Avaya at Gitex 2024 – Key Takeaways

Gitex has agelong been a flagship arena successful nan Avaya calendar, reserved for important level launches and updates. Prior to nan event, respective questions emerged from nan customer and partner communities that would put nan Avaya executive squad to nan test.

Firstly, really is Avaya leveraging AI and infusing nan exertion wrong its proposition? Secondly, fixed that nan caller CEO, Patrick Dennis, has erstwhile acquisition successful backstage equity, does that mean location will beryllium a waste successful nan adjacent future? We research those questions and much below.

Virtual Operations Manager

Avaya’s flagship demo this twelvemonth was its Virtual Operations Manager, an AI-driven instrumentality which unifies interaction halfway information and operations to supply insights and execute analyzable workforce orchestration. For nan Operations Manager, this instrumentality will springiness them much important insights into nan information that nan interaction halfway and applications are capturing

On nan stand, I said to Giselle Bou Ghanem, VP of Product Marketing astatine Avaya.

Real-Time Translation Removes Agent Language Barriers

A communal problem successful nan interaction halfway abstraction is servicing customers crossed aggregate languages. Avaya’s caller AI-powered translator solution removes these connection barriers and enables agents to converse pinch customers successful complete 100 languages. The solution allows for speech-to-text and text-to-speech functionality and is paired pinch aggregate translator engines and civilization dictionaries to create real-time sound translations.

The solution has been developed done strategical partners Transcom and Sabio.

“In our industry, it is sometimes challenging to enlistee capable agents to support each our world markets. And if we do, it’s often costly to prosecute and clasp them. Working pinch Avaya and Sabio, we’re empowering agents astir nan world to connection high-quality customer work successful each required connection for our clients,” said Jakob Westgren, Senior VP – Head of IT Products and Partners, Transcom.

I said to Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst astatine ZK Research, astir nan breadth of Avaya’s merchandise updates from nan show.

Is Avaya Heading for a Sale?

New Avaya CEO Patrick Dennis has a history successful backstage equity, which has shaped his position connected firm strategy, peculiarly nan value of producing semipermanent returns alternatively than focusing solely connected exit strategies.

For now, it appears Avaya’s caller CEO is not rushing toward a waste aliases IPO. Instead, he focuses connected driving innovation, building connected Avaya’s bequest of durable technology, and positioning nan institution for semipermanent success. Whether that occurrence yet leads to an acquisition, a nationalist offering, aliases continued backstage ownership remains to beryllium seen. What is clear, however, is that nan CEO is committed to exploring each options to maximize Avaya’s worth successful a quickly evolving market.

“AI, AI and much AI”

While galore companies are racing to create monolithic AI models that tin grip a wide scope of tasks, Dennis sees an opportunity successful much specialized, smaller AI models tailored to circumstantial industries aliases tasks. He believes this attack will let Avaya to connection highly refined AI-driven sound solutions without needing massive, resource-intensive AI systems.

These smaller models would attraction connected providing circumstantial worth to customers, specified arsenic improving customer work interactions aliases streamlining business processes. By focusing connected specific, high-value usage cases, Avaya tin present AI solutions that are some cost-effective and highly functional. “I deliberation there’s going to beryllium a group of AI and instrumentality learning capabilities that are overmuch tighter successful scope,” Dennis remarked, adding that specified models could dramatically amended business outcomes while keeping nan attraction connected sound arsenic nan superior interface.

We caught up pinch Dennis connected nan stand, wherever he said astir his AI imagination and commented connected why he thinks immoderate enterprises are not seeing ROI connected their AI projects yet.

Betting connected Voice

Dennis is betting that sound will go nan go-to interface for AI, providing a much natural, intuitive measurement for group to pass pinch machines. He sees this arsenic a important shift, peculiarly arsenic AI advances beyond elemental tasks and tin grip much complex, real-time interactions (such arsenic nan Virtual Operations Manager).

Rather than relying connected manual interfaces for illustration typing aliases clicking done menus, Dennis believes users will progressively usage sound commands to interact pinch AI, allowing for much fluid, earthy conversations pinch technology. These commands could scope from elemental customer work inquiries to much analyzable tasks for illustration managing full workflows aliases interacting pinch data-driven insights.

With Avaya’s expertise successful sound communications and a committedness to invention successful AI, 1 could reason that Avaya is successful a superb position to capitalize connected this trend. The CEO’s imagination of a early wherever sound is nan cardinal interface for AI interactions could reshape really businesses attack customer experience, communications, and endeavor management.

Zoom Product is Coming… Soon

Announced backmost successful March, Avaya’s business pinch Zoom is astir to go mostly available. This solidifies Avaya’s attraction connected its CX technologies; arsenic an aside, we noted only 1 demo connected nan guidelines wasn’t CX-related! Avaya CPO Omar Javaid said to america astatine Gitex and revealed nan integration of Zoom Workplace and Avaya’s collaboration suite, which will beryllium disposable soon for customers to return advantage of. Internally, Avaya has been battle-testing nan solution for immoderate months now and has, according to 1 employee, “completely revolutionized really we behaviour and archive soul meetings.”

Here is what Omar revealed astir nan narration and wider merchandise roadmap.

What is Next for Avaya?

I person followed Avaya intimately complete nan past 7-8 years, and 1 point has consistently stood retired during this time. Customers who person invested successful Avaya’s infrastructure and services are typically unwilling to switch it. In nan much caller years, Avaya has recovered a communicative that seems to resonate pinch ‘Innovation without Disruption’. This still rings existent coming arsenic ample enterprises don’t want wholesale changes to their exertion stack unless it will present an bid of magnitude of productivity and value advances. Avaya’s AI communicative and nan ever-developing Avaya Experience Platform locomotion that good statement betwixt invention and disruption wherever large endeavor customers tin find information and beforehand their Customer Experience services.

The translator astatine Avaya has been a agelong road, and they are surely not astatine nan extremity of it. We are seeing glimpses of innovation, a caller building to supply a amended level for growth, and caller activity who are wished to capitalize connected Avaya’s strengths. The adjacent shape for Avaya is each astir executing connected nan vision, maintaining its invention astir nan portfolio and delivering connected its Innovation without Disruption connection for customers. Avaya’s ecosystem remains cardinal to delivering invention for customers, and astatine Gitex, that was much evident than ever. As Avaya continues to transportation itself arsenic that transformational partner, we will apt spot further innovations look from its strategical partnerships. With this attack nan imaginable usage cases Avaya tin create pinch AI are almost endless.