The way companies communicate, collaborate, and deliver results has changed significantly in recent years as the world has begun to evolve at an accelerated rate. Now, brands are dealing with new workflows, changing employee environments, and an ever-evolving list of complex demands from the customers they interact with.
The only way to stay ahead of the curve in this transformative landscape, is to build a foundation for flexible, agile, and efficient communications. CPaaS, long-touted as the ultimate solution for communication flexibility by experts, could be the solution to this new demand for agility.
Leading brands like Avaya believe CPaaS and the age of APIs could make the concepts of investing in UCaaS and CCaaS into a “moot point”, and push companies to think more carefully about the power of the platform, over the product. I spoke to Avaya’s CMO, Simon Harrison at Enterprise Connect 2022, to discuss Avaya’s approach to leveraging the power of Composability.
Not Just Another UC or Contact Centre Vendor
As a market leader in the communication space, Avaya has been through an incredible period of transformation over the last few years. The company has evolved from a legacy vendor to an innovator on the cutting-edge of the communications landscape. Today, Avaya’s leadership team is further championing this cloud-central and agility-focused approach to business, with a new take on the CPaaS space.
According to Simon, the aim for Avaya right now isn’t to be just another UC or contact centre vendor or similar market leader offering UCaaS and CCaaS solutions with all-in-one functionality. Instead, Avaya believes the future is in “composability”. The company wants its clients to be able to use central “speed to value” products like CCaaS and UCaaS as a foundation from which they can build the ultimate, bespoke solution for their unique use cases.
“We’re championing the potential of composability for companies who need to be able to build on their communication ecosystem in an ever-evolving space. The greatest potential right now lies in the API world, with no-code and low-code opportunities, citizen developers, and open platforms”
Simon told me Avaya is investing in “experience building” platforms, where companies can access the functionality, they need in a more granular, and focused way. “By approaching things like UCaaS and CCaaS as a foundational core that companies can build on, we’re allowing business leaders to respond more effectively to narrow use cases.”
Speed to Value is Crucial to Success
In the past, CPaaS solutions have often been overlooked by many business leaders as a less efficient and streamlined way to access the communication functionality they need. Now, Avaya is trying to change the landscape, by providing an API economy model where everyone can get involved with the experience of designing the perfect ecosystem.
“Customers can access UCaaS and CCaaS solutions with built-in applications for calling, collaboration and communication immediately, then add their own functionality into the mix with minimal effort. Using the power of APIs and open environments, companies can achieve quick and effective results, without compromising on capabilities.”
Avaya believes that while CCaaS and UCaaS functionalities are important in today’s business landscape, an “off-the-shelf” solution is rarely enough to deliver exactly what today’s businesses need. “If you try to apply the one-size-fits-all concept to everything today, you’re going to end up being left behind.”
With a flexible environment capable of combining UCaaS and CCaaS with CPaaS and APIs, Avaya is trying to break down the silos between Avaya professional services, partners, and customers, to create more versatility and opportunity.
“We believe the API economy model is so important right now. It’s about empowering people to get more of the functionality they need quickly, and create specific solutions to narrow use cases, without having to rely on having hundreds of developers on-hand.”
UCaaS and CCaaS is a Moot Point
According to Simon, and many of the innovative thought leaders at Avaya, “UCaaS and CCaaS is a moot point”. These solutions offer some of the core applications businesses need to thrive in today’s world, but they’re just a starting point for a wider, cloud-based ecosystem of aligned and unified tools.
Avaya believes, in an ideal world, companies shouldn’t have to invest in UCaaS, CCaaS, and other digital tools separately, then use integrations and work-arounds to bring them together. Instead, every company should have access to a central harmonious platform they can build on at their own pace. This is the concept behind the “platform over product” approach.
Harrison told me that for a while now, the perception people have had of CPaaS has been evolving. In the past, CPaaS used to be a toolkit for developing granular solutions to problems, built mainly for companies with a heavy investment in developer talent.
“Now, it’s much easier to access this central, flexible environment. APIs, low-code and no-code solutions, and other advancements have opened the door to the true potential of composability. We believe this compossibility is the key to the future of communications and digital transformation.”
For Avaya, the ideal communication landscape isn’t a specific selection of apps or tools, but a platform with endless potential.
“Businesses should be able to build the exact solution they need for their specific needs, with applications covering everything from customer service to video conferencing which offer a consistent experience out of the box”
In this environment, companies can infuse all of their solutions into the same unified environment, and accelerate opportunities for growth without having to worry about cost and complexity.
Taking a Composable Solution to Market
Avaya’s main focus right now is on championing the value of the “platform” over the individual product. This means educating partners and customers on how UCaaS and CCaaS are simply initial “launching points” for digital transformation.
“It’s less about checking boxes these days and more about helping companies to figure out how they can build their own customised solutions to very specific, narrow problems.”
In today’s evolving world, agility has become a table-stakes requirement for businesses who want to stay one step ahead of the competition. Companies need a central solution for communication, collaboration, and productivity that’s ready to adapt to their needs.
“Our focus right now is educating people and showing them a new view of a future where everything can be truly aligned, flexible, and customisable.”
