AVAYA AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY ESTABLISH COOPERATIVE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM FOR CONVERGENCE TECHNOLOGY SPECIALISTS

AVAYA AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY ESTABLISH COOPERATIVE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM FOR CONVERGENCE TECHNOLOGY SPECIALISTS

Atlanta, Ga. -- The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and Avaya Inc. announced they have established a cooperative certification program for specialists in convergence technology.

Avaya will recognize the TIA Convergence Technologies Professional (CTP) certification exam as equivalent to Avayas Communications Networking exam -- the core requirement of the Avaya Certified Associate (ACA) certification -- and TIA will recognize Avayas Communications Networking exam as equivalent to its CTP exam. The cooperative program begins June 2003.

This agreement will eliminate the need for program candidates to register for two different programs and is expected to increase the number of candidates for technical certification among solution providers, distribution partners and end users. Solution providers, in particular, have noted the substantial cost of investing their time and money into the many different certifications their people are required to carry; this agreement will begin to reduce these required certifications through joint recognition.

We are pleased to be working with Avaya to help provide a pool of qualified candidates to earn their ACA credential," stated TIA President Matthew J. Flanigan. TIAs CTP credential will meet the requirement for Avayas ACA core exam but also for other manufacturer product-specific training requirements, allowing channel companies to minimize the time employees need to be out of the office for the now often redundant portions of vendor-specific training."

As a long-standing TIA member, Avaya was pleased to be asked to participate on the CTP Advisory Council and provide the industry with a means to validate vendor-neutral convergence skills," stated Mark Sinnott, program director, Avaya Professional Certification. Avaya is very focused on offering our business partners as many options as possible to meet our convergence solution competency requirements, and we are excited to be associated with TIAs CTP credentialing program. This will be a huge benefit for the thousands of Avaya Certified professionals around the world."

With Avaya as a sponsor, TIA launched its CTP certification in 2002 as the industrys first vendor-neutral, proctored exam for convergence technologies professionals. It is designed to serve as a prerequisite or introductory certification for product and application-specific certifications from various manufacturers.

The CTP exam provides a way for individuals to demonstrate that they have obtained core competencies in data networking, telephony networking and convergence technology areas including industry standards and protocols, infrastructure, IP protocols, telephony concepts and fundamentals, voice-over convergence, topology convergence and troubleshooting.

Avaya, a leader in converged communications solutions for enterprise customers, has offered the ACA credential to technical specialists since 2000. ACA is the first of a series of requirements for higher-level Avaya credentials such as the Avaya Certified Specialist (ACS) and Avaya Certified Expert (ACE). Avaya Professional Certifications are offered in IP telephony, local area networking, messaging, multimedia contact centers, interactive voice response systems and proactive contact solutions. Individuals who choose to transfer their TIA CTP credential into the Avaya Professional Certification Program will receive credit for the core exam portion of the ACA requirements.

To learn more about the CTP Exam, visit www.ctpcertified.com. Alternatively, please contact Monique Aime Milligan, TIA, at (703) 907-7472 or email gemd@tia.eia.org. To learn more about Avaya Professional Certification, visit www.avaya.com/certification, or contact Mark Sinnott at (908) 953-7453, email msinnott@avaya..com.

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About TIA
TIA is the leading trade association serving the communications and information technology industry, with proven strengths in market development, trade shows, domestic and international advocacy, standards development and enabling e-business. Through its worldwide activities, the association facilitates business development opportunities and a competitive market environment. The association provides a market-focused forum for its 1,000 member companies that manufacture or supply the products and services used in global communications. TIA represents the communications sector of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA). Visit us at http://www.tiaonline.org.

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.

P.A. Release 03-69
06.03.03