visual and contextual controls, scalability for up to 75,000 conferencing sessions, and an open architecture and built-in intelligence to manage bandwidth.

According to Blair Pleasant of UCStrategies, “What’s especially nice and different in Aura Conferencing 7 is the Minutes tab in the client interface, which lets the moderator and participants take notes, ask questions, and save these for later use. The moderator can take minutes while the conference is going on and publish them to participants to access and review at a later date. Unfortunately, since the moderator has control and owns the content of the meeting, he/she is the only one who can send out the minutes to participants. But it’s a nice feature that most competing solutions don’t offer, and adds some differentiation for Avaya.”

Adds Marty Parker of UCStrategies, “Avaya Aura Conferencing 7.0 has some innovative features for taking minutes and notes in a meeting, but there are some serious gaps in the offering at this time, especially compared to what other vendors (premise and cloud) offer today. Most notable is the absence of video conferencing (sources say that’s due later this year, but it’s not in the announced version). Also, device coverage is pretty limited (only Apple and Avaya mobile devices – not RIM, Android, Nokia or Microsoft) and the enterprise must be on the latest release of Avaya Aura (6.2) to use the new conferencing system, according to the press release. Broader market coverage seems key to adoption for this new conferencing product.”

Avaya Aura Conferencing 7.0 is available at the cost of $140 per user, for those with the Collaboration Agent browsing interface, or with the Avaya Flare Experience at $190 per user.

For more information, visit www.avaya.com.

Also on UCStrategies.com on this topic:

• Avaya Announces the Next Leap Forward in Business Collaboration with Avaya Aura Conferencing, by Paul Robinson