Avaya Rolls Out SIP Phones, More for Cloud Communications

Avaya on Friday debuted a new line of 17 different open SIP devices that work with a variety of cloud-based UC systems.

Included in the open SIP announcement are the latest multimedia Avaya Vantage third-generation UC devices, conferencing devices, entry-level J100 desktop phones, wireless handsets and headsets, and hospitality devices. Taken together, this Avaya desktop experience gives workplaces an opportunity to “use modern devices to further digital transformation initiatives, improve productivity and improve employee satisfaction,” the company said.

Avaya’s Steve Brock

Steve Brock, director of Avaya desktop experience marketing, tells Channel Partners his company’s entry into the open SIP market “opens the door for our partners to address a market that Frost and Sullivan says will be $2 billion by 2021.”

“Our devices provide a way for our partners to enter this new space with Avaya’s globally known and trusted brand, leveraging our scalability, reliability and quality,” he said. “Avaya and our partners can now deliver the Avaya desktop experience to virtually any desktop, regardless of the UC software platform. These open SIP phones have open standard compatibility with UCaaS systems frommultiple vendors, giving our partners more ways to meet the needs of their customers regardless of the underlying communications system.”

Avaya engages its customers and partners when developing all devices, Brock said.

“We listen to their needs and actively seek feedback across the international spectrum, from all sizes of customers and partners,” he said. “It is a structured process that includes holding two-day sessions with partners around the world to discuss our road map and solicit feedback.”

According to an Avaya survey of 1,200 full-time workers in the U.S., one in four (25 percent) would change their work-phone features so they function more like a personal smartphone. Also, the business desktop phone is still the primary communication tool for more than half of full-time workers in office environments, but there is demand for new capabilities that would make phones easier to use.

“There is a lot of excitement from partners around Avaya’s new open SIP devices and how we are revitalizing the desktop experience,” Brock said. “Partners like the contemporary look of our new devices with the quality and robustness they count on. This reliability is very important when it comes to critical partner business-model components such as services and support revenue and costs. We are also receiving positive feedback about the completeness of the range of devices offered. The Avaya Vantage device, for example, comes in nine form factors and provides access to millions of cloud-based applications.”