I assume that with the installment of Alan Masarek (in the dual role of CEO and President), Avaya is doubling down on the cloud. Masarek has a long history with Vonage, which was once a residential VoIP service that grew into servicing businesses. I admit to being a little cynical because of my history with traditional communications means, but I appreciate the appeal of [what I call] IP Centrex. It's no longer the "flavor of the week" technology or fodder for golf course d**k measuring contests. It's an IT person's party and the Bell heads aren't invited.
I've kept up from the early days of the Internet starting with a CCNA and blah blah blah. That's not my issue. I'm strapped trying to service my large swath of SMBs in rural areas of the United States. For example, I have a John Deere distributor that operates on a large piece of real estate that is somewhat outside of city limits. He wants to do more, but I only have a handful of voice-grade copper pairs to work with. Fiber is coming "one day"--and will--but this is just one example. Now I've gotta keep these guys serviced for the next 10 years or so before I retire. The co-ops and "ma and pa" RBOCs out here only move so fast. I can keep replacing parts bought from the grey market or I can abandon Avaya altogether and look at Grandstream or any number of companies that still make on-prem hardware that supports old circuits and internal VoIP.
It might suit Avaya to take an HONEST evaluation of who their customers are and have been rather than plowing ahead like a hungry shark with their new teeth. They should also consider guys like me who have lived through some of their crazy times, figured out ways to fix issues and still make them look like champs. Salespeople don't always wear ties, folks. Avaya-branded hardware backed by dedicated field guys will move your product. But I fear that they've gotten a bit smug and forgotten their roots. I mean, how many of us pretty much just now see them as a reseller of somebody else's service? They are becoming a shadow of their former selves.
And the financial problems may just be the last nail in the coffin.
Tim Alberstein