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Avaya Technology Powers NORAD Santa Tracker Hotline
[December 17, 2012]

Avaya Technology Powers NORAD Santa Tracker Hotline


BASKING RIDGE, NJ, Dec 17, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- -- A solution certified by the Department of Defense will be used to route thousands of important calls.

Children wondering when Santa and his sleigh will arrive can get a ready answer this Christmas Eve thanks to a toll-free North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) hotline powered by Avaya, a global provider of business communications and collaboration solutions and services.



Last year 1-877-HI-NORAD received more than 100,000 calls from children around the world who were following Santa's every move (P: 719-556-5211 for callers outside the U.S.). This year, an army of 1,200 volunteer trackers will be on-hand to monitor Santa's progress across the night sky again and share what they see with callers. They will be at their posts from 4 a.m. MST on December 24th through the early morning hours of December 25th.

The NORAD operations center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., uses Avaya Aura(R) unified communications and contact center solutions to connect each caller with a member of the skilled team tracking Santa. To ensure Avaya's real-time collaboration solutions are up to this important task, they have undergone extensive testing and certification by the Department of Defense Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC).


The NORAD Tracks Santa program began in 1955 after a youngster dialed a misprinted Santa hotline number and reached a commander at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The commander didn't want to spoil the holiday for callers expecting to reach Santa, so he had his staff provide updates on Santa's travels.

Quote "We know Santa travels quickly, but we're certain NORAD is up to the challenge. We're proud to provide the same mission-critical Avaya systems for NORAD's Track Santa hotline that the organization uses year-round for the important work it does in the defense of our nation. Children around the world can rest assured that the best people and the best technology are being used for this important task." -- Steve Derr, Chief Technology Officer, Avaya Government Solutions Additional Resources -- NORAD Tracks Santa Website -- Phone Information: Call 1-877-HI-NORAD to track Santa (719-556-5211 for callers outside the U.S.) -- Avaya Aura(R) Website Tags avaya, avaya aura, avaya government solutions, norad, santa, Christmas, unified communications, contact center About Avaya Government Solutions Avaya Government Solutions offers collaboration, communication and professional services solutions that support citizens, government employees and warfighters. Our portfolio includes secure, certified hardware and software solutions for unified communications, contact centers, data networking, video and mobility. Each is available as an on-site, managed or cloud-hosted solution. With our technology platforms and professional services support team, agencies can streamline communications, deliver mission success and bring the right people together with the right information at the right time.

For more information, please visit www.avayagov.com.

About Avaya Avaya is a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, providing unified communications, contact centers, data solutions and related services to companies of all sizes around the world. For more information please visit www.avaya.com.

Certain statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "should" or "will" or other similar terminology. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While we believe these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. These and other important factors may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. For a list and description of such risks and uncertainties, please refer to Avaya's filings with the SEC that are available at www.sec.gov/. Avaya disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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Media Inquiries: Jonathan Varman 908-953-6432 [email protected] SOURCE: Avaya Inc.

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