Avaya ENGAGE was a significant occasion for Alan Masarek, with Avaya’s CEO able to reflect on his impressive near-year with the business as it built upon its ‘innovation without disruption’ cloud migration strategy, refined its go-to-market and portfolio, and hired key figures for Avaya’s C-suite.
With so much progress so quickly and with plaudits justifiably being directed towards its revolutionary operational and business strategies, the actual mechanics of how Avaya exited its Chapter 11 bankruptcy has perhaps gone a little under the radar.
How Avaya managed to not only come out the other side of its bankruptcy with healthier debt but also relatively cash-rich is arguably just as impressive as all of Masarek’s other accomplishments during his brief tenure in charge.
“I don’t know if I’ve followed any bankruptcy procedure where they’ve landed in such a bed of roses at the end of it,” Melissa Swartz, VOIP and Cloud Phone System Expert at Swartz Consulting, told UC Today. “It’s an amazing flip on the financials — not only the reduced debt but the increased cash.”
“Alan says that it’s indicative of the promise that the investors see in the company,” Swartz continued. “They see the potential, and so they want equity instead of debt. That’s what really was the turnaround, the move from the debt into the equity. They are ready to launch as far as the financial position. I don’t think they could have ended any better than what they did.”
For the analysts and experts that UC Today spoke to in the aftermath of Avaya ENGAGE, seeing Avaya financially healthy and in a solid position to grow again was so encouraging because of the “great people at the company”, as Evan Kirstel, Social Media Strategist at BCStrategies, put it.
“You and I have known Avaya for 20 years either as a partner consultant to or observer of,” Kirstel said to Swartz. “Whatever you think of the company’s history, the management changes, there are really spectacular people within the organisation, so you want people to succeed.”
“I think a lot of people are rooting for Alan. He’s probably one of the most likeable people in our industry if that means anything these days, and I think it still does. It’s going to be interesting to watch. Hopefully, they get back in the game in a serious way.”
Kirstel also pointed out that Avaya has to fundamentally succeed because of how important many of its customers are to the fabric of society in many countries. “You’ve got DOD customers, and you’ve got state, local and federal governments,” Kirstel explained. “You’ve got international governments. It would be really bad if it didn’t work out for those customers and others.”
For Swartz, aside from the eye-catching financials, one of the aspects of Avaya ENGAGE that impressed her was the “top-to-bottom absorption of the messages”.
“Alan talked about being transparent, and I saw much more transparency from everyone that I talked to,” Swartz expanded. “Even the customers that would talk about their experience, it wasn’t just a scripted rainbows and unicorns story. It was like, ‘Okay, this is what I really experienced. It was good, but we had some issues or whatever.’ It was very honest, very transparent and very refreshing from that perspective.”
“They’re still working on getting the C-Suite sorted and finalised, but they’re now able to move forward now that the financials are settled,” she continued. “With a streamlined product line and being able to concentrate on specific market trends and things that they want to address, I think that they are really going to be able to move forward.”
In one ENGAGE presentation, the analogy cited was like being in NAVY Seal training — Avaya is at the very end and can drop that 50-pound pack before sprinting for the finish line.
“That’s what the employees are feeling,” Swartz added, “and it shows that there’s definitely enthusiasm on the part of the employees, and I think that that ‘innovation without disruption’ resonated with a lot of customers. Maybe because it’s so difficult to innovate without disruption, having a path is huge.”
Swartz clarified that Avaya has product development to do, which Avaya itself openly admits. “But they’re working on it, and they’re just putting together sprints and executing,” she said.
“So far, everything I see is favourable. I don’t know that they’re where they need to be yet, but I think they’re closing in, and I think there are market forces that may help as well. Overall, I would say it’s a positive move and a good future for Avaya at this point, much better than it was a year ago.”
