Over the past year, TeKnowledge – a global professional services company – has sniped from Avaya’s former employee base.
For instance, in January, it made Mahmood Lockhat its Chief Technology Officer.
In the same month, it also appointed Ayman Majzoub as VP of Sales across the Middle East, Türkiye, and Central Asia, and Yaser Alzubaidi as Chief Products and Solutions Officer.
These are just the most recent examples of TeKnowledge going after a talent base impacted by Avaya’s global layoffs.
However, that hiring spree is perhaps not only about picking up talent. Instead, TeKnowledge likely wishes to draw in some of Avaya’s enterprise customer base, with which these individuals are closely associated.
Yet, this time around, these individuals won’t support these enterprises in deploying Avaya software. Instead, they’ll implement Genesys, as per TeKnowledge’s latest deal with the contact center stalwart.
Indeed, the two companies signed a strategic go-to-market partnership focused on helping organizations accelerate their cloud transformations using the Genesys Cloud platform.
In doing so, TeKnowledge promises to assist contact centers in embedding AI, scaling their solutions, and delivering continued innovation via its advisory and professional services.
According to the company, it selected Genesys as a partner due to its “strong focus on innovation, customer-centricity, and a clear vision for the future of AI.”
As Aileen Allkins, President & CEO of TeKnowledge, also revealed:
Genesys has built a partner model that drives greater value for everyone involved, providing the tools, support, and flexibility needed to create real impact—whether it’s accelerating AI adoption, strengthening security, or equipping teams with the right skills for the future.
For decades, Genesys – alongside Cisco – provided the stiffest competition for Avaya in the contact center infrastructure market.
However, Genesys more successfully made the pivot to CCaaS, achieving over $1.8BN in annual recurring CCaaS revenue.
In doing so, it has expanded into workforce engagement management (WEM), journey orchestration, conversational AI, and more.
TeKnowledge’s managed services will bring all this to customers, principally in the Middle East but also across the globe.
Celebrating the news, Larry Shurtz, Chief Sales Officer at Genesys, said:
TeKnowledge stands out for its customer focus and deep experience helping companies reliably navigate the complexities of moving from legacy on-premises systems to a future of innovation in the cloud.
“Its expertise in AI, cybersecurity, and professional, skilling and managed services helps us enhance the value we provide to Genesys Cloud customers, making adoption smoother and ongoing improvements easier,” he concluded.
The news comes as Genesys continues to expand its partner strategy, most recently announcing a collaboration with Mitel to support hybrid contact centers.
The vendor hit the headlines in 2024 for bolstering its co-innovation with Salesforce and ServiceNow, seeking to unify CCaaS and CRM technologies.
Meanwhile, Avaya is restructuring its business to prioritize its G1500 (its largest global 1,500 customers).
In February, the vendor announced it would enforce a monthly minimum commitment of 200 seats at its public cloud contact center.
The deal between TeKnowledge and Genesys could snipe some of that G1500. Yet, it’s more likely to attract other Avaya customers concerned about the company’s go-forward strategy.
Either way, this deal could mark a big win for Genesys.
