Avaya’s recent acquisition of Edify is a strategic move, capitalising on the evolving dynamics of customer experience.
This acquisition not only positions Avaya to cater to the growing demand for proactive, relationship-oriented customer engagement, but also aligns with the trend of integrating contact center and collaboration capabilities, says data and analytics company GlobalData.
Gregg Willsky, principal analyst: enterprise technology and services at GlobalData, comments: “The concept of a ‘contact center’ is yielding to the broader concept of ‘customer experience’. In the traditional mode of operation, contact centers have tended to be reactive, transactional, and generic. That is all changing.”
GlobalData analysis reveals that competitors have not been standing still. Avaya rivals such as Cisco, Zoom, and 8×8 have been rapidly stockpiling contact center capabilities that are converting contact centers from agent-centric to including self-service, from reactive to proactive, from transaction-oriented to relationship-oriented, and from generic to deeply personalised.
Willsky adds: “The most compelling aspect of the Edify acquisition is that it enables Avaya customers to tap into the personalization trend of the customer experience phenomenon. Personalized experiences represent the strongest bond a company can forge with its customers. When a company, for example, recognizes customers by name, has access to a history of their interactions, and knows their needs and preferences, they invariably feel far more valued.”
It is noteworthy that Avaya’s customers will be able to deliver personalisation via the integration of Edify’s orchestration capabilities into the Avaya Experience Platform (which encompasses Avaya’s customer experience solutions) as well as through no-code tools, quickening implementation as IT involvement is either eliminated or minimised.
Willsky concludes: “In addition to the transformation to customer experience, another important change is occurring in the contact center space. Specifically, vendors are integrating contact center (CCaaS) and collaboration (UCaaS) capabilities so that center agents can access assistance from internal subject matter experts (SMEs) to better address customer inquiries. Given that Edify provides both a CCaaS and a UCaaS platform, the door is open for Avaya to capitalize on this trend.”