Communications systems vendor, Avaya, has announced the Australian launch of the first phase of its enterprise fixed mobile convergence (FMC) applications, jointly developed with Nokia.

 The downloadable applications transform Series 60 platform mobile devices into virtual desktop phones by enabling mobile workers to access the features and functions of their Avaya office desk phone through an onscreen interface.  A strategic collaboration between Avaya and Nokia to deliver enterprise FMC solutions was announced earlier this year, with the aim of enabling mobile workers to manage their voice communications with clients and colleagues while reducing enterprise telephony costs.

In Australia, St. George Bank is trialing the technology to enable its mobile workers to transform their mobile phones into fully featured virtual office phones.

"St. George is excited to be one of the first in Australia to trial the converged Avaya and Nokia solution," said Paul Bristow, executive manager, IT Network Services, St. George Bank. "We see great potential for this product in terms of its functionality, usability and potential to increase the productivity and efficiency of our workforce."

Avaya Mobile for Series 60 platform devices extends the reach of enterprise IP telephony by integrating the ubiquity of mobile communications with the reliability and features of enterprise telephony services. The application enables workers to be reached at a single business phone number that rings the desk phone and mobile phone simultaneously.

The applications integrate mobile phones into an enterprise’s business operations, providing centralised intelligence and control of policies between enterprise fixed and mobile voice communications.  Calls made or received on both the desktop phone and the mobile phone can be recorded or accounted for.

With the application, workers can receive calls either on their desktop or on their mobile phone, switching between them transparently as needed.  Calls made from a mobile phone appear as if they came from the desktop phone.  The mobile phonmes also feature an intuitive user interface for business telephony features such as abbreviated extension dialing, multi-party conferencing, call transfer, voicemail forwarding, group call features, and call forward. Mobile workers also have the flexibility to turn off the business profile as needed while remaining accessible for personal calls, enabling them to separate their business and personal communications on their mobile phones.

 “In cooperation with Nokia, we are bringing this solution to market within six months of commencing the joint project, and after conducting extensive testing with customers across the globe,” said Geoffrey Baird, Avaya vice president and general manager, Communications Appliance Division.  “By bringing together enterprise and mobile networks, Avaya and Nokia are helping companies see the tangible benefits of fixed to mobile convergence.”