CNME Editor Mark Forker is reporting LIVE from Avaya ENGAGE, in Orlando, Florida, where a triumphant Alan Masarek has declared during his keynote speech that Avaya is unequivocally, and undeniably back. 
Alan Masarek was appointed as Avaya CEO in August, 2022.
In the 10 months that have elapsed, Masarek has completely turned the financial fortunes of the company around – and the future now looks extremely bright for the global leader in customer experience solutions.
In an energetic and upbeat keynote, a bullish Masarek spoke of the company’s aspirations to be the vendor of choice for companies looking to deliver unrivalled customer experience, and highlighted the importance of their ‘Innovation without Disruption’ concept.
“It’s all about customer experience. We want to be that vendor and partner that you choose to help you on that journey to maximising that customer experience. We want our customers to choose their own journey, and go at their own pace. Innovation without disruption is a concept we are pursuing. In its simplest form, essentially, what it means is our customers need us to deliver the products that bring them forward on that cloud and customer experience journey. We have added 3,000 new customers, and I think it’s very clear to see that unequivocally, and undeniably Avaya is back,” said Masarek.
Masarek jokingly disclosed that he didn’t do ‘retirement very well’ – and said that both the challenge and opportunities that existed at Avaya, ultimately enticed him out of retirement
“We’re living in this mega trend towards customer experience, where brands throughout the world need to differentiate based on customer experience. However, we know that brands in the internet economy have really struggled to differentiate themselves using the traditional method of product, price and availability. We know that in today’s digital economy, it’s all about customer experience. I looked at Avaya, and I saw this extraordinary set of assets. We have a huge set of customers, we have an iconic brand, and we have 90,000 customers in 170 countries. In addition to this, we have the largest install base, and an IP portfolio that is enormous. I looked at all of this, and said if we play this hand well then we can have a lot of success,” said Masarek.
Masarek referenced that the ‘noise’ of the financial restructuring that the company had to go through is now over.
“The last ten months have been very noisy and extremely busy, but we achieved an incredible result with our financial restructuring. We went from financial weakness to strength, we have eliminated almost all of our debt, and are now a cash generator. That noise is behind us now, and following the success of our business restructuring, and go-to market strategy, we really feel a renewed sense of optimism amongst our customers and partners and this gives us great confidence going forward,” said Masarek.
Masarek also added that he wanted to ‘recapture’ a sense of trust.
“Unfortunately, we gave customers reasons to worry, but you still supported us, you stayed with us, and now going forward, what we want to do is recapture a sense of trust. We want you to know that you can stay with Avaya, you can trust Avaya, and ultimately what we want you to say is I choose Avaya. We have reinvigorated our brand, and it’s an encouraging and exciting time for us. We are back,” said Masarek.
