Moderated by: Jason Alley, Vanguard Communications
Today Avaya announced it intends to acquire Nortel’s enterprise solutions business for $475 Million. What does this mean?
First, it means the end of an era. If the deal is approved, a familiar name in the enterprise telephony space will be acquired by one of its long-time competitors. Who would have thunk?
Second, it means a very complex and critical consolidation planning exercise will need to be carefully executed by the combined entity. Products, organizations, operations and business processes will need to be consolidated towards a cohesive and well defined end-state. This must be done quickly and communication to customers and the broader industry must be clear and constant.
Third, given this consolidation effort will take significant time and resources to execute, competitors will be looking to exploit what they perceive as a distraction for Avaya. Expect new FUD (a sales term that stands for Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) positioning and posturing to be unleashed. My guess is that some will succeed in part, but that Avaya will work hard to aggressively defend their ground.
Finally, it means that Avaya and Nortel customers must be diligent in demanding executive and working level briefings to help understand what this means to them. What products will be carried forward? How will they integrate? What migration options will be available? How will the makeup of account and support teams change? What new capabilities will be offered that weren’t previously available? What other things need to be considered during the budgeting and strategic planning process?
There has been much consolidation in the broader unified communications space, but this is definitely one of the more emotionally charged announcements. Many in the industry have fond memories of working for or with Nortel, including myself. I guess it’s a good time to reflect on what was, realize what is, and start to think hard about what will come.
Thoughts, reactions?
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