INSIDE AVAYA – a Comms Dealer special report
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EXCLUSIVE: THE INSIDE STO
Avaya’s acquisition of Nortel ranks as one of the biggest shake ups ever seen in the industry, bringing uncertainty about the integration roadmap and channel strategy, so Comms Dealer decided to set the record straight. Lee Shorten, Managing Director, UK & Ireland, Avaya, has seen the transition from close range and it has left him convinced of one thing. It is the similarities between the former rivals, rather than the differences, that have characterised and eased the path towards a new-look Avaya.
Lee Shorten
I
ndustry powerhouse Avaya is used to
navigating the complex communications
landscape. It has skillfully exploited Nortel’s woes and its own strengths in areas such as IP Telephony and Unified Communications to build a formidable lead over rivals. And in his latest move to clarify events surrounding the acquisition of Nortel Enterprise Solutions (NES), Shorten revealed that the restructuring has gone to plan with the transition being far from painful. “Much work was done up-front to assess the viability of an acquisition,” said Shorten. “The similarities between the two companies – our commitment to open standards, our investment in R&D, our global footprint – were all similar, or certainly complementary. As we’ve moved along the path to a full acquisition and to forming the new-look Avaya, it is the similarities, rather than the differences that have been the most glaringly obvious.”
The Nortel acquisition prompted closer strategic co-operation between elements of the Avaya business across the world to ensure that the integration process operated as a well
oiled machine. “There’s been a lot of hard work globally to make sure that the two companies are fully integrated,” added Shorten. “From a UK perspective, it was an opportunity to assess the market and the needs of our customers and partners and make sure I had the right team in place to serve them. I’m confident we now have some of the best, brightest and most engaged people in the industry to take the company forward.”
The focused MD of Avaya UK remains confident that any future challenges will be overcome by tapping into his team’s drive and commitment. The biggest challenge of the integration for him and his management team was time, and adhering to a policy of getting things done was paramount. “Our biggest challenge was the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day! From the word go we set ourselves aggressive deadlines and were determined that none should slip. In the
UK, the snow in January made team meetings and employee events difficult, but we made sure they happened on time and as promised.
“Looking back, a major benefit of the tight schedules was that it forced a greater degree of cooperation at all levels of the company. There was a real sense of working together towards a common goal no matter what side of the fence you had previously stood on. I was immensely impressed with what the team achieved. I see it as a good test of the team’s ability to rise to a challenge as we look forward.”
Avaya’s sharp focus on restructuring strategies enabled it to reveal details on joint product roadmaps with astonishing speed. Just 30 days after the completion of the NES acquisition, Avaya publicly detailed its combined product roadmap and technology strategy. “We wanted to move fast to reassure the market that
We set ourselves aggressive deadlines
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acquisition was a positive step,” stated Shorten. “With the roadmap, we’ve brought together the best elements of both companies into a single, compelling offer and we will continue to execute that strategy.”
Since the roadmap announcement, Avaya has launched IP Office 6.0 for the SME market and a new range of data products. “It’s no secret that our technology vision is based on open standards,” noted Shorten. “We’ll remain committed to using SIP, and Avaya Aura™ will remain the foundation for our unified communications portfolio, so that organisations of every size can make smooth transitions to new capabilities at their own pace, while protecting existing communications investments. We see this as good news for partners and customers as it offers a viable alternative to ‘rip and replace’ or proprietary software, both costly, unfeasible options in these cost conscious times.”
Shorten is keen to
emphasise a level playing field for both Avaya and Nortel partners, and he is confident of gaining more market share as
a big league vendor strengthened by elements of the Nortel portfolio. “We’ve been transparent with our partners and customers,” he said. “We’ve publicly committed to offering every customer a clear path for product migration and will provide substantial ongoing support for customers of the former NES group. Our aim is very much to take them with us on what we believe will be a very exciting, productive journey.”
According to Shorten, there is a lot more in the pipeline from Avaya. Areas of development are new updates for the Avaya Business Communications Manager platform and next generation contact centre solutions. “In the contact centre we are already taking components from the former NES portfolio to accelerate Avaya’s customers to the next generation contact centre platform,” he revealed. “But I’m giving too much away! You should speak to the rest of the UK management team. They’re as passionate about the new products we’re bringing to the market as I am.”
n
So we did just that. See pages 39, 40 & 41
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