There are plenty of different trends impacting the way that people communicate and collaborate today. The rise of new technology combined with evolving generations in the workplace has led to the development of everything from AI to remote working.
One business that acts as an incredible example of what can be accomplished through digital transformation is Avaya. Over the last couple of years, the company has gone through a metamorphosis of sorts, bringing it to a point where it can provide innovative and converged solutions to customers from all backgrounds.
Savio Tovar Dias, the Senior Director for Sales Engineering at Avaya International, is one of the pioneers responsible for influencing various parts of the Avaya strategy. He shared his thoughts on the emerging trends in the enterprise.
What are the Biggest Trends You’ve Noted in The Last Decade?
In the last 10 years, the communication industry has changed drastically. We’ve discovered a new need for strong customer engagement, unlocked the possibilities of artificial intelligence and more. Savio believes that the very definition of “UC” has changed in the last decade. “It used to be about consolidating infrastructure; then it became about consolidated apps. I think it’s not just communications been channels that are driving transformation anymore, but also automation and the personalisation of workflows too.”
An area that’s particularly important for Avaya and other companies, is the rising demand for CX. According to Savio, there’s a lot of conversation in the marketplace around holistic customer journeys and experiences these days. “To succeed, businesses need to pick up as much information about their customer as possible, so that they can understand what the buyer needs.”
Savio said that across the globe, we’re seeing different businesses move with varying stages of maturity. “Everyone is on a UX or CX journey, but this concept means different things to different people.”
How Is the Enterprise Responding to CX Tech?
As a market leader in communication and collaboration, Avaya is in an excellent position to comment on the changing trends in the CX world. Savio noted that customer experience, speed to market, and differentiating service are all crucial trends right now. Knowledge is becoming a new kind of loyalty programme, where people come back to your business because they enjoy buying from you.
“I think the Avaya solutions are embracing everything that customers could want. We’re working on delivering the right experiences by delivering a platform that scales and delivers everything you could need from an enterprise comms perspective. This means not just big transformational solutions, but smaller, more agile options too.”
Avaya has begun to redesign many of their big architecture solutions, according to Savio, so that it can deliver bite-sized strategies to their customers, rather than just substantial rip-and-replace investments.
“We’re making our on-premises solutions cloud-ready too, so that clients can trial innovation before they fully invest in it”
What are the Biggest Challenges and Opportunities for Enterprises?
According to Savio, some of the biggest challenges that enterprises face today have to do with the talent that drives businesses forward. “Companies need the right growth mindset to absorb and adopt new technologies. I think that having the leadership to drive innovation is crucial in today’s world. The more forward-thinking leadership is, the better”
In terms of opportunity, the communication market is in a state of constant growth. Savio noted that right now, people are trying to find themselves in the enterprise space and decide what they’re going to do to differentiate their offering.
“Our partners and our customers are both innovating just as quickly as we are. Everyone is looking for a new way to stand out and prove that they have something unique to offer the marketplace. As vendors, it’s up to us to realise that it takes the right combination of skills, services, and products to create transformation.”
“We need to unlock key capabilities that help our partners to serve their customers in their own way”
For Avaya and Savio, the future is in flexibility. He believes that providing partners with an API or SDK, along with easy access to the features they need is crucial. “I think that when they’re brought together correctly, CPaaS, UC, and CC could combine to distinguish unique customer experiences going forward.”
