Avaya partners with Microsoft to bring Contact Center as a Service platform to the cloud

Avaya, a global tech company that provides business communications and collaboration systems, applications and services, in collaboration with Microsoft, announce they joining forces to bring contact center services to the cloud. The two companies made the announcement during during the 39th GITEX Technology Week.

As part of the partnership agreement, Avaya IX-CC, a next generation Contact Center as a Service platform, will be available on Azure, hosted in Microsoft’s cloud data centers in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The service will be introduced initially in the Arab Gulf region with plans to expand the offer to other global regions in the future.

“Avaya is a trusted leader in contact-centre solutions,” said Ahmed Helmy, International CTO Avaya. “Our partnership with Microsoft allows us to expand our feature-rich applications on a cloud-based microservices architecture and platform – giving our customers the flexibility in deployment they have come to expect from our brand. They will also have the welcome assurance and flexibility to run their workloads across multiple clouds.”

The two companies are working to integrate the market-leading Avaya IX-CC platform with Azure. The Avaya IX-CC next generation Contact Center as a Service platform is expected to be available to customers in H1 2020 with voice capabilities, followed by omnichannel features later in the year.

“Through our work with Avaya, Microsoft now has the opportunity through our marketplace to offer enterprise-grade CCaaS solutions to businesses of any size delivered through Avaya and running on our Azure cloud,” said Sherif Tawfik, Executive Director, Channel, Alliances, Startups, and SMEs. “At Microsoft, it is our mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Every application that makes its home in our intelligent cloud takes us a step more down that road.”

Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst at ZK Research, said: “The contact center market continues to evolve quickly putting pressure on organizations of all sizes. The cloud offers companies a fast path to a modernized, Omni-channel solution. However, one size does not fit all when it comes to cloud contact center.”

Founded in 2010, Avaya is a global leader in communication systems, applications, and services. Learn about where they’ve been, where they’re headed, and the leaders that are getting them there. The company’s communication equipment and software integrate voice and data services for customers including large corporations, government agencies, and small businesses.

Its office phone systems incorporate Internet protocol (IP) and Session Initiation protocol (SIP) telephony, messaging, Web access, and interactive voice response. Avaya also offers a wide array of consulting, integration, and other managed IT services. The company sells directly and through distributors, resellers, systems integrators, and telecommunications service providers; more than three-quarters of its sales are made indirectly. Parent company Avaya Holdings filed for an IPO in 2011.