Avaya is preparing its Avaya Customer Engagement technology to help set a new record during the 62nd annual NORAD Tracks Santa, scheduled to start Dec. 24 and end on Christmas Day, Dec. 25. During the 23-hour period in 2016, more than 1,400 hotline volunteers answered a record 154,192 calls (1.8 calls per second) to the NORAD Tracks Santa 1-877 HI-NORAD hotline.
The mission-critical Avaya Customer Engagement technology, which supports the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Operations Center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., helps volunteers carefully monitor Santa's travels and ensure his safety using radar, satellites, planes, and Santa Cams strategically positioned worldwide. Volunteers share that information with callers as Santa soars through the night sky.
The same Avaya Government Solutions technology used by NORAD Tracks Santa is also deployed by other government agencies. As a result, it has been extensively tested by the Department of Defense Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) and is certified to be Santa-ready.
In 2016, the NORAD Tracks Santa program volunteers, including Avaya staff, answered calls from dozens of countries, led by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and Ireland. Last year, the NORAD Tracks Santa website, available in eight languages, received 10.7 million unique visitors from 233 countries and territories around the world. Page views on theNORAD Tracks Santa website exceeded 56 million.
The NORAD Tracks Santa web site features family-friendly games, videos and information about Santa. Details about Santa's travels will also be available Dec. 24 through social media, including www.youtube.com/noradtrackssanta, https://twitter.com/NoradSanta and https://www.instagram.com/noradtrackssanta_official/.
"We are hoping for another record-setting year for NORAD Tracks Santa and a delightful experience for each and every caller and volunteer. As we know, each call matters, whether it's an eager child impatiently waiting for that perfect gift from Santa; a Navy officer on an aircraft carrier sending birthday greetings to his grandfather; a weary traveler checking the web for a flight status; or a customer calling a bank's call center agent to see if a check cleared. All interactions count. We are proud to serve so many, including the NORAD Tracks Santa," said Jerry Dotson, vice president of Avaya Government Solutions, in a statement.