Avaya Taking Hybrid Approach with Product Road Map

AVAYA ENGAGE 2024 — With more than 80,000 customers and 100,000 unified communications seats worldwide leveraging its technology, Avaya undoubtedly is one of the largest unified communication providers on the face of the planet. And its strategy is determined by several factors, we learned at this week's Engage event in Denver, one of which includes channel members who play a pivotal role in shaping the firm's product road map.

Avaya likes giving customers a choice if they wish to remain on-premise, in a hybrid environment, or rely solely on cloud technology to power their workplace communications. 

"We can still bring 'cool' things to you via the cloud, even if you leverage classic on-prem technologies, Omar Javaid, chief product officer at Avaya, shared with a room full of reporters and analysts from around the world.

Avaya's Omar Javaid

He said that Avaya realized that it had pieces and technology in place to "go to customers with a straight face and tell them they could keep their voice on-prem investments," with the Avaya exec telling listeners that "customers who have taken the opportunity to do a rip and replace have been disappointed, having spent more money than they have saved." 

Customers, Channel Inform Avaya Road Map 

Javaid further shared that “after thinking things through and talking to our customers, we have a lot of conviction behind our approach to our road map development."

Related:Avaya AI, RingCentral Partnership Expansion Shine at Engage

Jay Patel, who heads up various product management efforts at Avaya, said the role of channel partners has changed fundamentally in recent years.

"There are no longer any more boxes to stack," he noted.

Patel accepts that partners remain pivotal to the unified communications vendor, which relies heavily on the channel to get its product into the hands of the right customers. 

He stressed the value that value-added resellers, systems integrators and other channel partners can add to an Avaya offer, telling Channel Futures that partners play a pivotal role in informing the Avaya road map. So much so that Javaid said Avaya continues to have conversations with partners and solicit their feedback, which has led to the products Avaya customers leverage today. 

'I'm a Big Fan of Alan's Leadership'

Curt Allen, founder of X4 Advisors, is an Avaya partner who remains invested in the idea of Avaya's success. He is happy with the direction of the Avaya road map, calling it "a good path" since CEO Alan Masarek assumed the reins nearly two years ago. 

X4 Advisors' Curt Allen

"I am a big believer in the direction Alan is taking the business," Allen said while sharing that he believes the "death of on-prem solutions is premature and greatly exaggerated." Regarding where Avaya finds itself today, Allen said that it sits in a unique position where it can guide legacy customers on a cloud journey at their own pace, of which its road map is indicative. 

Allen further backs up Avaya's decision to support a hybrid approach.

"The resurgence of hybrid approaches coupled with Avaya's investments in AI solutions that companies can consume in the customer's chosen environment (on-prem, private cloud or public cloud) is a brilliant strategy," said Allen.