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Avaya IP-Based Contact Center Express for Medium-Sized Businesses Provides Intelligent Communications to Enhance Customer Service

Avaya Inc. (NYSE: AV), a leading global provider of business communication applications,
systems and services, today announced enhancements to Avaya Contact Center
Express that will enable medium-sized businesses to use intelligent
communications to better serve their customers.

The global market for contact center technology is expected to grow to
US$5.1 billion by 2008, with the most growth over the next five years in the
mid-market in contact centers with up to 250 agents, according to
Datamonitor.*

The software enhancements to Avaya Contact Center Express, which is
tightly integrated with Microsoft(R) applications, include a new Microsoft(R)
CRM connector that identifies incoming calls received by the contact center
and provides an appropriate "pop up" with customer history on an agent's
screen. The Microsoft CRM connector also enables agents to click a button on
their Microsoft CRM screen to place outgoing calls.

Contact Center Express now also handles and routes instant messages (IMs)
from customers using Microsoft Messenger, allowing organizations to provide
more direct customer service to the growing community of IM users. Other
enhancements include simplified management tools, easier email handling and
spell-checking, greater customization capabilities and more detailed
reporting.

The latest version of Contact Center Express will be featured at the
Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (Avaya Booth 818), which takes place in
Minneapolis, Minn., July 7-10, 2005. At the booth, Avaya is featuring its
suite of IP telephony solutions for small and medium businesses, including
Avaya IP Office with Microsoft(R) CRM, a packaged solution that encompasses
all the hardware, software and support that small and medium businesses need
to transform their sales and service operations.

"We know that medium-sized contact centers want to benefit from the same
IP telephony, multi-channel and agent empowerment capabilities as larger
enterprises -- but need solutions that are much easier and more cost effective
to deploy," said Eileen Rudden, vice president and general manager, Enterprise
Communications Applications Division, Avaya. "With the features we've now
added to Contact Center Express, we are enabling these businesses to further
enhance their customer experiences and drive customer satisfaction and
loyalty, while also increasing their efficiency to lower contact center
costs."

Contact Center Express provides a complete multi-channel (inbound and
outbound voice, email, web chat and Microsoft Messenger for instant messaging)
contact center solution, with rich desktop interfaces for agents and
supervisors, fully leveraging Avaya's market-leading IP telephony and contact
center routing and reporting capabilities -- all designed for cost effective
and easy deployment by medium sized businesses. Pricing for Contact Center
Express is from $425 per concurrent agent for voice to $1000 per concurrent
agent for all channels, with packages combining further Avaya solutions also
available, and hardware servers purchased separately.

SBLI USA Mutual Life Insurance Company, Inc.
hones customer service with Avaya Contact Center Express
SBLI USA Mutual Life Insurance Company, Inc., a financial services company
with roots dating back over 65 years, originally offered life insurance
exclusively through banks and only in New York State. Today, the company is
expanding nationally through a subsidiary, S.USA Life Insurance Company, Inc.,
and has diversified its distribution channels. Because more customers do
their banking and other financial business on the Web or through call centers,
the firm enables customers to purchase insurance and manage their accounts
through the Internet or through its new state-of-the-art Customer Centers
located in Buffalo, New York; New York City; Chicago; and Bayamon, Puerto
Rico.

"We pride ourselves on customer service and we're constantly looking for
ways to help empower our agents and customer service representatives to
improve their relationships with our clients," said Heath Snow, telecom and IT
manager at SBLI USA. "We also wanted to give our team tools to help increase
their efficiency. Plus, we needed a solution that would integrate well with
our existing applications."

To help achieve those goals, the company installed Avaya Communication
Manager IP telephony and contact center software, running on an Avaya S8700
Media Server and Avaya G650 Media Gateways; as well as Avaya S8300 Media
Servers and Avaya G350 Media Gateways. SBLI USA also installed Avaya Contact
Center Express at its Buffalo Customer Center and at its Newark, N.J.
Operations Center.

SBLI USA is piloting an updated screen-pop process, leveraging Avaya
Contact Center Express. When customers call in to the company to do business,
the information they provide automatically appears on the appropriate SBLI USA
representative's screen, providing quick access to details needed to handle
the calls. "Our response time has always been good, but now we have all the
relevant details we need on screen in about six seconds, which we believe
provides our customers with even higher levels of service and satisfaction,"
Snow said.

SBLI USA is now also routing incoming calls based on area code, and
whether the customer prefers to speak to someone in English or Spanish.
"Because we now have five offices spread across the United States, we want to
make sure our customers have the opportunity to speak with customer service
representatives right in their own communities, and in the language the
customers prefer. It's a way to help keep us local and friendly, even though
we're a national company," Snow said.

Routing calls based on area code also enables SBLI USA to ensure that any
agent handling a call is licensed to serve the client in the customer's
geographic location. "It's extremely important in the insurance industry,
where agents generally are not licensed to practice in every state, to get our
callers to people who can actually help them," Snow said. With the Avaya
Contact Center Express, SBLI USA can route incoming calls to the appropriate
representative -- or even to a certain agent in a particular geographic area,
giving the company a greater level of control and accuracy.

About Avaya
Avaya Inc. designs, builds and manages communications networks for more
than 1 million businesses worldwide, including over 90 percent of the FORTUNE
500(R). 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 website:


About SBLI USA
SBLI USA Mutual Life Insurance Company, Inc. is a financial services
company that is committed to value-conscious consumers. The company is
dedicated to building lifelong relationships with customers and empowering
them with the education and tools they need to take control of their financial
destinies.

SBLI USA and its subsidiaries are licensed in 49 states, the District of
Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. With more than $17 billion
of insurance in force, $1.5 billion in assets, $120 million in surplus
capital, 250 employees and over 400,000 customers, the Company is committed to
offering affordable, flexible and easy-to-access products through a variety of
integrated channels, including direct mail, telemarketing, a bilingual Web
site, licensed agents, and new Customer Centers, as it expands nationally.

SBLI USA Mutual Life Insurance Company, Inc. is the parent company to SBLI
USA Holdings, Inc., which owns subsidiary companies S.USA Life Insurance
Company, Inc., and SBLI USA Diversified Services Company, Inc.
Additional information about SBLI USA products and services can be found
at

* Datamonitor, Contact Center Component Technology to 2008: The Global
Perspective, May 2004

/Web site:
For further information: Media Relations, Barbara Burgess - U.S.,
+1-908-953-3348, barbarab@avaya.com, or Investor Relations, Matt Booher,
+1-908-953-7500, mbooher@avaya.com, both of Avaya Inc.

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