For Immediate Release: 21-Oct-2003
BARCELONA, SPAINAvaya Inc. (NYSE:AV), a leading global provider of
communications networks and services for businesses, today
announced an agreement to provide Grupo Santander, Spain's largest
financial service group, with a converged communications network to
support Santander's new financial campus, being described as one of
the biggest in the world. The contract will be managed by
AUNA, the global systems integrator. The new Grupo Santander campus, located in Madrid, is designed
to accommodate up to 5,000 people in 12 new buildings and covers
160 hectares. The new Avaya network will centralise virtually all
of Santander's IP telephony services as well as provide internal
telephony, new services for employees and the possibility to
network with other vendor PBXs within the bank. The Grupo Santander
campus will also offer some employee benefits and added services
such as a golf course, employee training centre, a hotel, sports
facilities and a nursery. This project, due for completion during the first half of 2004,
will become the largest green field Internet Protocol (IP)
Telephony implementation in Spain based on Avaya technology, and as
a result, is being closely watched by the Spanish business
community. Santander expects to reduce costs as well as increase employee
productivity as a result of the new single converged system as it
will eliminate the need for two separate networks for voice and
data, and so reduce related maintenance and services. Employee
productivity and flexibility will increase due to mobility and new
features available. As a new green field location, Santander was looking for a
state-of-the-art solution able to support both IP and TDM
technology while maintaining high standards of security and
reliability. The bank selected Avaya's converged solutions as it
believed Avaya's products fully met these criteria and are easy to
manage. Santander will have the opportunity to enhance the network
in the future by adding more applications based on the new IP
architecture. The new network centres around Avaya's Media Servers powered by
its flagship IP Telephony software Communication Manager. It is
based on an IP multi-connect configuration. Each building in the
campus will be equipped with an Avaya S8700 Media Server or
G700-S8300, and an MCC or SCC cabinet that will have a double
connection to the IP control networks. Eduardo García Arroyo, CIO at Santander in Spain said, "For a
project of this size and importance it was key for us to identify
the best technical solution in IP Telephony that met our criteria
in terms of scalability, reliability, security in the voice traffic
and ease of implementation. After careful consideration and
consultation, Avaya solutions were the preferred choice." Lars-Ole Hansen, Avaya's regional president, Europe, Middle East
and Africa said, "We are proud to be part of one of the biggest IP
telephony implementations in Spain. This represents a key milestone
for Avaya in Europe. When a group on the sheer scale of Santander
takes the decision to transition to the new world of converged
communications, other organisations will be inspired to look up and
examine the tangible benefits this technology can bring to their
business operations and ultimately bottom line." About Avaya
Avaya Inc. designs, builds and manages communications networks for
more than 1 million businesses worldwide, including 90 percent of
the FORTUNE 500®. Focused on businesses large to small, Avaya is a
world leader in secure and reliable Internet Protocol (IP)
telephony systems and communications software applications and
services. Driving the convergence of voice and data communications with
business applications and distinguished by comprehensive
worldwide services Avaya helps customers leverage existing and
new networks to achieve superior business results. For more
information visit the Avaya Web site: http://www.avaya.com About Santander Group
Headquartered in Madrid, Grupo Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N) is the
largest financial group in Spain and Latin America, and the second
largest in the Euro zone by market capitalization. Founded in 1857,
it has a presence in 40 countries with more than 9,000 offices and
US$450 billion in managed funds. | 
