Just before the week of Enterprise Connect 2017, we were waiting with bated breath to see the plan that Avaya would announce in their attempt to get back ahead of their bankruptcy problems. What we didn’t expect was for an entirely new type of news to emerge into the Comms foreground. Toshiba came out to bid a final farewell to the world of North American business telecom equipment.
Toshiba is a world innovator and leader in creating high-tech solutions for a diverse range of markets. However, it seems to be cutting down on the amount of people it shares its innovations with, if this latest news is anything to go by.
The Letter to Toshiba’s Dealers
The end of an era occurred when Toshiba sent a letter out to their market dealers, announcing that as part of their global effort to restructure the brand, they would be winding down their division for Telecommunications systems across North America. Channels were informed that last orders for any technology needed to be placed before the end of May 22nd if they were going to be honoured.
While Toshiba is committing to deliver support under current contracts, they’re also actively encouraging their customers to seek out third-party solutions for support instead as they continue to change and re-develop their business plans. Beyond the wind-down in the United States, it’s worth noting that Toshiba is slowing its services elsewhere across the global market too, by closing its offices in both Mexico, and Canada.
A Result of the Shifting Telecoms Market?
It’s safe to say that the market for business telecoms in Northern America has changed in recent years, and vendors that aren’t well-situated from a financial perspective are seeing some serious challenges when it comes to establishing success. Whether it’s businesses with serious debt like Avaya, or parent organisations that are seeing new challenges, just like Toshiba, it’s becoming more clear that the financial health of vendors is a pretty serious consideration for most acquisitions.
In the announcement of their Northern American shutdown, Toshiba bid an emotional farewell to their dealers, commenting that they had always appreciated the dedication and support that various customers had shown to the company over the years. The letter also noted that more information on the shutdown would be provided soon.
Right now, all that we, and those associated with Toshiba, can do, is wait for more news to surface.
