Avaya: Channel Welcomes Radvision Video Products

Avaya has announced that members of its Avaya Connect Channel Partner Program can now be trained and authorized to sell Radvision Scopia® video solutions as part of their UC offerings. This enables Avaya partners to expand their capabilities and competencies with a new generation of feature-rich, interoperable and user-friendly video solutions for real-time collaboration. Those Avaya Connect channel partners who are authorized to sell Scopia solutions will receive top-tier levels of technical support and services integration.

Through the end of this year, Avaya Connect channel partners with existing video experience are being selected for fast-track authorization to sell Radvision Scopia solutions. To date, more than 50 Avaya Connect partners with significant experience delivering video communications have already been selected.

Existing Radvision partners will continue to participate in the Radvision Eye-to-Eye partner program, and bring their powerful expertise and solutions to customers as part of their current program. Many Radvision partners have also expanded their video portfolio by joining the Avaya Connect channel program.

Avaya acquired Radvision for $230M in June of this year. The introduction of Scopia video products and technologies into Avaya’s UC solutions portfolio provides a simple way for partners to choose and deliver ad-hoc desktop and mobile video solutions that connect separate islands of video for improved business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) communications.

Tom Mitchell, senior vice president and president, Avaya Go to Market, stated: “Our intention is to make the transition to Avaya Connect as easy as possible, recognizing the investment Radvision partners have made in training and demo systems and rewarding them accordingly.”

Avaya has been contacted by an estimated 20 Radvision partners, all inquiring about the transition to Connect, Mitchell said.

Minimum training requirements, investment in demo equipment and a complete services assessment need to be met by partners if Avaya is to sell Scopia. Avaya partners, similar to other Avaya authorizations, require two Avaya professional sales specialists, one professional design specialist and two Avaya certified support specialists tailored to the Scopia role.

SKC Communications, a Shawnee Mission, Kan.-based solution provider, was among the 50 Avaya partners fast-tracked for their existing video expertise. "Combined with our video network operations center and managed services offering, we eliminate the need for multiple communication technology and service providers, simplifying the process for our customers," said Tray Vedock, SKC president and CEO.

The video opportunity with Avaya is a “significant driver of value throughout the enterprise,” agreed NACR CEO, John Lyons. “Video is the essential next step in collaboration, and Avaya has made video more cost-efficient and simple to use, while gaining in feature functionality,” Lyons added.

Since the acquisition’s close, Avaya has offered interoperability between Radvision Scopia, Avaya, Aura, Avaya Flare Experience, Avaya 1000 series and one-X Communicator products. Integration with IP Office will shortly follow. Integration of Radvision and Avaya hardware and software MCUs is a work in progress as is finishing the interoperability between Radvision Scopia products and Avaya’s SBCs and other components of the Avaya Aura platform.

Headcount will be cut by Avaya in the new fiscal year in the attempt to remove up to $235 million in operating expenses. Avaya appears to have cancelled its IPO plans as it wrestles with significant executive turnover. (CY) Link