WATERLOO, BELGIUM - Avaya (NYSE:AV), a leading global provider of communications networks and services for businesses, today unveiled a new channel programme to extend the reach and breadth of the Avaya Global Services portfolio in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
The new programme will mean a greater number of businesses in EMEA can benefit from Avaya's extensive services offerings, either working directly with Avaya or through an enlarged group of approved BusinessPartners throughout the region.
The new channel programme will maintain and develop Avaya Global Services direct relationships with designated accounts but offer new and existing BusinessPartners greater flexibility and choice in the way they work with their services customers. To increase the number of channels to customers, Avaya Global Services will draw from the strengths of the company's existing BusinessPartner programme in EMEA, where more than half the region's business is generated through these partners. The new channel programme for services will operate alongside Avaya's comprehensive existing channel programmes in EMEA, offering all partners access to leading Avaya Services features, such as Avaya EXPERT SystemsSM Diagnostic Tools, Remote Control capabilities and Return on Investment (ROI) tools.
Avaya Global Services' EMEA channel programme will strengthen the role of BusinessPartners, enabling them to deliver more complete solutions to their customers. Partners will be provided with options to work with Avaya on either a sell-through or back-up basis, or both. The sell-through model is targeted at BusinessPartners with less developed services capabilities. These partners gain the opportunity to resell rapidly deployable Avaya services, typically in the areas of maintenance, implementation and consulting, with Avaya Global Services responsible for delivering the acquired support to the end customer.
This model is available to all Authorised Avaya BusinessPartners, which number some 1,000 companies in EMEA. Providing sell-through services helps partners to offer their customers more comprehensive support as well as developing additional revenue streams for their own success.
The back-up model is attractive to BusinessPartners with existing services capabilities but wanting to add further value to customers by turning to Avaya's expertise for more extensive services. After training, these partners benefit from enhanced business engagement with Avaya specialists and focus on more comprehensive levels of support and consultancy to the customer. By adding value to service contracts to their customers these partners will develop reputations for providing extensive support services with the backing of Avaya.
Currently, Avaya's services customers in EMEA are supported by a team of 400 services specialists that draw from Avaya's industry-leading technology and, at a global level, a total of 7,000 services employees around the world. In addition, the EMEA Avaya Global Services team works alongside existing local BusinessPartners to ensure customers' converged communications networks are effectively designed, built and managed to the highest standards.
BusinessPartners have access to comprehensive education programmes as they develop their relationship with Avaya, with different tiers of certification available. To achieve service and support specialist accreditation to benefit from the back-up model, BusinessPartners are required to pass a number of conditions to entry that include the successful completion of specified training and a commitment to agreed revenue targets for Avaya services business. To support the development of their customers' services business, partners enjoy access to Avaya's sales and marketing tools such as sales promotions, programme guides, ROI tools and dedicated marketing funds.
"As we strive to maximise the business performance of our customers we are committed to aggressively growing our services BusinessPartner community in EMEA," said Libor Voncina, EMEA vice president of Avaya Global Services. "Today's announcement signals our plans to attract new BusinessPartners that want to actively work with Avaya to develop the services market. We now serve directly more than 700 customers across 25 markets in EMEA and this new multichannel programme is demonstration of our strategy to invest in and build the leading global multi-vendor services business."
Klaas van Dieren, commercial and sales director at Avaya's Gold accredited BusinessPartner, A&T Communications in the Netherlands commented, "Our customers want reassurance that we are able to monitor and maintain the effectiveness of their converged networks. Avaya's focus on the Services sector here in EMEA and the new channel programme offers us access to a comprehensive set of Services offerings. The flexibility of the programme is very attractive, presenting us with the opportunity to work with Avaya in a variety of ways to satisfy our customers needs."
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About Avaya
Avaya Inc. designs, builds and manages communications networks for more than 1 million businesses worldwide, including 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500(r). Focused on businesses large to small, Avaya is a world leader in secure and reliable Internet Protocol (IP) telephony systems and communications software applications and services. Driving the convergence of voice and data communications with business applications - and distinguished by comprehensive worldwide services - Avaya helps customers leverage existing and new networks to achieve superior business results. For more information visit the Avaya website:
www.avaya.com.