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Avaya solutions integrate actionable analytics, IoT, AI to drive customer engagement, revenue: Vishal Agrawal

Avaya is moving away from legacy hardware business to find its feet as a software and services business solutions company. Riding the growing digital enterprise market in India’s emerging digital economy can assist its re-emergent avatar.

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VoicenData Bureau
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(L) Jean Turgeaon, VP & Chief Technologist Software Defined Architecture, Worldwide Sales, Avaya; and (R) Vishal Agrawal, MD-India & SAARC, Avaya India

By Nandita Singh

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Avaya Inc, the $4 billion telecommunications equipment company, carrying the weight of $6 billion debt compounded by market disruption, is moving away from legacy hardware business to find its feet as a software and services business solutions company. In the India market, Avaya holds ground as one of the top three leading communication equipment and devices company and has a good equity in conferencing & collaboration space. Riding the growing digital enterprise market in India’s emerging digital economy can assist its re-emergent avatar.

Some excerpts from a conversation with Avaya SAARC & India MD Vishal Agrawal, and Santa Clara-based Jean Turgeon, VP-WorldWide Sales and Chief Technologists SDN at Avaya Inc.

Voice&Data: What transformational shifts have happened at Avaya India in the last 18 months?

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Jean Turgeon: At Avaya we have come a long way with our rich communication history. Today, we provide business workflow automation over secure network infrastructure. Cyber security is a critical element the world over, and our solutions are being built on open architecture, which is secure yet future proof to a significant extent. Customization needs to be embedded in open network systems which are integrated to receive artificial intelligence and analytics inputs and deliver a individualized workflow for every specific case. Avaya business solutions today have evolved vastly from where it was say, three years ago. For example, as a use case in hospitality the customer engagement requires complex multi channel integration which is a step ahead of just customizing to preferences. In hotel industry it is not just about booking the hotel room… if there is a delay in flight the system should be intelligently respond by triggering a range of human responses as a result and a lot of it is internet of things (IoT), social media and wi fi driven integration in the network. And that is where our differentiation lies. We are re-inventing, simplifying and optimizing the IoT and analytics in the network via software defined networking models with use cases in areas such as agriculture, healthcare, education, e-commerce and hospitality among others.

Vishal Agrawal: In India, in the last 18 months, we shifted focused on re-energizing and entering newer segments and have built an excellent portfolio for mid-market reach. In the mid-market, we have spread our wings across India. Our on-premise solution IP Office Contact Center (IPOCC) is perfect for small and mid-size businesses. Also, we have been focusing on the government in a big way. Today, 30% of our product revenue comes from the government. So, that’s a fundamental change as Avaya traditionally has been associated with voice-based contact center space. For two Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh we are rolling out solutions that enable Emergency Response System. India is moving to a single emergency number and we have been working at enabling that. We also have a 300-college network modernization project in Madhya Pradesh that is underway. It is a project with a huge next generation impact with quite a bit of analytics and artificial intelligence built in the solution.

India’s younger generation is adopting new technology much faster. Businesses have the potential to use customer intelligence data for revenue generation through multi-channel. That opportunity is growing with many businesses in India leapfrogging to multi-channel customer engagement and we enable those with our software and services solution. We are moving from a traditional voice-based contact center company to a holistic solutions company for driving customer engagement.

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Voice&Data: What trends do we see in India’s contact center market, where Avaya has traditionally been a leading player?

Vishal Agrawal: Contact center space has been Avaya’s traditional focus with about 50-60% of its India revenue being generated from the niche. As far as general trends go, I do not see expansion happening in the number of agents. What we will see, in fact we already see, is an increase in automation, and use of artificial intelligence and analytics to drive a seamless, multichannel experience for the customer. Now, it is more about an architecture that creates a seamless experience for the customer shifting from device and engagement mode such as chat, call, email… to contextual shifts as the customer moves about the business of life during the course of the day. An enhanced customer experience is what businesses will focus on. This will hold true for all businesses – large, mid size or small businesses. Open architecture solutions and social media integration in contact center solutions will be big in the next five years. The customer engagement is no longer a voice/ IVRS based activity be it BFSI, hospitality or retail. A call center is now just a part of the overall customer management. In the next 36 months, you will see a lot of artificial intelligence getting integrated creating a holistic, multi-channel solutions creating a seamless experience for customer. Large customers in India are already working on upgrading to such solutions. Contact center solutions are now as intensive as ERP solutions.

Also Read: Avaya Equinox Simplifes User Experience

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