ContinuitySA, Africa's leading provider of business continuity solutions, has implemented Avaya Communication Manager 6.3 at its disaster recovery centre in Randburg. The upgrade from an earlier version of the software aims to ensure that clients needing to recover their call centre and PBX environments will be able to take full advantage of the most modern and sophisticated telephony system.

"We have spent a considerable sum of money on the upgrade because communications lie at the heart of the modern business, and the disaster recovery solution has to be flexible and scalable enough to replace the client's lost system," says Innes le Roux, Manager: Standby Services at ContinuitySA. "The new system is fully virtualised, IP-based and SIP capable, which provides a number of benefits."

Virtualised PBX system means that ContinuitySA's telephony environment is not linked to physical server infrastructure, and can be easily migrated to any site. "A virtual system is easier to back up and it's easier for us to ensure high availability. It's thus very easy to deliver a client's entire PBX environment to them via the cloud in the event that their in-house PBX goes down, with no need of physical relocation," he explains. "All this further mitigates risk for our clients."

The new system is also standardised on Internet protocol (IP), making it fully configurable to provide a customised solution for each client. Thus, for example, the system can make use of Avaya Aura Presence Services, essentially integrating all communication channels (phone, mobile, Lync and others) to enhance productivity and ensure team members are always contactable.

le Roux says that the upgrade is an indication of Avaya's market-leading position in the PBX space, and the huge range of features and functionality it offers. He notes that the new deal with Avaya includes full support and a guaranteed upgrade path for new versions.

"Avaya is particularly in demand by clients such as emergency response companies that need a robust solution with excellent features," he says. "This is about more than just providing call centre seats."

ContinuitySA is also offering call recording and archiving through Amethyst, a Web-based call recording system developed by a South African company, Datatex. Amethyst recordings are compliant with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA), Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act (FAIS), the National Credit Act and the Consumer Protection Act, as well as Sarbanes-Oxley.