Cloud
Avaya preaching cloud to Canadian customers and partners at road shows this week
Educating customers – and partners – about pure play and hybrid cloud options is a critical part of the Avaya strategy.
Avaya
Unified Communications
Avaya unveils channel-only video conferencing and collaboration service
Avaya Equinox Meetings Online is a rebranded and significantly upgraded updating of Avaya Live Video. It is a service which integrates well with on-prem video, and is aimed at the premium part of the market where video quality matters.
Unified Communications
Avaya Canada names David Robertson new Canada country manager
Following Rejean Bourgault’s departure for AWS Canada, Avaya names a replacement from within, hoping for some stability in the Canadian country manager role.
Networking
Extreme Networks integrates Avaya tech into portfolio with Extreme Automated Campus
Extreme announces its first integrations of the recently acquired Avaya Fabric Connect technology with a new core switch and aggregation switch.
Networking
EXCLUSIVE: Canada rises as Extreme Networks priority as part of new strategic initiative
While Extreme has always had a significant enterprise business to go along with their mid-market presence, their flurry of recent acquisitions, complemented by internal changes to optimize them, has created a much stronger enterprise focus.
Channel Programs
Mitel lays out channel plans stemming from ShoreTel integration
Because the closing of the acquisition will take place during a planned extensive restructuring of the Mitel channel program, the integration of both programs into a new one will take place in relatively short order.
Networking
Extreme Networks seeks to soothe Avaya customers, partners with consistency pledge
Avaya customers are assured of consistency in service support, Avaya partners will be invited into the Extreme channel program, and further details on platform integration will be disclosed beginning with another webinar after the Avaya deal closes on July 1.
Networking
Acquiring Avaya networking bolsters Extreme plan to take enterprise share from Cisco, HPE
Extreme says it has had a strong reaction from Avaya networking partners, and that they expect the lucrative benefits of the Extreme program as well as the broader portfolio should woo them over.
Unified Communications
Avaya Canada channel chief sees real momentum in march from PBX to software and services
Avaya Canada channel chief Corey Mindel discusses partner momentum selling Avaya’s software-based next-gen products, including Zang, which can be a tricky issue for some partners.
Cloud
Avaya’s Zang highlights ISV partner Mutare’s healthcare solution
Mutare is one of about 90 strategic ISV partners of Zang, but they were also one of the very first.
Cloud
Avaya introduces new global channel chief – and new partnering philosophy
Walter Denk, who has a distribution background and has been working for Avaya in Germany, is the company’s new global channel chief. Even more importantly, he says that the job has been redefined and that the channel will benefit.
Unified Communications
Avaya Canada introduces both new country manager and new channel chief
Rejean Bourgault, who has been in the lead role in Canada since October, and Corey Mindel, who has been acting channel leader since Ange Valentini left at the end of the year, were both formally introduced at Avaya Engage.
Cloud
Avaya’s Zang introduces new cloud phone service, and new collaboration tool
Zang moves into the cloud PBX market with Zang Office, although at this stage, the channel opportunities, other than referral fees, are limited. Partner opportunities for Zang Space, the collaboration tool, appear stronger.
Unified Communications
Avaya looks to reduce debt burden and re-emerge stronger with Chapter 11 filing
Avaya says that the sale of its Contact Center business is not being considered as a way to restructure its balance sheet, but that it is in discussions to possibly sell off other assets.
Unified Communications
Improved ease of deployment highlights Avaya IP Office Contact Center 10
The changes will save partners hours in deployment time, and by reducing time to value, should also please customers.
Unified Communications
Avaya sees new Equinox integrated UC as game-changer for the channel
While Avaya plans to extend Equinox to the mid-market in the future, today it’s based on Aura and as such is just an enterprise play.
Unified Communications
Built-in encryption, user experience changes highlight Avaya IP Office 10
The new release of IP Office also makes some architectural and administrative changes designed to make things easier for Avaya channel partners who sell the product.
Networking
Avaya, FatPipe launch first integrated SDN and SDN-WAN solution
The joint solution will be available through the channel of both vendors, although in Canada, the FatPipe channel is more limited, so Avaya’s channel will likely carry the ball here.
Cloud
Avaya adds Oceana to customer engagement portfolio
Built on top of the Avaya Breeze engagement platform, Oceana is designed to deliver on industry promises of next-gen customer engagement, and while it is much more of an enterprise play than mid-market, should be a useful tool for partners who play in the enterprise space.
Networking
Avaya urges partners to get their SDN fabric in front of customers
At an event Wednesday, Avaya strongly urged its partners to look closely at their networking fabric and the middleware which enables its automation, saying that it provides a clear path to smart computing and a strong differentiator from competitors.