Avaya Announces Agreements to Purchase Nortel's Enterprise Solutions Business
Really? No one expected that.
This is going to be fun. Especially since I know... well, nothing... about Nortel kit. :)
Showing posts with label avaya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label avaya. Show all posts
Psst! Don't tell anyone we're buying the Nortel Enterprise business!
The Intertubes will never find out ;)
Nortel Networks Corp. was close to a deal last night to sell one of its key businesses to rival Avaya Inc.
Nortel and Avaya cleared one of the last major hurdles on Thursday and the two were near to signing the paperwork on a deal, worth as much as $500-million (U.S.), a source familiar with the situation said.
(C) and more at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/nortel-set-to-sell-key-unit/article1199611/
Google Voice
Haaaaave you met Google Voice? :)
http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html
One of these days, it is going to raise it's ugly head.
With a single number to rule them all - with multiple phones that will ring, voicemail you can monitor and get transcribed into an e-mail, SMSes that, if they arrive to your Google Voice number can be forwarded to multiple mobiles, personalised greetings, phone-switching mid-call... All things that have up to now been the domain of the (enterprise grade) VoIP PBX - Asterisk in the free/SMB enviroment, ours and Ciscos and everybody elses offerings in the SMB/Enterprise. We've had Skype, and we've had multitudes of VoIP service providers - and now, we add Google. Did anyone notice the proverbial elephant on the proverbial 19-inch rack?
It's going to be - LEGEN-wait-for-it-DARY. Not just the service (and, I must confess, I'm a GoogleFan, to the point of using a T-Mobile G1, which means that I'm signing up the moment it's made available), but also in helping everyone to "bringig VoIP and advanced telecoms services to the masses". And yes, there will be challenges all of us vendors are going to have - hopefully only from a bigger awareness of the VoIP technology and our collective offerings that will spring more sales in the enterprise market, but, very likely, we're also going to start hearing things like "if Google does all of this for free, why should I pay multiple tens of thousands to you" from customers - I can just see a small company going "all Google"... Google Mail on their domain for E-mail, Google Apps for data sharing, the new Google Sites for a cut-down version of Sharepoint, and, yep, you've guessed it - Google Voice for their phone needs.
It's not all bleak though - thank R&D and marketing we now have Avaya Aura - more at www.avaya.com, but I'll post some comments on it in the next few days as well - to respond to the new challenger in the field. And I think they're going to put up a fight.
As an end note, I'm waiting to see the pricing structure. Dave, Sergey, please don't make it too cheap? :)
www.avayageek.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hko08cCcvyw
The only thing I'm not sure about is the link to the Amazon store (and this is also why I'm not sure if it's ours - meaning Avaya Corporate - or not). I mean, really why'd we tout this as a IPT/Software buy? :) We're not even on the damn stockmarket anymore :)
In Uncertain Times, Do Certain Things
Right. I'm a thief! :) No, not really - I'm going to borrow something from our corporate blog, which I think is good advice for the season:
"The events in the financial markets these last few days certainly bring to mind one metaphor – a rollercoaster – as actions by the US Federal Reserve and other global entities target the current volatility.
Source: Zack Taylor on the Avaya Corporate Blog
"The events in the financial markets these last few days certainly bring to mind one metaphor – a rollercoaster – as actions by the US Federal Reserve and other global entities target the current volatility.
Still, the uncertainties of the current financial markets provide an excellent opportunity to focus on the certainties we do know.
Conditions like these frequently result in a “hunkering down effect,” and a focus shift toward cost and efficiency that can overtake the top-line aspirations of a company’s business cycle. It’s clear that there are only two routes to a better bottom line – reducing costs or improving customer satisfaction and retention. Or even better, a combination of both.
A widely accepted constant is the value of the retained customer. And these days, a positive customer experience is considered the more powerful indicator of customer retention. The confluence of the current externalities, the rise of social networks, and numerous technology innovations make it an opportune time to take the counter-strategy of "leaning into the wave." Invest in an improved customer experience, and you just might emerge with a better bottom line than ever."
Forgetting for the moment that this is meant to sell more of our Contact Centers and IPT solutions (which I live from, so BUY THEM!), it's good advice to any Project Manager out there - your job doesn't always end when the project closes down. Pay attention to your customer. Even if you're not officially assigned to them anymore, let them know every couple of months that you're still around, still care, and are still willing to help them. After all, it was you and your team who gave them something of value - you're always the one with the quickest answer to their questions. Care about them, and they'll care about you.Source: Zack Taylor on the Avaya Corporate Blog
