SAN FRANCISCO -- Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc., a subsidiary of Alcatel (NYSE: ALA; Paris: CGEP.PA), announced today that Genesys is extending its Internet Protocol (IP) family with the introduction of Enterprise IP Contact Center (IPCC) and Network IP Contact Center, and added support for multiple major IP PBXs. The Genesys IP Contact Center portfolio delivers all the feature-rich functionality formerly available only in traditional telephony environments, enabling a seamless migration path for companies transitioning from circuit-switched communications either to a pure IP or hybrid environment.

Genesys' complete suite of contact center applications for IP networks now provides the broadest offering to the market, each addressing a specific market segment:

Genesys also announced that it has added support for Cisco CallManager (IP PBX). Genesys T-Server 6.5 has been tested in accordance with interoperability criteria set by Cisco Systems, Inc. for compatibility with the Cisco CallManager, version 3.1.

Neil Miranda, from the New Zealand Ministry of Social Development (MSD) said, "Delivering IPCC over our converged IP infrastructure enables systems and services to be delivered predictably, at anytime, from any point on the infrastructure with full central management. We have therefore worked closely with Genesys to develop an IPCC product, which is deployable anywhere within an enterprise from a central standpoint. Trials to date have shown that deployment is rapid and simply achieved while delivering enhanced management solutions compared with traditional means.

"Our intention at MSD is to deploy this product to all work groups that require contact center functionality, irrespective of where members of these work groups are situated geographically within the country, while achieving high quality, unified managed service delivery." Currently, the MSD infrastructure provides services to 8,000 staff across 250 offices throughout New Zealand.

"Clearly IP is an emerging technology for contact center initiatives, and our customers are exploring various platforms as future investments," said Paul Segre, Genesys' chief technology officer. "Genesys will continue to offer open software solutions -- both for traditional and IP environments -- that run on our customers' infrastructure of choice. By leveraging this open platform strategy, companies can preserve existing investments while seamlessly transitioning to an IP environment. Moreover, the breadth of Genesys functionality available in an IP environment is in itself a strong justification for this transition."

Genesys' standards-based contact center solutions provide the industry's widest choice of integration -- including support for 90 switches from 21 different vendors. Continuing this open strategy, the Genesys IP product family offers wide support for major IP PBXs, including Alcatel and Cisco. By offering support for existing infrastructure, Genesys enables businesses to migrate to IP at their own pace and leverage technology advancements as they occur.

Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Inc.