Avaya and Sabio provides premier communications to West Bromwich Albion football club

London – 8 April 2002 - Avaya Inc. (NYSE:AV), a leading global provider of voice and data networks to businesses, has had its call handling technology chosen by telecoms integrator, Sabio. As an authorised Avaya Business Partner, Sabio designed and installed a bespoke call handling and ticket purchasing system for Division One football club West Bromwich Albion.

West Bromwich Albion is one of the oldest football clubs in England, with an estimated fan base of over 100,000 globally. Recently, it has redeveloped parts of its stadium. As part of building a new stand, the Club overhauled its administrative functions and the way it communicates with its supporters and match-goers. It wanted to deliver a better quality of service to its fans, including the option to check fixtures and purchase match tickets over the phone. Sabio has installed a bespoke call handling system using Avaya’s CONVERSANT® Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system to address this need.

Bob McGing, West Bromwich Albion’s Finance Director says “West Bromwich Albion has a strong tradition with its fans at the heart of the club. By extending the capacity of the club with a new stand to accommodate our fans, we needed a communication system and ticket purchasing procedure to match, to ensure they received an enhanced service. Avaya’s call handling technology is key to our customer service strategy.”

The initial phase of Sabio’s project was to install a new telephony platform into the new East Stand. Avaya’s DEFINITY Enterprise Communications Server and a DEFINITY® AUDIX® voice messaging system were installed to provide the Club with improved telephone communication and administration in the new stand and throughout the rest of the club, including 120 telephone lines, and recorded announcements for all callers with Club news and fixtures information. The second phase of the project involves an Avaya CONVERSANT® Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system installed by Sabio to guide callers through the system and take pressure off the ticket office operators.

The final phase of the project is to be delivered by Sabio’s in-house application developers. This comprises bespoke integration between the Avaya Conversant IVR and West Bromwich Albion FC's existing PASS2 ticketing system from Tickets.com. The integration allows customers to make ticket purchases 24 hours a day, without the need for interaction with WBA staff. The integrated solution is responsible for caller verification, ticket selection, collection of payment details and payment processing.

A bespoke Ticket sale / IVR control interface provides simple administration to the solution allowing West Bromwich Albion FC's own operational staff to perform day to day administration of the solution.

Clive Sawkins, Vice President Sales, Avaya UK and Ireland comments: “More and more football clubs are being run as true businesses. West Bromwich Albion is a prime example of a Club that is committed to excellent communications with its supporters and match-goers underlining both our companies’ dedication to providing superior customer service.”