Avaya Cloud Office: Partners, Agents Now Have Access

Avaya Cloud Office by RingCentral now is generally available to partners and agents that have signed up with a master agent.

A lot is riding on the success of the solution as Steve Forcum, Avaya technologist, told us at Avaya Engage that it is “one of the growth pillars of the company.” ScanSource will offer the solution and distributor Jenne was one of the first to be named a master agent for it.

By enabling voice calls, team messaging, meetings, video conferencing, file sharing and more, Avaya Cloud Office allows workforces to meet, share and collaborate regardless of location.

Dennis Kozak, Avaya’s senior vice president of business transformation, tells Channel Partners the feedback from customers to date has been “overwhelmingly positive, and is typified by the significant interest” shown by customers during Engage.

Avaya’s Dennis Kozak

“The move to cloud is accelerating and many of our customers wish to continue their communications journey with an Avaya-backed solution,” he said. “In addition, many customers are considering the move to cloud, but want to trial the solution at a smaller or new location first. There isn’t one particular vertical or industry that is unique; any company looking for the agility and flexibility of cloud, as well as the benefits of collaboration with a consistent application, will see value in Avaya Cloud Office.”

Partners and customers want a simplified journey to the cloud and want to leverage their existing investments throughout this journey, Kozak said. Avaya Cloud Office provides partners with access to “what is arguably the industry’s largest installed base of customers, many of whom are looking for a cloud solution today,” he said.

“Overall, it gives them a solution that can provide a highly profitable recurring revenue stream,” he said. “Partners will see financial incentives and [the] customer will benefit from various promotions and a strongly supported platform to migrate to.”

Avaya has built out a new sales and support organization specifically for this solution, Kozak said. This gives the partner the opportunity to offload any of the pre- and post-sales work as they see fit, he said.

“The tools and processes have been improved to streamline the partner experience so they can move through the selling and ordering process much quicker,” he said. “Migration tools will become available to make it easier for current customers to move to Avaya Cloud Office. Features from legacy platforms are being created in Avaya Cloud Office to make the transition a partner will take a customer less complex.”

“In the current environment where working from anywhere, including home, is not just a matter of preference but a matter of necessity and safety, the challenge is real for businesses as they work to maintain productivity through these difficult times,” said Vlad Shmunis, RingCentral’s founder, chairman and CEO. “Cloud solutions enable people to work from anywhere, and we believe that with Avaya Cloud Office by RingCentral, businesses can keep moving forward. Our goal is to make remote work feel as in-person as possible, so people can feel connected and engaged with one another during these unprecedented times and beyond.”