As a Global Information Technology Executive, Scott brings over 35 years of experience in various roles, including 22 years working with CX technologies.During this time, his focus has been leading successful initiatives in the contact center industry where he has held numerous leadership roles in Service Delivery, Sales and Client Account Management.
Scott began his career in the space and defense industry and has brought the same focus and precision required to launch a satellite with him to successive roles in Customer Experience and IT. He has a proven track record leading and supporting transformational change in both technology and business processes and been consistently ahead of the industry curve as an agent of change. His broad vertical background includes managing Avaya’s largest ever client service delivery program for Home Depot and managing customer service technology transformation initiatives for Comcast, Moneygram, and NRG. Scott’s wide-ranging experience also includes leading the industry’s first ever large-scale hosted contact center Voip implementation of 10,000 seats in 2002. This experience, as well as his international experience in areas such as satellite/RF communications, telecommunications, customer service and analytics, has provided him with unique knowledge and insights to solve our Client’s complex business challenges.
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As Avaya embarks on a second round of layoffs in the past six months, many questions about the company’s future have arisen. With CX transformation being a top priority for many of their customers, they’re wondering what their next move should be.
Avaya has been the platform of choice in the contact center space for years. However, as technology solutions have evolved, it has struggled to meet customer demands. Over time, many clients switched to more agile, cloud-based competitive offerings.
To continue delivering services to its customers, Avaya has increasingly relied on third-party vendors to round out its offerings. Unfortunately, this reliance has also created a need for more innovation with proprietary solutions.
These factors have left many Avaya clients uncertain about modernizing their systems while maintaining seamless operations and preserving their customer experience.
The Modernization Dilemma for Avaya Clients
While the benefits of modernization are apparent, such as cost reduction, easier management, enhanced security, and improved CX, organizations with complex legacy installations are often hesitant to make the move.
They’re faced with a dilemma: While they need to replace aging infrastructure, they also need to maintain existing processes such as IVRs and complex call flows.
While it may be tempting to wait and see before making changes, there are risks involved.
With two bankruptcies in the past seven years, further service disruptions or contract modifications are a real possibility. According to analyst Jon Arnold, when speaking about the 2023 bankruptcy, “It will probably be the bondholders and the investors who are going to say, We’re running this now. This is a financial story now, not a technology story, and we will decide what’s going to be best.’”
While Avaya emphasizes its focus on the future, diversifying your communications infrastructure to mitigate risk is a smart business decision.
What Are Your Options for Modernization?
Bridgepointe has been actively working with several clients to help them modernize their existing Avaya platform. We recommend two primary options based on your needs from a people, processes, and technology standpoint.
Option #1: Innovate in Place
The first option involves layering modern tools like UCaaS, CCaaS or CX AI onto existing Avaya infrastructure. Choosing this route means you can focus on innovating with minimal disruption.
This option maintains your physical Avaya infrastructure and enhances the features with additional technology instead of ripping and replacing your legacy systems.
This option can be attractive from a benefits perspective. It will deliver cost savings, and your initial investment will be lower. Your day-to-day operations will remain uninterrupted while your organization reaps the advantages of improved collaboration and customer experience.
Additionally, this approach can improve overall CX, and you can leverage new technologies like AI-powered routing and other self-service options. Plus, you can implement scalable solutions that grow with your business needs and simplify your management with a centralized portal.
If you opt to innovate in place, you can also benefit from flexible deployment. You can choose cloud, on-premises, or hybrid solutions to fit your needs and create a seamless migration path.
Option #2: Full Digital Transformation
BridgepointeCX offers a proven path to migrating off Avaya for those looking for a complete digital transformation.
While this process is much more time- and resource-intensive, it enables your organization to overhaul your CX completely to meet changing customer needs while cutting costs for years.
A complete digital transformation involves assessing processes, people, and technology and designing a phased transformation plan.
Phase one focuses on analysis and planning, mapping requirements, identifying legacy systems and dependencies, and creating a strategy roadmap. From there, a vendor is selected.
Phase two focuses on three key areas: organizational change, validation and cloud migration. During this phase, everything from aligning the organization around new business processes and conducting UAT based on customer user stories to a phased approach for the cloud migration is handled.
Why BridgepointeCX?
Working with experts can make all the difference when undergoing a large-scale digital transformation.
The BridgepointeCX team has extensive expertise in navigating complex environments without forcing a one-size-fits-all solution. We offer tailored strategies for hybrid solutions that combine cloud and on-premises capabilities.
Our team of over 40 experts has performed over 2500 implementations of CCaaS platforms, working with organizations ranging from those operating in the SMB market to large enterprises with over 20,000 seats globally. Our clients include Walmart, Sam’s Club, Indeed, ESPN, and Nintendo.
Don’t Wait to Begin Your CX Transformation
As the situation with Avaya continues to evolve, one thing is clear—you need a clear plan for your CX transformation’s next steps.
Whether you choose to innovate in place or undergo full digital transformation, don’t wait until your Avaya contract is up for renewal. Assess your options well ahead of time so you can manage risk while enhancing overall CX operations and cutting costs sooner rather than later.
Are you an Avaya customer looking to explore your options and ensure your CX transformation journey remains on track? Book a consult with a CX expert now.
