Avaya
Careers at Avaya
Mission
Avaya’s mission is to provide the world's best communications solutions that enable businesses to excel.
Business segments
Avaya is a technology company that provides business communication and networking products and services to enterprises. The company operates three reportable business segments:
- Global Communications Solutions (GCS) – Includes unified communications, contact center, and real-time collaboration hardware and software. Specific examples include mobile video software, audio conferencing systems, and software that runs contact center features such as multimedia.
- Avaya Networking – Includes Avaya’s advanced fabric networking technology, which features a virtualized network; other offerings include wireless networking, Ethernet routers and switches, and access control products that dictate policy- and role-based access to the network.
- Avaya Global Services (AGS) – Includes support and professional services aimed at helping clients maximize their usage of Avaya’s products. Specific services include support for implementation, deployment, monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimization, as well as Cloud and managed services.
History
In 2000, Lucent Technologies spun off its Enterprise Communications group with the goal of giving the unit’s employees the flexibility they needed to improve operations and develop innovations. The new entity was given the name “Avaya” because management felt the word sounded “open and fluid” – symbolic of a firm it hoped would be open-minded and provides seamless connections between people and business. Avaya began trading on the New York Stock Exchange later that year.
The next few years witnessed a number of major product launches. 2001 saw the launch of Avaya Interaction Center, a CRM software solution that enabled the transformation of multi-platform call centers to multi-site contact centers. 2002 saw the release of Avaya Unified Communication Center, an integrated solution enabling Web, wireless, and speech-enabled access to various applications. 2005 saw the introduction of IP-based applications that seamlessly connect a firm‘s workforce. 2006 saw the launch of Avaya one-X Quick Edition, which enables SIP-based communications.
The combined impact of these new offerings increased sales, drove growth, and helped Avaya build a name for itself. It became attractive to private equity firms, and in 2007 it was acquired by Silver Lake and TPG Capital for $8.2 billion. With this action Avaya became a privately-held corporation. It saw this development as a positive, facilitating faster but smooth changes within its operations and portfolio, as well as in its positioning with and ability to respond to its customers.
Benefits at Avaya
Business model of Avaya
Customer Segments
Avaya has a segmented business model, with slight differences between customer segments. The company’s customers include small and medium businesses, multinational enterprises, and government organizations. They operate in a wide variety of industries, including retail, manufacturing, energy, transportation, financial services, and media and communications.
Value Proposition
Avaya offers four primary value propositions: accessibility, price, cost reduction, and brand/status.
The company creates accessibility through its open standards-based technology. The feature accommodates clients who have multi-vendor and/or multi-platform environments. The strong integration capabilities it provides enable these customers to utilize new contact center and collaboration technology as it is introduced.
The company provides benefits in the area of pricing. It operates a number of financing programs that offer flexible terms and affordable rates, making it easier for clients to utilize its solutions. Specific programs include lease offers for small and mid-size enterprises and the Flexible Acquisition Program, which enables customers to pay for networking equipment on a monthly basis.
The company lowers total cost of ownership by reducing the amount of hardware used. This contrasts with competitors who respond to customer demands by layering on more protocols and architecture – increasing overall costs while reducing flexibility and simplicity.
The company has established a powerful brand. It bills itself as a leader in business communication and collaboration solutions, with significant market share in contact center infrastructures, worldwide telephony systems, enterprise messaging, and voice maintenance services. It has over 300,000 clients, including 83% of the Fortune 500, with installations in more than half a million locations. Lastly, it has received many honors, with forms of recognition including the NorthFace Scoreboard Award for “World Class Excellence in Customer Service” (Omega), selection as a “Top Bay Area Innovator” by Thomson Reuters, and the ITSMA Gold Award for Marketing Excellence.
Channels
Avaya’s main channel is its direct sales team, through which it acquires most of its customers. The company also sells products through indirect sales channel partners, who include dealers, distributors, alliance partners, value-added resellers, system integrators, and telecommunications service providers. The company promotes its offerings through its website, as well as through the hosting of webinars and other virtual events, attendance at conferences and trade shows, and sponsorship of events in the sports, entertainment, and philanthropy arenas.
Customer Relationships
Avaya’s customer relationship is primarily of a self-service, automated nature. Customers utilize its products and services while having limited interaction with employees. The company’s website includes self-help resources such as videos and case studies. That said, there is also a personal assistance component in the form of phone, e-mail, and live chat support. There is also a community element in the form of the International Avaya Users Group (IAUG). This is a global organization that was established to foster interaction between users of Avaya offerings. It has over 5,200 members, largely communications technology professionals.
Key Activities
Avaya’s business model entails designing and developing its products and services for customers. The company outsources the production of its offerings to third-party contract manufacturers. The majority of this production occurs in facilities in southern China, with other locations including Mexico, Israel, Taiwan, Malaysia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. Avaya also licenses select software parts and purchases select hardware components from third-party original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and outsources its distribution and warehousing operations to third parties.
Key Partners
Avaya maintains the following three key types of partnerships:
Global Service Provider (SP) – Arrangements in which Avaya works with top telecommunication service providers to sell its products and services, particularly its Cloud-based Communications-as-a-service (CaaS) services.
Global Systems Integrator (SI) – Arrangements in which Avaya works with system integrators to sell its products and services.
Ecosystem – Arrangements in which Avaya works with top IT and telecommunications companies to develop solutions that combine the benefits of their offerings.
If they so desire, partners may join Avaya Connect, the company’s business partner program that offers certification in the selling, implementation, and maintenance of its systems, services, and applications. Members receive technical, financial, and sales/marketing benefits. Avaya Connect currently has more than 9,300 partners.
Avaya also offers the Avaya DevConnect program, which focuses on the joint development, testing, and marketing of innovative products that are compatible with Avaya’s offerings. Members have expertise in a wide variety of areas, including contact center, IP telephony, and unified communications applications. Avaya DevConnect currently has more than 25,000 partners.
Key Resources
Avaya’s main human resources are the 2,200 engineers involved in the development of its products and the 2,800 individuals involved in the selling of those solutions. The company places a high priority on its intellectual property, and as of September 2015 it had 5,400 patents (issued and pending), including U.S. and foreign patents.
Cost Structure
Avaya has a cost-driven structure, aiming to minimize expenses through low-price value propositions. Its biggest cost driver is selling/administrative expenses, a fixed cost. Other major drivers are costs of products/services, a variable expense, and research/development, a fixed cost.
Revenue Streams
Avaya has two revenue streams:
Product Revenues – Revenues generated from the sales of its hardware and software products.
Service Revenues – Revenues generated from the sales of its services, primarily support for implementation, deployment, monitoring, and troubleshooting of its products.
